My husband is about 5'10" and weighs about 145. I'm about 5'3" and was about 190lbs. He was just about flat footed with me on the back and loaded. We used pelican cases and a rack we got from twisted throttle in America. The rack held up ok, we had to weld reinforcements on the top plate (we carried spare tires while doing a lot of off road in Central Asia) and one side of the rack ended up needing to be rewelded. The locks that hold the cases on were total crap, we used straps as well. They constantly broke. The cases themselves are absolutely bombproof and watertight. The bike was on its side many times, cases went flying down the road, we had a bit of a nasty crash in Laos and the cases are a bit scratched...that's it. I'd go with the same panniers again for sure. They are big but not too wide on the bike and can be installed according to your seating position.
I heard the 800GSA seat is supposed to be way better. Even so you probably want a wooly or something to supplement. That bike does add a lot of weight with the bigger tank and other things. There is a long thread here about it.
Holler if y'all come thru washington DC
Si
|