[ChrisP222]

Hey All,

I'm trying to decide which luggage to buy. The choice is between the Honda Luggage and either the hard or soft luggage offered by Caribou

cariboucases.com/What-Fits-My-Bike/Honda-Africa-Twin-CRF1000L/honda-africa-twin-crf1000l-35-liter-pelican-side-luggage-pannier-system.html

and

cariboucases.com/What-Fits-My-Bike/Honda-Africa-Twin-CRF1000L/honda-africa-twin-crf1000l-35-liter-commando-soft-bag-side-luggage-system.htm


I'm leaning towards the soft luggage b/c I ride off road frequently but wondering if the OEM luggage is the best choice.

To me, its the best looking, hands down but the soft luggage won't break my leg in a fall and the Caribou (or was it Pelican?) hard luggage has a lifetime warranty and quick remove rack.

What's your experience with the OEM luggage like? Is it good/made well? Do you have the other luggage I linked to? Any regrets?


I'm purposely avoiding the Givi and SW-Motech options because I feel that they are over priced.

Thanks in advance.

Chris.

 

[ChrisP222]

Please disregard, found an earlier thread that had everything I needed.

Think I'm going to go with the OEM luggage which I found super cheap here: cheapcycleparts.com


Chris.

 

[6986]

I think the OEM is not very robust in a fall. I saw one early test where the tester dropped the bike on wet grass and if my memory serves me correctly the box did not survive intact, despite the soft landing . As far as I can remember the tester particularly brought attention to this fact. The photo on the home page of this forum is from that test. I think that is the case with many OEM boxes from various manufacturers. It certainly was with my Triumph where the OEM items were rubbish.


I use Givi pannier racks on both my bikes. Apart from their ability to carry luggage they also constitute a form of crashbar on the rear of the bike in a fall.

 

[ChrisP222]

Thanks, after more research, I changed my mind. I read too many reports about them breaking and being "cheap feeling" to justify the cost so I decided to buy the racks from cariboucases.com/What-Fits-My-Bike/Honda-Africa-Twin-CRF1000L

which will allow me to use the soft bags that I use with my DR650 and was thinking that since I'm far ahead on savings, that I'd also buy the Tusk Panniers from Rocky Mtn.

Chris.

 

[Ti04]

I have the OEM luggage and for street use I like it. Off road not so good. I laid my AT down gently in some soft mud/grass gook without any damage. Crashed at maybe 10mph on hard dirt and some rocks and it ruined my right case.
(If I had anything other than the OEM tires I do not think I would have gone down either time).

If I were going to be riding off road very much I think I would go with soft luggage on the sides and a Givi Monokey 45ltr. top case I already have. The Givi has withstood harder falls without any damage on my Transalp. The Givi will hold my helmet and jacket which give me quick security for those two items and the soft luggage would better stand up to a crash.

The OEM topcase will just hold my helmet plus a few small items but would not take helmet and jacket.
Jim

 

[jefeyay]

So far my OEM panniers are holding up but only one very slow tip over on a grassy hill. Not sure how much of the impact they took.

pros:
-one key
-cheaper than many aftermarket options
-no ugly rack system
-very easy to take off and put on

cons:
-setting up the locks took some time
-durability hasn't really been tested

So far I like them and I think they look better than most of the aftermarket stuff. Probably get some soft luggage if they break easily.

 

[Jackflash]

anyone fit a Givi Outback topcase yet? I'm getting conflicting info about the plate(s) necessary to attach it... Givi said the SR1144 package comes w/ the MBa plate, Motostorm says need to buy separately....

 

[kari4711]

Hi!

As far as I know GIVI topcases came without mounting items.

I found out and was told by GIVI Germany as well, you need a carrier plate Mx + the Topcase carrier (http://givishop.at/product_info.php/info/p6062_Topcase-Tr-ger-f-r-Monokey-und-Monolock-Koffer.html).


Greetings, gerhard

 

[XR650RRider]

Thanks, after more research, I changed my mind. I read too many reports about them breaking and being "cheap feeling" to justify the cost so I decided to buy the racks from cariboucases.com/What-Fits-My-Bike/Honda-Africa-Twin-CRF1000L

which will allow me to use the soft bags that I use with my DR650 and was thinking that since I'm far ahead on savings, that I'd also buy the Tusk Panniers from Rocky Mtn.

Chris.

I used the Givi PL144CAM racks (removed the quick attach hardware and replaced with 3/8" thick spacer), bought puck kit from happy trails and mounted the medium Tusk Panniers. Worked well and I have a Honda OEM topcase. Can install or remove all 3 under 2 minutes.

 

[Jimrides]

Have you looked at the SW Moteck Dakar soft bags as an option?
After using hard pannier system on my gs800, I am convinced the soft bags are the way to go for any off road tours
Waiting for mine to be deilvered

 

[Mastercore]

I had no idea really about panniers and only had a few weeks to get things ready for my first tour with my new Africa twin. I went for the OEM version.
My comments:

Panniers are easy to put on and take off the bike. The key locks them in place on to the bike so seems to be a secure option. I felt comfortable leaving them on the bike when parked.

Same key as ignition is a clean option.
Same key barrel to open the boxes as well. But the key is stuck inside the barrel when in the unlocked position meaning you have to move around with the key when farting around with both boxes.

I found it finicky to close the boxes. Seems that when packed, closing the box was fiddly. I feel it gets caught somehow on the locking latch and will not allow the box to close properly. This is a matter to get used to I think, but a bit poor on the design.

When on the bike, the left box, which is the biggest is leaning downward when the bike is on the side stand. All my **** kept coming out all over the road when I would open it. Adjusting what was in this box helped with time.

The right box, with the cutout for the exhaust does not stand on its own when off the bike. For that matter the left one stands a bit better but if the weight is in the "back" of the box, i.e closest to the bike when mounted, then this box also does not like to behave and stand up when off the bike.

The mounting slots on the bike may look nice and clean when the bags are off. i.e. about the only pannier solution that requires no obvious pannier frame, But the hooks on the boxes are huge! This makes it challenging to carry the boxes sometimes and when you are taking your **** into the hotel room for the night on the 4th floor with no elevator, this adds more headaches.

So, durability in a fall...
I completed a tour around eastern Europe last week and the bike had to go into the shop for repairs to the right side mounting structure on the bike and a new pannier.

First was a low speed tumble in the mud that knocked the right pannier off the bike and damaged some of the plastics around the mounting points on the bike. The pannier itself survived without incident. The mounting mechanism was still intact. The damage being aesthetic mainly. Though I contemplated as to how/why the pannier released off the bike as it did. Could this be some kind of intelligent release design to save gross damage in a fall?

Later on this trip, a riding partner ran into the right pannier with his own hard aluminium after market pannier and tore it right off my bike. His pannier was intact.
This really did a job on the pannier mounts now. The rear hook on the pannier broke right off, and the locking hook underneath the mounts on the bike tore right out meaning I could not mount or lock the pannier anymore.
I had to hand drill a hole through what was left of the rear most pannier hook and the mounting point on the bike and lash it down with dyneema cord.
The plastics in the back of the pannier also cracked badly. Ducktape fixed that for the rest of the trip but the waterproofing was not upto scratch anymore.

My crazed riding partner had another go at this pannier later and damaged the plastics on the pannier further.

The boxes cost about 750USD and I am not not sure they are worth the price.
A pannier rack and soft panniers may be a better bet for offroad touring I think