Motorcycle panniers for your BMW GS
Posted on 2009/03/18
The BMW GS series of motorbikes are extremely popular after “The Long Way Round” dvd series was published. Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman embark on a round the world trip on two BMW GS bikes. The fact they had a budget bigger than most of us will ever see in our life and were followed by several support crews drew a lot of criticism from “real” adventure bikers who had been doing these kinds of trips on a shoestring for years.
These criticisms aside, the show resulted in a huge increase in sales for these types of bikes. Needless to say, a lot of men (and maybe some women) now have the urge to take these bikes on some adventure trips.
If you belong to this category of people, you’ll need some motorcycle accessories because these bikes are not prepared for round the world trips when they roll out of the showroom.
In this article we’ll talk about some accessories you need for your BMW GS but we wont cover personal accessories like helmets and further body protection – personal protection should always come first, before you start accessorizing the bike!
The first and most important accessory you need for your BMW GS are motorcycle panniers. “What on earth are panniers?” i hear you cry. Well, they are luggage carriers that are mounted on the side of the bike, on a separate luggage rack toward the back of the machine. If you’ve seen the Long Way Round –they are the big aluminum boxes covered with stickers. As you can imagine you can fit a lot of gear inside them (up to 80 liters combined!), contrary to tank bags in which you can usually store only as much as in a small backpack
You may get away with taking extended trips without having to get these expensive accessories ... but you wont get far. Steer clear of large backpacks and other cut-and-paste solutions – panniers are the best type of motorcycle luggage carries you can get. A range of motorycle panniers for BMW R1200GS Adventure is available from touratech, BMW, and various other companies.
Motorcycle panniers for your BMW GS are best suited for your heavier possessions: tools & spares, tent parts, books, cooking equipment etc. Keeping these heavy weights close to the ground means the bike will be more stable when riding (light gear like t-shirts and a small sleeping bag can be mounted higher up on the bike’s luggage rack without affecting its stability).
Motorcycle panniers can be “soft” or “hard”; the former ones are made from cordura type material that wont rip easily and the hard panniers are made from tough plastic or, even better, aluminum sheeting. Since the Long Way Round, I feel these hard panniers have become somewhat of a status symbol, like getting after market rims on your car. I see BMW GS’s riding around the city in during morning rush hour with mounted panniers and wonder why they need that.
Soft panniers are better in the sense that they are lighter. You can also have some fun improving them at home with some simple DIY skills: buy some hard plastic sheeting to make a “wall support” inside the panniers for extra stability. And make sure they don’t move around too much when riding, because the abrasion might damage the paint work on your bike.
Some companies are so confident about the quality of their soft panniers that they offer unconditional guarantees in the event of them getting damaged. With an option like this, one could seriously consider them a better accessory for your BMW GS than hard panniers.
However, I still feel that for long hard trips lasting several weeks, you need the support of hard metal to protect your belongings. Keep in mind that guarantees offered on these items are often times not so good: you fall, you damage, you pay 1000USD for new ones. But at least you’ll be able to limp home without your stuff spilling out as would be the case with soft panniers.
Recommended: Motorcycle, Car, 4x4 Luggage Systems - Metal Mule
The Metal Mule touring aluminum luggage system is tough and wont let you down, where ever the road takes you. Metal aluminium panniers and topboxs, rear racks designed for your expedition.
Next: check out 5 things to look out for when you’re considering motorcycle luggage carriers, baggage and panniers
