[Nessuno]

Just read that the Honda panniers do not include locks, they must be ordered separately and the dealer will set them up to work with your ignition key...

 

[FullThrottle]

Aftermarket ones it is. I thought locks came standard on panniers.

 

[D_H]

I was rather unimpressed with the OEM Honda panniers when I saw them at Motorcycle Live, they seemed pretty flimsy, particularly in how the sides and lid flexed. Has anyone who's handled them elsewhere confirm/dispute this?

 

[Harvey Mushman]

Honda sells the locks separately so they can be keyed to the ignition. The bags look fine for the 80% who don't travel around the world, and mount on the nicely integrated mounts. I do wish they styled them to be sleeker and tighter to the bike like the VFR, or FJR1300 bags for example. I don't know why they have to be giant boxes. Makes it wider to lane split here in CA.

 

[Yromulus]

I agree - I think adventure bike panniers in general look like giant boxes. The sport touring or even adventure sport (whatever the Multistrada category is called these days) all seem to do the OEM panniers a lot better.

The Honda ones really do feel a bit naff though - especially the top-box. They had the Hepco and Becker ones on the Honda stand at the NEC too and they were a lot more substantial feeling IMHO (although sadly they stuck out even further!)

 

[ricecrispy]

meh. I think many are starting to lean towards the soft route regardless...

 

[Yromulus]

Yes, from the other thread on hard or soft luggage I must say the Mosko Moto bags look excellent.

Tricky choice.

 

[FullThrottle]

Locks aren't really needed, just carry everything important in a smaller and portable bag. Soft bags seem to be the better choice right now.

 

[S4MST3R]

I took a CRF out yesterday which was fitted with the Honda panniers and top boxes. All had locks, but I didn't open them - they don't interest me. Wouldn't surprise me that Honda charge extra for them

A couple of observations:

The bike had zero miles before I got on it, but it looked as if the panniers had been marked even during fitting. The aluminium seems to be stuck on, there's no rigidity to them. The top box aesthetically is a dog. Total afterthought

On the positive side, the panniers are neat - in that they are very close to the bike and are nowhere near as wide as the mirrors / bar ends - so no difference when filtering. The mounting system is very neat requiring no additional scaffolding / rack

 

[superfunkomatic]

I'd be curious to hear from someone who has actually picked up the bike with the panniers if they would be able to survive a tip over or low speed get-off. It's hard to tell from the photos, and they didn't have them on the bike at the motorcycle show here in Calgary. Are the thicknesses of the plastics thicker than their regular street bike/sport touring panniers?

 

[EZStreet]

I took a CRF out yesterday which was fitted with the Honda panniers and top boxes. All had locks, but I didn't open them - they don't interest me. Wouldn't surprise me that Honda charge extra for them

A couple of observations:

The bike had zero miles before I got on it, but it looked as if the panniers had been marked even during fitting. The aluminium seems to be stuck on, there's no rigidity to them. The top box aesthetically is a dog. Total afterthought

On the positive side, the panniers are neat - in that they are very close to the bike and are nowhere near as wide as the mirrors / bar ends - so no difference when filtering. The mounting system is very neat requiring no additional scaffolding / rack

I know one thing unless the Honda Side boxes are only $50.00 each I wouldn't even consider them and I'm pretty sure they will be much more than that. The back half of them are made of plastic...no thanks. There are lots of good quality boxes on the market to choose from. Let's face it, they're all ridiculously expensive considering there is maybe $50.00 in aluminum being used to construct them. Has anybody ever checked the thickness of the aluminum sheet they use to make them from? Just wondered. They should be at least 1/8" thickness, but somehow I doubt they are.

 

[Rockie]

Is it hard to key in the locks yourself to the ignition key?

 

[eltel62]

Is it hard to key in the locks yourself to the ignition key?

It is a little time consuming and you need patience of a saint and good eyesight. It is essentially a game of trial and error for each tumbler. Having some electrical tape to holds bits in as you builld them is helpful. Once built you have to work out how to get them in the panniers. Set aside an hour or more at least.
BTW There is a single Honda part number which is the two panniers with the two locks included for self fitment.

 

[widds]

The cases all seem to lack robust styling and construction. When I first saw the cases I expected them to be a similar type of ABS as the BMW vario GS range. When I got close and held them they were flimsy and not even a quarter of the construction weight or strength of the varios. I don't want to be critical for the sake of it because I am not looking at the strength in terms of surviving some off road impact, but I simply feel they are not up to the normal day to day use of being on and off the bike stacked in the garage and having to put up with the odd falling off a shelf etc. All that said I still have no idea which way to go to sort suitable side cases....Suggestions anyone for a UK biker

 

[Rockie]

They are definitely over priced for what they are.lm leening towards touratech but having the frame on when panniers are off spoils the look of the bike.is there any easy on off frame system on the market?

 

[Vintage_Snyder]

It is a little time consuming and you need patience of a saint and good eyesight. It is essentially a game of trial and error for each tumbler. Having some electrical tape to holds bits in as you builld them is helpful. Once built you have to work out how to get them in the panniers. Set aside an hour or more at least.
BTW There is a single Honda part number which is the two panniers with the two locks included for self fitment.

The instructions are not included in the panniers for installing the locks. How much a dealer might charge to do the installation of locks may be worth it! Link to instructions is here:
http://powersports.honda.com/documentum/MW01/08L72-MJP-A60.pdf

 

[simon penfold]

Hi
I have the Honda panniers on.
I thought they were a bit flimsy but through an unfortunate incident when a recovery driver dropped the bike off the ramp when unloading the bike - the pannier had minor scratching on the corners but saved the more serious damage to the bike.
Pannier not broken or cracked - good considering when it went down with quite a bang.

 

[eltel62]

The instructions are not included in the panniers for installing the locks. How much a dealer might charge to do the installation of locks may be worth it! Link to instructions is here:
http://powersports.honda.com/documentum/MW01/08L72-MJP-A60.pdf

UK accessories brochure quotes 0.9 hrs to fit the panniers which would include the key matching seeing as there is really nothing else to do. 1.1 hrs for the top box. So just get the hourly rate from your dealer assuming they stick to the Honda fitting time guide. :surprise:

 

[Vintage_Snyder]

Neighborhood Locksmith assembled the locks. Easy

UK accessories brochure quotes 0.9 hrs to fit the panniers which would include the key matching seeing as there is really nothing else to do. 1.1 hrs for the top box. So just get the hourly rate from your dealer assuming they stick to the Honda fitting time guide. :surprise:

Best money spent was the neighborhood locksmith who charged me for 3/4 hour on assembly of the locksets. Considering the cost of other accessories the $55 was an easy decision. Using the integrated pannier rack is easy as well. Yes, these panniers are lighter, smaller, more fragile than the ones that cost twice as much. If I were to get set for world travel, soft bags would be the choice. I am pleased with these. IMO, a decent value actually.

 

[Fster]

I had the locks installed and it only cost me 3 beers and since it was me drinking and installing technically it didn't cost me anything. Its no big deal to install the tumblers but as eltel62 said you need patience and good eyes but nothing hard about it.