Soft Panniers: What to look for
 

Hi there,

I am in need of soft panniers for a 5 month trip to mongolia on my F650GS Dakar (I do have a luggage rack). There seem to be an awful lot of them and I'm not quite sure which parameters I should look for. Obviously important are:

• price
• volume
• width
• side pockets

I have identified a few options that might suit:

Kriega Overlander:
2x OS32, 2x Mounting Platform
Price: 700 € + international Shipping
Volume: 64 L
width: 19cm
no side pockets

Mosko Moto Backcountry 35L (kit):
Price: 610 € (incl. shipping)
Volume: 70 L
width: 20cm
one dry side pocket each side

Adventure Spec Magadan
Price: 430 € + international shipping + additional straps
Volume: 68 L
width: 18cm
2 side pockets each (not water proof)

Wolfman Rocky Mountain
Price: 430 € + international shipping
Volume: 72 L
width: 20cm
no side pockets

Enduristan Monsoon 3
Price: 275 € + national shipping (Germany)
Volume: 60 L
width: 25cm
no side pockets


I did read this post but still don't really see which parameters indicate that the Kriega setup costs nearly 3 times the amount of the Enduristan.
I would like some side pockets, but I'm not sure if they are worth 150 € (For that price I could probably find some add-on)

Which other parameters should I look for when deciding?
Also: did I miss an important option?

When I was in a similar position I went with the magadans purely as they are slash proof and offer better security than the others in my opinion. This is a bonus as I travel solo mainly. Also they have 2 pockets at the front and 2 at the rear that take a 2L petrol container should you wish. I use mine most of the time despite having several other options both hard and soft.

I rode from Connecticut, USA to Guatemala and back with a pair of Wolfman expedition saddlebags. They're much smaller than those listed, but I can say that I have some first hand experience living off my bike with soft panniers for a few months.

First, I love that the Expeditions are waterproof, but if you have any road rash on the bags then you rip through them and you are forced to use drybags. (I didn't and I never dropped my bike so I was fortunate).

Looking at soft bags for the future, I would go with the Adventure Spec bags. I like the outer bag that carries one big dry bag liner for the whole pannier side. I don't think I'd want multiple small drybags inside of a porous outer pannier bag.

I also like the outer pockets of the Magadan panniers.

What I don't like about the AS system is that many people secure horizontal straps on this system and they have to put a vertical strap to secure the pannier. My Wolfman system didn't need that and they never came loose. They had 4 hooks that went out at each corner, and it was fantastic to get on off the bike every day. That way I didn't need to loosen anything to access the bag. Just unsnap the roll top part.

I would avoid the Mosko system because of the hard plastic mounting system. I don't care for that one bit.

Hope this helps.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...dfe588db66.jpg

Buy the Mosko's. Just about everyone else is these days and for good reason. The only people I know that don't love them are people that don't own them :-)

I just watched two videos on their website about the bags, construction and mounting system. I still don’t feel completely confident with the plastic “wedge” mounting system, although it looks ridiculously convenient for mounting and removing the bags.

Take a look at Nelson-Rigg panniers linked below.
This company has been making motorcycle luggage longer than many of the companies you're looking at. In recent years quality and design has improved a lot.

Many think because the price is low that these are NO GOOD. Not true. I've used 3 previous Nelson-Rigg pannier set ups and the new Adventure ones shown below are the best yet, IMHO.

I've not traveled with these but did see a fellow rider with a set on their Suzuki DR650.

If you camp and cook every night then you may need more capacity.

I would go with what you know. If you don't mind spending $400 to $900 USD on panniers ... then go ahead. The Nelson-Rigg ones may surprise.

https://www.bikebandit.com/nelson-ri...8aAm9dEALw_wcB

I agree, would never use that system. Seen too many racks crack and break in Baja.

That sort of system puts stress onto your steel rack ... not to mention those "Wedge" mounts and plastic plates.

When riding 100's km on bad wash board road, most racks will crack and fall apart. Lots of wasted time getting things welded up. Been there, witnessed this several times.

I prefer old school "throw over" soft bag system where straps go OVER seat or frame, which takes 90% of the shock from rough road. You only need keep the bag off the exhaust.

You can still crack a rear sub frame if you over load your tail bag or box however. :censored:

With straps over the seat you have built in shock absorber system (soft seat) and on some bikes, you can go with NO RACK at all, just a heat shield for pipe.

I'm curious if you removed ALL the luggage off your KTM every night?
To me, that is A LOT of extra work. I've traveled with guys using Wolfman ... and getting it all off and back on is a bit of a job, IIRC.

I prefer INNER bags (the Nelson-Rigg panniers shown above come with inner bags)

All my stuff goes in inner bags. At Hotel, grab inner bag from panniers and go. Panniers stay put. Of course I take my top dry bag in as well. I use no tank bag, only Camel Back.

So only one trip from bike to room. And less than one minute putting inner bags back into panniers. About two minutes to strap on tail bag next morning.

I've seen guys struggle removing and remounting panniers onto their bikes with racks. Some use a lot of extra straps, hooks and such. With Inner bags, my panniers stay put on the bike. Always. I don't worry about theft of bags themselves. Secure parking a priority. :thumbup1:

bier

All the bags look great IMO.

But the only advice I can give is like mention by Mollydog
Whatever bags you pick, make sure there can be ON & OF in 5 mins

If you use "inner bags", then NO NEED to remove panniers themselves every night! :D:D

Thank you for your suggestion. The website does not mention anything about the abrasion resistance of the panniers. Can you share your experience with that? I expect to fall quite a few times on my trip and the panniers should not break or leak from minor falls…

With hard case panniers? yes I do that now but with soft bags, no just hook them of, because no locks .

This was my first go at any long distance touring and I actually had to build the racks from my KTM, so I bought the Wolfman Expedition bags because of their price and volume limit (to keep my kit light). My subframe was aluminum and it's a motocross bike, so I was in a unique situation. That's a bit off topic.

So I've lived in Latin America for a long enough time to have learned the unfortunate consequences of theft. If it's not nailed down, there's a high chance it'll disappear. Additionally, the Expedition bags do not have liners or inner bags that can be slipped out with the bag's contents. I had to take the panniers off. There wasn't any other option. I will say that there's a quick learning curve with the Expeditions and the system is masterfully simple. No exaggeration, I could have my saddlebags and duffle off in under 45 seconds. It's really that simple. I kept the seat straps connected and therefore could sling the panniers over one shoulder and then simply carry the duffle in the opposite hand. Literally all my luggage in one easy trip.

I timed myself putting the bags back on, and that is a 3 minute process, and that's not racing. So, yeah, it's not slip on, slip off like the Moskos, but it's definitely a lighter system and I would guess that it's much more durable.

But, as I said earlier, I probably wouldn't use the Expedition bags again for international travel. I probably would't use soft bags at all. I was traveling solo and sometimes I wanted to stop at a park or Maya ruins site. You could ask a guard to keep an eye on your bike if it's a big open parking lot, but that's not always an option, and guards can't always be trusted. If you want to park your bike in a town or small city and explore for a few hours, hard lockable panniers is the best option in my opinion...at least in Central America.

Inner bags for me, too: open the muddy, filthy pannier, lift out the nice clean inner bag and take it into the hotel, tent, etc. I always use an inner waterproof bag- whether with soft panniers or hard.

I've used both the Magadans and the Mosko 35 L bags and liked them both.

Magadans on a Yamaha 600 in Tajikistan...

http://i831.photobucket.com/albums/z...6/DSCN0243.jpg

The Magadans are capacious and easily expand to swallow some extra water bottles, food, liters of oil etc when you need it. The pockets on the outside were useful for water and oil, and handy to keep your heavier gloves and balaclava in reach. The only thing I didn't like about them was they were kind of floppy and needed another strap vertically around the center to keep them quiet.

Mosko in Ecuador on G650GS BMW...

http://i831.photobucket.com/albums/z...216_182021.jpg

The Mosko were great bags, plenty of space, again with an inner bag to lift out. No complaints about them, though they are pricey. I wouldn't worry about the mount breaking, or breaking the rack in a fall. It's a soft bag and lots of the the force of a fall would be sucked up by the bag itself. As far as breaking from washboard, I can't see that as a problem either. I've seen racks bend or break in falls but never have had a problem with extensive washboard breaking them. Depends on your rack, I suppose.




.............shu

Yea, my house was robbed twice living in Guatemala and Van broke into once.
No other option for inner bag? Any common re-usable grocery or ice cooler carry bag will work perfectly as inner bag ... one of my pannier sets uses them now! But if your Wolfman's are that easy to go ON/OFF then no need. The guys I traveled with took about 30 minutes to load up in the morning ... everyday. (two panniers and Top duffel bag) But to be fair, it was their FIRST trip using the Wolfman's. Learning curve.

This is always the challenge using soft luggage and leaving the bike to go for hike, visit a ruin or shop around town. But if you think hard panniers are more secure ... well ... you may be living in a fools paradise! doh Any hard pannier can be cracked into in less than 5 minutes by a kid with a screw driver and hammer. Witnessed this in Mexico!

So not an easy thing to overcome, often you just have to look around and ask, try to find a trustworthy person to keep any eye on your bike(S) usually money helps. :D I generally find kids. Pay half up front, half when I get back. And I always mention Policia. :D

Yes, it does depend on the rack ... and your suspension, load and speed too.

In Baja I've seen many racks and sub frames break ... mostly on BMW GS, a few XR650L Hondas, KLR's and KTM's. And these broke with just a week or two of Washboard abuse. We know every welder in Baja!

Also, we've all read dozens of ride reports where broken luggage racks happen, often from riding Washboard roads.

Yeah, I'm pretty mechanically minded, I built my KTM from the ground up, so fiddling with straps in the sweltering heat in Mexico in full kit wasn't something that I was willing to accept. Those Wolfman bags were very quick to take on and off once you establish an order of operations.


And here goes the soft vs. hard pannier conversation...doh

I can agree to that. If they want to get into an aluminum pannier, a hammer and a screwdriver would be an easy way. A bike cover can also add some security, although if you roll up into a central park in a town in Honduras on a "big" bike on a Saturday afternoon, there will easily be 100 eyes on you, so putting a cover on it won't really do much. I still feel that a set of hard cases would put my mind more at ease. I've yet to ride with them, so for now, it's only a supposition.

I do remember having a conversation with Daniel Rintz, (the rtw traveler and filmmaker) while we were in Guate together for about a month. He had the Touratech panniers on his GS. I asked him about hard vs soft luggage and he stood by hard luggage for rtw travel. He's very much like me in thought process, and I think that he made a good argument for hard cases, with safety and ease of use being at the top of the list. For a TAT ride, I'd go soft, for a trip through the Americas, then it'd have to be a set of aluminum boxes for me.

This has been what's bothered me while researching soft panniers for an upcoming trip: the necessity for a vertical center strap, meaning it needs to be undone before you can unroll and access the pannier. My Wolfmans didn't need this, so why should I put up with it on the AS bags...

On a side note to the OP, have you considered the Great Basin by Giant Loop? That bag is growing in popularity and it's a rackless system. (if you're into saving weight).

There are a lot of tradeoffs with the Giant Loop bag, but also some unique advantages.

I get it :thumbup1: ... and for many travelers makes perfect sense. The Alu boxes "look" far more secure than soft panniers. If weight is not a concern ... hard boxes are a win.

Most casual thieves see the big Alu boxes and walk on to an easier target.

But then there is THE COST of hard Alu box system! I used GIVI hard plastic panniers on my DR650 when I first got the bike. They came off my Vstrom.

When I went over to Soft Panniers ... I lost 35 lbs. off the bike. On a 650 dual sport, this is huge difference when riding off road.

https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...-5WhCfkD-L.jpg
Givi hard bags on DR650 ... one of 5 trips to Baja on this bike.

If using the very expensive Jesse bags ... add at least 10 kg. more than GIVI ones or most other Alu boxes from EU.

Even in a minor fall I've seen Tourtech or BMW and other boxes get bent so the top would no longer fit on the box. This is another common story from travelers. So ... never fall over with your hard bags! :smartass:

I've fallen dozens of times with soft bags. (Only off road) A few scrapes, no damage.

On my buddies R1200GS we had to Bungee cord his Touratech boxes on for last 1500 miles of riding. No longer water proof.
https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-...SX2Hccz-XL.jpg
$100 Nelson-Rigg panniers, $60 Wolfman duffel. Not too bad with inner bags.
I still need to pack lighter.
bier

Took another look at the OP's options listed and of them, I would be between the AS and Wolfman. If I were in the USA and had time, I would order the Wolfman and Nelson Rigg that mollydog suggested and get a hands on test with both side by side and just return the ones that I didn't like. Since I have experience with Wolfman and their mounting system (which I love) and very high quality construction, I feel that's probably what I would lean towards.

Since I'm here in Honduras and have to order stuff and wait weeks for it...well...that makes the selection process much more difficult! Generally though, I like to hold these kinds of products in my own two hands. You can immediately tell the difference between quality and construction, which is obviously impossible when shopping online.

These one work for me ok Givi copies cheap as chips only $50 the pair totally watertight.

https://s19.postimg.cc/bz4ke8qar/CRF.jpg

But that said on my Honda AT the bike did come with Hard panniers.


https://s19.postimg.cc/rd2uffodv/at1.jpg

https://s19.postimg.cc/e8xa2qgwj/image.jpg

So I do have the best of both worlds

Let's just hope I don't drop the AT that will hurt......

My preference is soft all day long

Had some big fall with the CRF no problems, a few tears now so only 95% watertight.

I have done 1,000's of back road riding miles in Colombia and never had a problem on my 1190. You will find hundreds of others that have put Mosko bags through much worse than me and also never had a problem.

If I was you, I would do a little more research :-)

On my 1190....

Nope, just remove the liners, simple.

If I want to remove the entire pannier, no problem.
Each has a locking latch and takes 30 seconds to remove both.

I have 2 other bikes in China CFmoto TR-G and CFmoto MT.
The first one the TR-G comes with fitted Shad back boxes.

If you view the pictures CFmoto makes a rear slide bar to protect the back boxes.
These work on an ice road fall with the bike loaded up NO DAMAGE accrued to the back boxes.

Because I was so happy with this set up on the CFmoto MT I used and modified a set of TR-G rear sliders to protect the rear Alluimium rear panniers on the MT.
see pictures.
So far to date no issues with the MT as far as falls so I cant report back on how well there will protect the panniers.


It's a shame that the big boys don't sell rear sliders to protect their boxes.

https://s19.postimg.cc/ujxdzje43/20160717_215740.jpg


https://s19.postimg.cc/at55tgelv/20160606_173706.jpg


https://s19.postimg.cc/xe0jd0qkz/OI000076.jpg


The above is the TR-G .
See how well the rear sliders worked.

Below is the MT model


https://s19.postimg.cc/ujxdzk8z7/20170630_135054.jpg


https://s19.postimg.cc/64p5xxx1f/20170630_135328.jpg

I haven't discounted them completely. I think seeing them in person could change my mind. But, for now I'm still on the fence. beer

Touch and feel is the way to go :-)

That CF Moto is NICE!
I only saw early versions years ago ... nice to see the big improvements! bier

Reminds me a bit of a 650 Versys! (good company!)

Yes big improvements with CF over the last few years.
Its the only Company IMO in China to keep a close eye on?

Still, love my Honda AT.

Lone Rider soft panniers

Just got a set put on my 1200GS this week. Made of hypalon, same material used by USNavy SEALS in their attack rafts.

https://www.lonerider-motorcycle.com/products/motobags

On my bikes I`ve had several different aluboxes, original BMW-cases, different soft bags and so. So far I`ve liked most Wolfman luggages most rugged bags (Expedition as I remember) and they have been attached on racks. How ever I have got few punctures on Wolfies and some straps have broken over time.

But some time ago friend of mine bought Russian made Motosector bag wich has very nice design. He has used it around two years now and has been very happy so I got one also.

Even if its made in Russia the quality can easily be compared to Wolfies, design is simple and it is securely attached to bike and can be dropped basicly on any bike. Almost perfect.

Check the website and product can be found from Ebay.com.

Мотосумки — MOTOSECTOR

For a tough soft pannier it is pretty hard to beat the Mosko models... I ran the BC 35s for 3 riding seasons and they stood up very well including spills, tree hits and drags under gates... The quick on and off the bike is one of the best features.. I have used this sometimes when we hit a choppy steep hill section as to where I pop the bag off the bike, ride the section and then pop the bag back on.. The issue I had with them was how much they weighed and is why I am now running the Mosko Scout 25s which weigh half of what the 35s did, but are not as quick on and off the bike... What makes the Mosko bags so tough is the ballistic material that the beavertail is made from, this stuff is bulletproof and protects the inner drybag from all kinds of hits.. I ran the Scouts to the Arctic last summer and they did well, the nice feature is that you can tuck a Pelican toolbox against the mounting plate and then fit the drybag outside of that, quite versitile.. I passed my BC 35s on to a friend and while they have some rock and tree scuffs on the outside flaps, they are just as sound as the day I purchased them.. They are really good bags, only the weight of them takes away points..



I also have a set of Wolfman Rocky mountain bags, which are also quite durable and quick to mount... I welded 4 chain links around the corner of my pannier frames that mate with the Wolfman tie in points and this makes mounting them so much more stable.. The bags themselves are made out of a much thicker ballistic fabric than the smaller expedition panniers and come with an internal drybag for each side.. They also are stiffer so they don't flop shut when you are trying to sort contents.. I have the gen 2 version and now I think they have put out a gen 3..



I also have a set of the New Style Nelson Rigg Adventure bags that I picked up for super cheap.. They are a way better bag than the previous design and also mount perfectly into the chain link tie points that I welded in place on the frames for the Wolfman bags.. They hold a pretty good jag and are really stable on the bike.. The only real issue I can see is durability in a slide or obstruction sweep. They don't have the armor beavertail of the Mosko, or the stronger ballistic fabric of the Wolfman but at about a third the price you can buy 3 lives for the same coin... I have used them on a couple outings and quite like them... Especially the way the stiffeners hold the bags square which makes it easier to rummage through to pick out stuff...


All of these above bags mount best in conjunction with a set of flat sided luggage frames..

I think the Mosko are some of the best built bags I have ever seen but they come at a premium price. The Tusk soft bags are real nice at a third of the price.