[Hub Architecture]

Appaling - I couldn't recommend buying these unless you never ever drop your bike and need to avoid a £500 fix bill

On holiday I rolled my bike over onto myself on a petrol forecourt. The pannier completely collapsed and wouldn't go back onto the frame. Wow that's shite.

My Touratech Vegas have survived an amazing amount of abuse off road and they are still going strong 9 years later.

Givi have just washed their hands of it.

My advice would be as lovely as they look, AVOID. I was stuck 1200 miles from home strapping a brand new pannier onto the bike to get moving. The inside plastic 'reinforcement' in the corner shattered and the aluminium just folded. All from a simple roll off, not moving.

Not happy at all - now who wants some pictures?

 

[Nemesis]

That sucks!

I was just looking at which panniers to buy over the weekend, and the Givi was definitely on the top of the list.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Washryc]

That's terrible. I would try everything I can to get some money back from the manufacturer... Nice one on the heads up.

 

[frostbitevinnie]

Yeah that sucks. Exactly why I'm afraid of panniers. I bought wolfman rocky mountain soft bags. Mash um up and no problem!

 

[NBV]

Thanks. I was going to buy these, now I won't.

 

[Snowbubble]

A classic example of style over substance... Thanks for sharing.

 

[Dubai]

Thats such a letdown - I crashed in Keetmanshoot Namibia and the bike slid 48 metres along the road ripped off one of my Jesse panniers but it survived amazingly - the 1150GS was a writeoff - but with a little repairs the panniers are usable still for Africa even if unsightly from the damage

 

[Dubai]

unfortunately Al at Jesse will not have panniers for the AT until late this year and I am riding in Argentina in November - can anyone advise for the most robust of offroad panniers for this kind of trip ???
PS - it seems the brackets for the Touratec are also not available !

 

[Dazzle]

Had a similar drop on my 1150 Gs with sw moteck trax panniers he'd the weight of a fully laden Gs only scuffed plastic corners, can recommend these.

 

[Jonathan Parke]

I'd say either Bumot or Metal Mule would suit your trip

 

[sybjer]

I have to say I feel a bit ripped off, but still love this bike. In the US we didn't get Tools, H.I.S.S. or LED blinkers.....And even crazier is that I can't even order an 12v accessory plug as they are "out of stock" 2016 and Honda can't provide a 12v outlet for an "ADVENTURE" bike??????? I don't believe anyone would have had an issue paying the extra 50$ to have Honda supply in factory, knowing you have to take the front end apart to install. Love Honda, but dropped the ball big time on that one.

 

[Edintheclouds]

Holy crap man. I've dumped mine in the dirt a couple of times without a scratch. Never on the pavement though. I think they're roughly as strong as any other aluminum boxes though.

 

[KiwiMark]

I think this incident was what I read about when I decided to not buy the Givi panniers and go with Bumot instead. Now I've had a similar incident where my foot slipped on my own driveway and the bike fell on to one side doing only minor & superficial damage. I think that Bumot make a good strong pannier and I'm pretty confident that mine will last pretty well.

 

[mike5100]

I think this incident was what I read about when I decided to not buy the Givi panniers and go with Bumot instead. Now I've had a similar incident where my foot slipped on my own driveway and the bike fell on to one side doing only minor & superficial damage. I think that Bumot make a good strong pannier and I'm pretty confident that mine will last pretty well.

I guess it's just the luck of the draw. I had my bike slip over on ice on a road when I was standing beside it. I have the Honda OEM panniers fitted. They protected the bike completely and were undamaged themselves.
Mike

 

[cyrus]

Good to hear... just had OEM bags put on my new purchase and I really couldn't be happier. Easy on/easy off (and same key). They are almost always off, when I'm cruising around town and NOT needing to get a lot at the local Publix (honesty). And when they are off, there are no unsightly "brackets". They clamp down (and **** firmly) on the rails that exist on all ATs. This is Honda folks... they don't suck. Quite sure that you can get much sturdier boxes, if you really need them. Also sure you wouldn't even be reading THIS post if you really did.

 

[ablock]

Good to hear... just had OEM bags put on my new purchase and I really couldn't be happier. Easy on/easy off (and same key). They are almost always off, when I'm cruising around town and NOT needing to get a lot at the local Publix (honesty). And when they are off, there are no unsightly "brackets". They clamp down (and **** firmly) on the rails that exist on all ATs. This is Honda folks... they don't suck.

I absolutely beg to differ. Have destroyed three, two in zero speed falls and one when a truck backed in to the parked bike (didn't knock it over, just wrecked the pannier).

In every case the corner plastic was punched in, the plastic frame around the door cracked making latching a chore, and the mounting claw was damaged such that it no longer locked down firmly.

The OEM cases are extremely convenient since they share the main key, and the lack of a rack means they sit quite tight to the frame. But they have an oddly shaped interior, the side loading means gear falls out while you are loading them, the latch is finicky and will easily scratch a helmet in the left pannier, and their flimsy construction make them utterly unsuited for fitment on a tall 550 lb. bike.

I switched to SW Motech Trax. The rack is very beefy and the boxes are easy to load, though the hinges do not operate as smoothly as I would like at this price point. I am still waiting on the mounting studs so I'm not yet sure how much wider the bike will be with the aluminum panniers, but it will be substantial.

 

[Mike Henderson]

Givi roll over

I think it has a lot to do with whether or not you have a good set of crash bars. I have had my bike on its side more times then I care to admit but the Givi trekker boxes have held up remarkably well considering that aluminum is a soft metal.

The bike seems to rest more on the crash bars then the boxes.