Horizons Unlimited - The HUBB - Any help with luggage (hopefully soft) for KLX 150

The Buying Quandary - soft vs. hard

As the debate continues on soft vs. hard panniers I thought I'd have my 2 cents worth. Well actually it was on a recent trip back from Crows Nest National Park in country Queensland (Australia) that I was forced to visit this whole soft vs. hard conundrum. Cruising back at lets say 90 km/h my left hand pannier decided to depart company from the BMW GSA. Now I've done about 43,000 PLUS miles with those hard panniers over all sorts of ground including lots of wash-board tracks, removing the panniers at camp sites to make a 'cooking table', landed on them a couple of times on soft gravel tracks etc. etc. They have taken a fair beating or should I say used frequently.

The panniers were never really inspected as part of my bike maintenance routine apart from taking five-pound lump hammer to them after one nasty meeting with an Outback riverbed!! On closer inspection after returning home that evening, from Crows Nest, I noticed that a number of rivets on the locking mechanism which secures them to the bike had obviously worn through from vibration and were missing. Hence the departure of the left hand side pannier at 90km/h. Now, I was lucky that no one was behind at the pannier bounced down the road, the contents saved by the Touratech inner water proof liner. So, I’m now in the position of having to invest in a new set of panniers, I debate the pro’s vs. con’s of soft and hard panniers...

Hard Panniers:

Pro’s
-Secure
-Large capacity
-Protect legs/bike when bike goes over
-Lots of space for those ‘I've been there stickers’
-Waterproof, if liners used

Con's
-Heavy
-Can injure legs if get trapped in a fall
-Don't take impact with out going out of shape, ruining water-tight seal and even becoming completely unusable
-Expensive AU$2500 for keyed BMW aluminium panniers

Soft Panniers

Pro's
-Less expensive, AU$1700 for Giant Loop Round the World panniers
-Flexible space, but not as large as hard panniers
-Lighter
-Waterproof, if liners used
-Absorb impact when bike is put on its side, less potential to completely write-off the bags in an ‘off’

Cons
-Not secure
-Not as spacious in volume
-Can't use as a table for cooking etc.
-No where for those ‘I've been there stickers!’

Wanting to try a more flexible approach to packing, I decide to try the soft pannier route. I brainstorm a number of criteria (important to myself), at this time; which include:
- Must be transferable to a Royal Enfield Himalayan when I switch bikes
-Strong, built Outback tough and proven to survive moderate speed offs on tracks
-Waterproof
-Last a long time, another 40,000plus miles
-Must lock to the bike to stop the whole bag being stolen

On reviewing the Mosko Motors and the Giant Loop offerings. The Mosko’s lacked the ability to lock the bags to the bike (yes I know they can still be opened but running off with the actual bags is slightly more costly to replace).

With the Giant Loop the backing plate which mounts the bags to the bikes pannier rack could be adjusted to fit my current bike a BMW GSA and also adjusted to fit the Royal Enfield Himalayan in the future.

So, with the decision made to go the soft route I dive onto Amazon and find the bags some AU$200 cheaper than the local bike Store. Six weeks later the bags or should I say a bag arrives. I'm not surprised Mr. Bezos is a billionaire if he accounts for money in the same way he accounts for stock, as apparently Amazon's definition of 'a pair' is one bag. Now, I've either read the sales blurb incorrectly or they have made a mistake. I quickly review the advert and it definitely says 'pair', the parcel is one of one so I know theres no second box to arrive later. So, I hit the returns button and start the whole process off in reverse.

Another six weeks later (don't we love COVID-19 delivery times!), the money is finally returned. Having no time I don't repeat the order but jump on the bike and ride 40 mins to my local bike shop. I look at the racks and order both the bags and the racks from them for a sizeable investment of AU$1700 - wow these better be good. A week later I pop by the store to receive the update that the Sydney store has sent the BMW GSA back plate adapter but be wrong bags. Im now starting to get that jinxed feeling. Another couple of weeks later all parts arrive and I carefully strap them to the back of the black-dog herself with a spare set of Rok Straps and ride back home.

The Installation Process
The install was quite a job. I’ve put together 3 videos on YouTube which take you through the process with some good lessons learned if I ever have to repeat the install again in the future. Links below:

Heat Shield Install: https://youtu.be/0FtkKb8TUaM

Bracket Install: https://youtu.be/ARXgq6KY06M

Bag Install: https://youtu.be/40M3wvpzbfE

The Bags in Use
Well the first time I take the bike out with the bags, it absolutely pours with rain! Haven’t had much rain all summer, but it did this day. The main compartment stayed dry and the provided yellow inner dry bag was dry. Given I had to change into a dry shirt as the rain came down before I could find anywhere to stop, I know the yellow dry bag was dry inside!

The rear pocket which is touted as dry is NOT however. The way the pocket is sewn to the main bag will mean it never will be. So, don’t put items you wish to remain dry in the rear pockets. The front pockets are self draining - with a rivet hole in the bottom of the pocket, and only have a pull cord to close them. I keep four Nalgene water bottles, two in each side - so it doesn’t matter if water gets in these pockets!

On my second trip with these bags I went 1500km into Outback Australia. They survived the daily use in temperatures above 40degrees centigrade without any issues. Also, when I came off the bike on the Birdsville track, at about 50km/h in gravel/bull dust there was no visible sign of any damage to the bags. Yep, full of dust but no damage; more than can be said for my ribs, over a week later and I’m still in pain! Take a look at the ‘Gone West’ mini tour and the ‘off’ captured in the following three YouTube clips:

The journey out: https://youtu.be/xnVDtiVtwk0

The 'sameness' middle bit: https://youtu.be/PM445yFmz0M

The 'off' on the Birdsville Track: https://youtu.be/YtQxFjsXZzw

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Cheers. Neil.