I mentioned this in another topic and I wondered what the general opinion is?
I started touring properly on a ZZR1400 with Givi V35's, these were "small" panniers designed to fit on sportsbikes and as the name suggests about 35L in capacity.
When moving to the GS I was worried about the Vario's as they apparently were "only" 68L combined, however the V35's on the old bike were a sort of Diamond shape and despite the larger on paper capacity the GS cases can fit in a fair bit more with the smaller one taking almost as much as the V35, and the larger ones holding loads of gear.
I do really like the look of the Yamaha boxes and even think the mechanism seems OK judgin by the video, I think many in the press just did not know how to operate it (and were incapable of RTFM)
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/products/modelvideo/651/1136/0/video.aspx
I still think for solo use the Yamaha cases are great, the fit nicely, look good and have enough capacity for one person. But for two-up use I think they are too small, being square helps as they are more "stuffable" but I think losing 6L on the side cases and about another 8L from the top box makes the 92L of Tenere capacity seem a bit small after the 106L on my GS (which I find just adequate)
I have not done the maths, but I would guess just an inch extra on each side would have given another 5L per case, and another 5L on the Top Box (which is tiny compared to almost any other case on the market) would have helped at least match BMW's smallest set - at the end of the day that is what Yamaha are trying to compete with.
In fact Yamaha are really trying to punt the Tenere against both stock and Adventure BMW's, and the Adventure comes with 82L side cases.
I can get cases in 33 / 45 (Givi) or 37 / 45 (motech) which adds up to 78L or 82L, and if you don't mind having the bike a shade wider on one side you could use 2 x 45L to make up 90L in total, even using the two smallest cases from givi still provides more space than the Yamaha's.
All the top boxes I have looked at are larger than Yamaha's which looks like it may not even hold a helmet - another point of OEM luggage is it won't take a crash helmet - something luggage is oten judged by (number of helmets a box can hold)
I really do think the luggage design team had never toured on a motorcycle, sure it looks neat, is narrow but it does not carry much, is incapable of holding Helmet (maybe one in the top box?) and you have to use the key every time you want to get into it - the BMW system on the Vario's is brilliant, normally the Japanese just copy (often improving on the original) but in this instance seemed to miss the point (or several of them)
Obviously this is my opinion, based on my needs, but what do you lot think?
I started touring properly on a ZZR1400 with Givi V35's, these were "small" panniers designed to fit on sportsbikes and as the name suggests about 35L in capacity.
When moving to the GS I was worried about the Vario's as they apparently were "only" 68L combined, however the V35's on the old bike were a sort of Diamond shape and despite the larger on paper capacity the GS cases can fit in a fair bit more with the smaller one taking almost as much as the V35, and the larger ones holding loads of gear.
I do really like the look of the Yamaha boxes and even think the mechanism seems OK judgin by the video, I think many in the press just did not know how to operate it (and were incapable of RTFM)
http://www.yamaha-motor.com/sport/products/modelvideo/651/1136/0/video.aspx
I still think for solo use the Yamaha cases are great, the fit nicely, look good and have enough capacity for one person. But for two-up use I think they are too small, being square helps as they are more "stuffable" but I think losing 6L on the side cases and about another 8L from the top box makes the 92L of Tenere capacity seem a bit small after the 106L on my GS (which I find just adequate)
I have not done the maths, but I would guess just an inch extra on each side would have given another 5L per case, and another 5L on the Top Box (which is tiny compared to almost any other case on the market) would have helped at least match BMW's smallest set - at the end of the day that is what Yamaha are trying to compete with.
In fact Yamaha are really trying to punt the Tenere against both stock and Adventure BMW's, and the Adventure comes with 82L side cases.
I can get cases in 33 / 45 (Givi) or 37 / 45 (motech) which adds up to 78L or 82L, and if you don't mind having the bike a shade wider on one side you could use 2 x 45L to make up 90L in total, even using the two smallest cases from givi still provides more space than the Yamaha's.
All the top boxes I have looked at are larger than Yamaha's which looks like it may not even hold a helmet - another point of OEM luggage is it won't take a crash helmet - something luggage is oten judged by (number of helmets a box can hold)
I really do think the luggage design team had never toured on a motorcycle, sure it looks neat, is narrow but it does not carry much, is incapable of holding Helmet (maybe one in the top box?) and you have to use the key every time you want to get into it - the BMW system on the Vario's is brilliant, normally the Japanese just copy (often improving on the original) but in this instance seemed to miss the point (or several of them)
Obviously this is my opinion, based on my needs, but what do you lot think?