Soft Panniers

[Vard66]

I presume one would need to reattach the small rails under the tail fairings to attach them to the bike properly?

Anyone who uses them on the ZXR, have you found a preference?

[zimm]

i've had some oxford sports panniers for about 10 years .. excellent bit of kit.. did over 100,000 miles with them on various bikes when i was a courier, they still look new and i bought them secondhand !

attaching them isnt really the problem .. they'll stay on under their own weight usually + you're normally sat on the front strap anyway.. but they do flap about a bit at speed unless secured .. i bungee them to the pillion peg hangers ..

the little grab rail things would help prevent them cracking the plastics though, so it would be worth putting them back on if they arent fitted.

main problem though is protecting your paintwork from them, a roll-mat from a camping store cut to size and a towel or 2 help, but you'll get scuff's here and there anyway.

given how tidy your bike is .. get a luggage rack and bungee a small rucksack to it*, much neater and less chance of damage.

*EDIT : i think they call them tailpacks .. lol

[Vard66]

Aye, I'm planning on picking up a US-10 for the tailpack, but I'd rather have a pair of soft panniers than a backpack, perhaps I'm not alone in that view, but I'd rather have the gear strapped to the bike while I'm riding, it's just more comfortable.

As far as the plastics go, and in fact, the general tidiness of the bike, she's not THAT tidy, and I'm going to be repairing various bits and bobs of the fairings with some fiberglass and filler, and respraying them in the right shade of green in the winter anyway, so I'm not fashed by scuffs. Cracked fairings, I'd rather avoid, so I'll whack the grab rails back on and use some bungies to keep them secure. Might have to get some bungies though, not sure I've got any.

[Xphyral]

i bought one of these a couple of years, fantastic bag. tardis like capacity and it's waist strap will strap around the tail unit itself nice and snugly then just a couple of bungee's and it's nice and secure on my pillion seat. plus i can then just whip it off and carry it around nice and easy, dont dismiss a good rucksack

[Vard66]

Not dismissing them, and fwiw, I'm eyeing up the Kriega R25 rather speculatively, there's owt but praises sung on every review I've ever found for it.
Bonus with that, will be that it will be compatible with the US-10, also, which would be convenient...
However, I also am trying to hunt for biker-biased rucksacks designed for camera carriage. Not having a great deal of success, but then I'm tired, so maybe that's just me failing or not noticing; and on that basis, if anyone knows of any decent companies that retail such items, please feel free to PM me or just tell me in here.
Doesn't have to be a full DSLR loadout backpack, but it would help, as I'm starting to consider taking the plunge...

*Edit* Or I will be starting to consider it when my monetary status equalises... So, a while yet.

[crushedlizard]

I with you on the rucksacks. They are the most practical means but I don't like the idea of having an 'off' and landing on a bag full stuff. Plus I wear a back protector so get pretty sweaty as it is.

I've got a US-10 and it's very good. holds a surprising amount (though I doubt you'll get trainers/shoes in there).
It's almost exactly the same size as the ZXR pillion seat so looks very discrete and seams very stable at high speed. I use it to carry overnight clothes or my SLR etc. unclips in seconds so you can carry it with you if you leave your bike.

I think that's one issue about panniers - you don't want to be leaving stuff with your bike, and you don't want to be spending 10mins unclipping everything and then lugging it around. Might be able to get some knife-proof ones though. They have mesh sewn in so they don't cut easily. I know you can get helmet bags but not sure about panniers.

Suppose it depends on where you will use them most. Do you want to affect your body movement, or the bike's handling? If you went to the Stelvio Pass, you don't want to have a bike that handles like a Goldwing!

[Xphyral]

i've had an off with a rucksack on, tbh i never really noticed i was wearing it at the time i couldnt really tell what position my body was in to start with

that hedgren rucksack i strap to my pillion seat if i'm going to be filling it up though. i used it as my luggage for a week in italy i managed to fit in it:
3 pairs of jeans
4 t-shirts
2 shirts
5 pairs of pants
3 pairs of socks
hat
sunglasses
suncream
aftersun
aftershave
2 lynx cans
toothpaste
toothbrush
electric razor
first aid kit
various tablets for headaches and tha squirts just incase
and my rather large digital camera.


needless to say it impressed me a lot

[Vard66]

Fair enough.
Just secured a US-10 on t'Bay, for £32 all told, so £8 cheaper than from Kriega. Not much of a saving, but I'm f**ked for money, so every little helps.
When it arrives, I'll see just how much crap I can cram into it, and report back!

The thought about the bike's movement is a valid one. At the moment, my view on Rucksacks, however, isn't a particularly good one, as the only rucksacks I've got to use, are an old one that I've bodged the right hand strap for with an old bandanna, and one my brother was given at Red Bull.
The Red Bull one is good, but it still shifts about a hell of a lot on my back, or if I tighten it to the point where it doesn't shift, it cuts my movement ability in my arms down very dramatically.
As I said, I'll probably get an R-25 at some point.

As an afterthought, can Panniers create any more side effects than more or less a really, really light pillion, without the certainty of a pillion shifting about?

[deviant]

Where possible, I agree with Xphy about not leaving stuff on the bike, but in practise if you go away for a reasonable amount of time or go camping or otherwise need to carry a lot of stuff then you need to put some of that weight on the bike rather than your back. I tend to make sure everything important or valuable is in a rucksack or tankbag that I can take with me if I have to leave the bike. Stuff like clothes, sleeping bag, tent, etc go in panniers or tailpack. I'd still be upset if that stuff got nicked, but it's not as bad as having your passport/wallet/phone/camera nicked in a foreign country.

Rucksack:

I've got a Kriega R35 that I bought when Scott221 did the bulk order earlier in the year. It's ace and will easily swallow a weekend's worth of kit, especially when combined with the US10.

Panniers:

I've got a set of Tech7 luggage - see http://www.mandp.co.uk/productInfo.aspx?catRef=901543

It's cheap and cheerful but it's robust and the panniers are the right size to suit the ZXR pretty well. There are three velcro straps that go across the tail - one goes across the tailpiece then you put the seat back on and do the other two up over the top. That in it's own is pretty secure, but I then bungee/strap the front of each one down to the pillion pegs, and strap the back end of them together under the tailpiece.

The grab handles are pretty irrelevant if you've got panniers on - they are completely hidden behind them. The only time I use mine to bungee to is if I've just got a tailpack on and no panniers.

Carrying a Camera:

My US-10 has made my camera bag redundant. It swallows the following:

- Nikon D40
- 18-55 Lens
- 55-200 Lens
- Micro tripod
- Memory Cards
- Notebook and pen
- Other odds and sods.

Obviously everything just goes in loose - I've usually got the long lens in a soft pouch and tend to tuck the camera and short lens into a wooly hat before dropping it in (the hat then comes in useful to keep my girly long hair out of my face when taking photos at windy racetracks ). It's only lightly padded but I get round that by not dropping it.

It can either go on the pillion seat or on the back of the R35, and when I'm shooting it goes round my waist using one of the included straps. Hangs nicely on the outside of my leg and is easy to fish stuff out of. Plus of course if it rains I can just drop the camera back in and seal it up. If you aren't a skinny streak like me you might have to make up a longer strap to reach round your waist , but that's just a case of buying a length of 1" webbing and fitting the clips to it.

As and when I buy more camera kit I'll seriously consider buying another US-10 to go on the other leg.

[deviant]

A couple of examples based on recent trips I've done.


1) Weekend away at bike races, staying in rented cottage.

This was my trip to the Bemsee round at Croix-en-Ternois in June. I took the R35 + US10 combo. The R35 took my sleeping bag, clothes, non-bike shoes, wash kit, towel, etc. The US-10 had all my camera kit as described in the last post. In addition I had my waterproof oversuit bungied to the pillion seat and a map taped to the tank.

You could easily stretch this out to a week long trip, especially if you didn't need to take a sleeping bag. It works pretty well because apart from the waterproofs everything is on your back, so no concerns about leaving the bike.

2) Two weeks bike touring, camping.

This was my holiday to Europe in July. Two bikes loaded up for me and mrs.deviant.

The ZXR had tankbag, panniers, tailpack (the Tech7 kit in the link above). The GPZ had tankbag plus a pair of huge old Oxford panniers, no tailpack. I also wore the R35 for the duration, and took the camera kit again in the US10. Most of the time the US10 was strapped to the top of the Tech7 tankbag, and I just unclipped it when I needed to leave the bike. Alternatively I just dropped it inside the R35 because it was rarely full.

Basically our tent, airbed and footpump took up the tailpack and one of the panniers on the ZXR, then the other pannier and the two panniers on the GPZ took clothes, tools, stove, pots/pans, and everything else. We just put waterproofs, locks, and stand pucks in the tankbags on each bike.

I had my knee down several times with all the luggage on plus the R35, so it's fair to say none of it was restricting my movement on the bike! I wish we'd got a photo because it must have been quite a funny sight.

[zimm]

can Panniers create any more side effects than more or less a really, really light pillion, without the certainty of a pillion shifting about?

once you re-calibrate to the extra weight,(bought 2 minutes) its like they arent there.. just be careful filtering and remember your bike is a foot or so wider..

[Vard66]

can Panniers create any more side effects than more or less a really, really light pillion, without the certainty of a pillion shifting about?

once you re-calibrate to the extra weight,(bought 2 minutes) its like they arent there.. just be careful filtering and remember your bike is a foot or so wider..

'Re-calibrate'?!?

[zimm]

"get used to"

[Xphyral]

Where possible, I agree with Xphy about not leaving stuff on the bike, but in practise if you go away for a reasonable amount of time or go camping or otherwise need to carry a lot of stuff then you need to put some of that weight on the bike rather than your back. I tend to make sure everything important or valuable is in a rucksack or tankbag that I can take with me if I have to leave the bike. Stuff like clothes, sleeping bag, tent, etc go in panniers or tailpack. I'd still be upset if that stuff got nicked, but it's not as bad as having your passport/wallet/phone/camera nicked in a foreign country.

are people missing the bit where i keep saying it will strap onto my tailunit? no way on earth would i be sticking that on my back while riding if it was full
i have a nice little camelpack i can use for carrying extra little things plus... WATER!

[Vard66]

"get used to"

I did hope that was what you meant. Re-calibrate sounds rather... intricate.