BadNews
"Not properly socialized"
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::
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::