7 competitors for your side case patronage.

[BadNews]

I spent a whole day comparing luggage systems (online) for my new 2015 ST. Here is a rundown on 7 of the competitors for my pannier business. I was trying to keep the sizes I compared to the 35-40 liter per bag range, just to make it fair. My local dealer gave me the following prices:
Yamaha OEM cases and rack: $1263 including mounting racks. I rated this as a poor deal.
Givi: $1149 including racks for a 37 liter set. Lot’s of people like Givi, for some reason I just can't get on board with them. If you have them and like them, post up the pros and cons for us. In fact, if you have any of the bags listed, post up the pros and cons of your experience with them for the benefit of those of us who are still deciding. Thanks!
No shipping on either of the above if I order from my dealer.

I dug the following prices up on the internet, no tax is included, some of these may offer free shipping.

Hepco-Becker: racks are $345 and look to be very high quality, 40L Explorer set $821, total of $1165; 30L Explorer set $761, total of $1105. I did not care for the Explorers as they are made partly of aluminum (1.5mm) and partly of ABS, too many points where they could fail, rattle, leak, IMO.
35 L Alu-Standard set $811, total of $1156. These are competitive with Jesse, IMO. You will likely have to pay shipping. Hepco has some other bags but they are priced way out of my budget, the Alu-Exclusiv, something like $650-$750 per bag. They must be lined with gold plate.

Moose Racing: 40L set including racks $1100 (these are very nice set) They are available at many locations, several online stores offer free shipping on these. 1.5mm aluminum. I like the tie down points attached, nothing extra to buy there. If you have these, did you buy a smaller size for the exhaust side? If you did buy two different sizes, what sizes did you get? These are on my short list.

Jesse Luggage: Odyssey ll 8" or 10" set $980 plus $300 for the racks, total $1280, add shipping. These are high quality, 2mm thick, I like the shape of them and have read some very good reviews of them. No need to bother with getting two different sizes to allow for the exhaust, that is taken care of when you buy the set. The 10" set has the highest capacity of about 95 liters. These are also a strong contender for my dollar.

Happy Trail: 39L Teton set, black only but includes racks and free shipping on the panniers only, $955 which is a very good deal. These are made from .080 aluminum, thats 2.032 millimeters. They have some larger and some smaller bags and offer some options. The price is good, but they seem kind of clunky, IMO. What do you think?

Caribou: these use the Hepco-Becker racks which are included in the price of the 36L top loader Pelican cases of $945. This looked like a super deal until I read that the total width was 43”! Of course Pelican cases have a very good reputation. Caribou also has different sizes and some side loaders with gussets so stuff doesn't fall out.

No, I'm not posting pics as they are readily available on the respective websites. I just thought it would be handy for anyone looking to see a synopsis of size, price, etc.

Right now I've narrowed it down to Moose or Jesse. I'll sleep on it, then see if anyone has any strong opinions one way or the other.

Have at it!

Edit/Update: In doing further research I checked into the Bumot Defender cases and was thoroughly impressed! These babies look to be very well thought out from the installation of the racks onward. 2mm aluminum, all locks keyed alike, easy on/off but will lock on with key, 3L locking toolkit box integrated into the rack behind the case, liner options, powdercoated inside and out. I decided these were what I was looking for and ordered the large set with the tool box for a total of $1303.98 shipped. Not looking back. ::013::

 

[patrickg450]

STOP!!!!!!


Go Carribou, end of story. Unless you are riding single track, mine are not 43" wide. I would call dude he is super cool.

 

[WJBertrand]

Did a similar analysis using price and narrowness as my main criteria. I boiled it down to Jesse and OEM. Narrowness is important where I live in California since lane splitting is allowed. I found a set of brand new, in the box, OEM panniers on ebay for less than $900 including all the mounting brackets, no tax & free shipping. Simultaneous to that find I started hearing from a few folks I know that the Jesse bags leak in the rain, they were also more expensive so I ended up going OEM. I like their appearance better than the Jesse's and I think they are significantly lighter. What I also like is that the mounting hardware is pretty inconspicuous when the bags are removed. They have so far proven to be water tight but the latches are pretty much rubbish, though I've not had any reliability issues with them.

 

[BadNews]

STOP!!!!!!


Go Carribou, end of story. Unless you are riding single track, mine are not 43" wide. I would call dude he is super cool.

His web site says the 36L top loaders are 43" wide, and yet, I'm interested, because price is very important. Got a picture of your setup?

 

[CentralCal]

Did a similar analysis using price and narrowness as my main criteria. I boiled it down to Jesse and OEM. Narrowness is important where I live in California since lane splitting is allowed. I found a set of brand new, in the box, OEM panniers on ebay for less than $900 including all the mounting brackets, no tax & free shipping. Simultaneous to that find I started hearing from a few folks I know that the Jesse bags leak in the rain, they were also more expensive so I ended up going OEM. I like their appearance better than the Jesse's and I think they are significantly lighter. What I also like is that the mounting hardware is pretty inconspicuous when the bags are removed. They have so far proven to be water tight but the latches are pretty much rubbish, though I've not had any reliability issues with them.

::026::
I agree. can usually find a like new set for reasonable price. I bought mine off this forum. I like that they are narrow and if removed don't even notice the brackets. no issues with mine yet. Just press down when you lock and unlock them.

 

[Kurgan]

My wife and I have run the original Givi Trekkers on every bike we have since they were introduced. We have two sets of 33's, two 46's and two 52's for top cases. No leaks, no issues, they just work as they are supposed to. You can buy a set of 33 liter bags for $611 shipped or a set of 46 liter bags for $639 shipped. Side mount racks I think are about $250

 

[patrickg450]

His web site says the 36L top loaders are 43" wide, and yet, I'm interested, because price is very important. Got a picture of your setup?

yea man, I can do tonight or this weekend.


I have seen the jesse and a few others, NICE!!!!! Real nice in fact. My opinion towards carribou was just reinforced this past ride..........


KTM 990 with aluminum hard bags damaged by a rock that flew up from the KTM 950 in front of him. I watched him bang away for 15-20 min. About 3 mins after that I dumped mine in a creek crossing. Whne he came oiver to help me pick up the ST. Sure he was full of grins as to bost about my mistake. I dropped the kick stand and wiped off the dirt/gunk, then pointed and said look (scratches and marked up) that is like the 6 or 7 time it has been down on that side.

 

[patrickg450]

under 36"

 

[Jeff Milleman]

Got some OEM cases for 550.00 on E-Bay they look like new , they don't leak and there lite. I got the locks with them and today I had a shorter key made as it seams easier to open . You'll figure it out .get what you want and DON'T look back .

 

[BadNews]

under 36"

I guess I care a bit more about looks than I thought!

Those are awesome! More power to ya!

 

[ride1st]

I got the oem bags on my Tenere because Yamaha was offering $1200 in free accessories at the time. They're light, fairly narrow, water proof and look decent on the bike. I doubt they would fair to well if the bike is dropped. The latches and locks suck. My top case was replaced under warranty because the latch stopped working and it couldn't be opened. You couldn't turn the key to open it. I loctited the screws on all the locks because they are known to come loose and will keep you from opening the bags.

My wife has Jesse bags on her F700GS. A much heavier, stronger designed bag. They hod quite a lot while still maintaining a narrow overall profile. She's only had the bike in light rain but no problems with leaks. They cost more, but Jesse is what I would buy if I had to replace my current bags.

 

[colorider]

Got some OEM cases for 550.00 on E-Bay they look like new , they don't leak and there lite. I got the locks with them and today I had a shorter key made as it seams easier to open . You'll figure it out .get what you want and DON'T look back .

What key blank did you use and where did you find it? I'm aware of the ilco x254 blank, but thus far have only found it on line.

TIA

 

[bnschroder]

Two thumbs up on the Caribou/Pelican cases. Yes - they are not as pretty as others, but they are in fact the best crash bars for your bike, come with a lifetime warranty, fit the rugged image, and while side opening isn't ideal, it has the upside that you can access them with your stuff all piled on topic them. And did u say waterproof?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[patrickg450]

Two thumbs up on the Caribou/Pelican cases. Yes - they are not as pretty as others, but they are in fact the best crash bars for your bike, come with a lifetime warranty, fit the rugged image, and while side opening isn't ideal, it has the upside that you can access them with your stuff all piled on topic them. And did u say waterproof?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

+1


they do have top openers........( is that a word ), but they are a bit wider. I agree that there are some sexy looking cases, another reason I am NOT on a beemer. The Pelican have a life time warranty, I have more than a few get offs on each side. Yea I coulda cleaned them up a bit, pretty sure I did on the top one after Romeny.


Tell me how much you are spending again?

 

[Jeff Milleman]

Ha Colorider , I just went to a good lock smith and matched up a shorter key that fit in the locks then cut it ,Works good . Thats after going to a dealer and asking about a Kaw #08 key that someone said fit.He said I need the Vin ..so that diddn't work . Got it handled , works well

 

[colorider]

Ha Colorider , I just went to a good lock smith and matched up a shorter key that fit in the locks then cut it ,Works good . Thats after going to a dealer and asking about a Kaw #08 key that someone said fit.He said I need the Vin ..so that diddn't work . Got it handled , works well

Chances are then that you ended up wit the same blank I mentioned above, which I hear from "good authority" works great. I plan to check out a lock smith tomorrow.

THanks!!!

 

[cromschild]

I was like most on here and did my research before settling on my Givi Outback Trekker series. Not only do they have great customer service (Nevada), they are water tight, have a good locking system, and just look awesome in my opinion. I live in California, and as you can see from my photos, I have offset panniers. My point is they are no wider than my handle bars and I can lane split in most conditions with little or no problem.

I hope this helps,
Lenny

 

[Kabish]

Those look huge without the aspect of the bars being in the shot. I'm also a newbie and also live in SoCal and losing my lane split width is a big deal. I had honestly thought about not doing side bags at all, but if they are with width of the bars..... not reason not too..

 

[Texasten]

Ha, I second the motion on the Givi Outback cases. Plus you can close them securely without locking them which is a nice feature.
Bought them from Italy at a ridiculous price, something like 7 or 8 hundred shipped, for all 3.

 

[WJBertrand]

I was like most on here and did my research before settling on my Givi Outback Trekker series. Not only do they have great customer service (Nevada), they are water tight, have a good locking system, and just look awesome in my opinion. I live in California, and as you can see from my photos, I have offset panniers. My point is they are no wider than my handle bars and I can lane split in most conditions with little or no problem.

I hope this helps,
Lenny

Wow, that looks way wide! What does it measure across?