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plastic VS steel Panniers (for example: afrika twin) plastic VS steel Panniers (for example: afrika twin)
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Equipping the Bike - what's the best gear? Anything to do with the bikes equipment, saddlebags, etc. Questions on repairs and maintenance of the bike itself belong in the Brand Specific Tech Forums.
Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #1  
Old 14 Jul 2014
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plastic VS steel Panniers (for example: afrika twin)
Hi,

In the process of buying a bike, i see different bikes that already have panniers. But, they are plastic / soft panniers with an unique click-in system.

I'm wondering if thats good anyway, because if you fall, they can easily brake. you can't repair plastic. you can repair steel if you find someone who can weld, and that is much easier.


But i'm wondering where I can find steel racks and panniers, and how much they cost.
I have on site: Welcome to aluminium-panniers.co.uk

for about 200€ for the panniers and 100€ for a rack.
But I don't even know if that fits.


so, where can I find racks that fits for for example an Honda Afrika Twin or Transalp? (these are the bikes I am looking for)
sites, examples, prices, etc...


thanks!
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  #2  
Old 14 Jul 2014
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Might help if you say where in the world you want this stuff?

Top right hand corner has an add for 'Overland Solutions' - they are in the UK... for example.

Metal panniers are usually aluminum rather than steel .. that means a very specific wielder. Can be hard to find.

There are plastic panniers .. and some very tough plastic cases - see the 'Pelican Cases' .. they are 6 mm thick and take motorcycle crashes fairly well .. probably better than the aluminum panniers.
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  #3  
Old 14 Jul 2014
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Belgium.

yeah, i ment aluminium.
Its not that you'll have to weld the cases itself, but it woud be rather the fixing that will be broken i guess. when you have bars and bolts etc it's easier to repair/fix it again.

The bikes that want to buy have a standard givi-rack for honda's. its plastic and the panniers are fixed to it with a unique one-piece mecanism. if that's broken, it seems to be lost.
take a look at this bike Honda africa twin - Te koop in Eghezée Upigny | 2dehands.be
he's fitted with such panniers.
seems to me that, one touch-down (and sure I will do some), and your panniers or the fixings are broken...
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Old 14 Jul 2014
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ratte View Post
seems to me that, one touch-down (and sure I will do some), and your panniers or the fixings are broken...
Yes that is correct. If you think it will be an issue for you go with soft luggage.
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Old 14 Jul 2014
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I don't know if its an issue for me.
I didn't ride a lot with panniers, an never felt down with them.

So I'm wondering if this is a critical item of your equipment or not...
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Old 16 Jul 2014
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steal 100 procent shore i had 1 pair off steal paniers mad and had a crasch in nepal att 90 kilimeters all i had to do whas geat a hammer and bang them aout dam strong plastic sucks 1 crasch and the are gone
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Old 16 Jul 2014
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Peli cases are great - the 1550 are a good size and beat any alloy case. Peli 1550 on TT racks are very hard to beat. I'll never buy alloy again - one fall and let the water in.
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Old 16 Jul 2014
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one crash and alloy are scrap - peli are much tougher.

Quote:
Originally Posted by bad babba View Post
steal 100 procent shore i had 1 pair off steal paniers mad and had a crasch in nepal att 90 kilimeters all i had to do whas geat a hammer and bang them aout dam strong plastic sucks 1 crasch and the are gone
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  #9  
Old 20 Aug 2014
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H&B also offers plastic panniers. They are less expensive and waterdust proof.
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Old 9 Apr 2015
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Hepco & Becker plastic panniers
Quote:
Originally Posted by imjayp8 View Post
H&B also offers plastic panniers. They are less expensive and waterdust proof.
imjayp8 do you know the H&B model or have a link to them? They sound interesting.
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Old 9 Apr 2015
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Not sure how much you've looked into luggage in general, but you may want to reconsider hard luggage before you put the coin in. I know you see a lot of that stuff around Europe and depending on your use and needs it may well suit you. But they limit you really quickly by which time you will look for alternatives, which often results in abandonment of hard luggage.

On topic though, both are similar in terms of repair. Sheet metal and rivets or bolts will fix most things. Plastic will likely hold it's shape, ali won't. Depending on the impact ali won't ever be back in the shape you need to hang it back on and it'll just piss you off for the duration that you continue after. These things are all mitigated with soft luggage though.
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Old 9 Apr 2015
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Originally Posted by trailguru View Post
imjayp8 do you know the H&B model or have a link to them? They sound interesting.
It's very likely to be the H&B Gobi panniers which are double skinned - the gap in between can hold a few litres of fluid, such as spare water.
H&B used to sell an optional tap attachment also.

They used to be supplied as standard fitting on the KTM 990 adv model, then they became an optional accessory toward the end of life of that model and nowadays I don't see them fitted at all on the bigger engined KTMs.

Any kind of search should bring up the information.
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Old 10 Apr 2015
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I had these Hepco&Beckers fitted on my KTM military:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nadjen...57607395787304

These are fitted on the KTM's used by the german army, so I guess they have been somewhat tried and tested.

On the picture above, one of the panniers came off, but nothing broke. Not sure how often you can do that before something breaks, but the mounting systems looks as if its designed to allow the cases to come off without damaging the mounting system. I liked those cases. They don't have sharp angles which hurt much more when your leg gets in contact with the case (which can happen when you come off, or when you're struggling with the terrain).

Rob
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Old 10 Apr 2015
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Holan Alu gets a plug
The Earth Roamer guys really rate the Holan Nomada alu cases. You can read what they say on their blog - Earth-Roamers : Holan Nomada panniers

The Holan weibsite

My new touring screen's just been dropped off so gotta go....
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  #15  
Old 11 Apr 2015
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I have the same panniers (and bike) as Robbert, and fully agree. Also see my comments in this thread:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...-luggage-81367
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