Jesse Bags....Odyssey II's vs. Safari II's - what to buy?

[stevepsd]

All right folks, getting ready to pull the trigger on some Jesse Bags. Undecided about the 10" Odyssey II's vs the 9" Safari II's.

Looking for opinions, it would be really great if someone has had both to compare.

Overall here is what I am thinking:

I like the slimmer mounted width of the Safari's - Jesse says you can get these down to 33" mounted vs. 35(ish)" for the Odyssey's.
Don't care so much for angled opening of the lids of the Safaris. Don't know if the angled lids have any practical difference in packing/useable space or not?
I like the rounded corners on the Safari, but don't know if they are as crash proof as the square corners on the Odyssey.
Might the more rounded and slimmer profile of the Safari be a plus for fuel mileage compared to the more boxy Odysseys?
Is the 1" less width really noticeable in 'packability'?
Is there lid storage in the Safari like in the Odyssey?
The Odyssey is quite a bit cheaper and is very popular (for a reason), not so much it seems for the Safari's.

So...anyone have any pro's / con's of either?

Thanks!

-steve

 

[dcc46]

I have the Odyssey 2 bags and they are big, if I had it to do over again I would go with the narrower bags.

Sent from my HTC EVO using Tapatalk

 

[Mellow]

I just got the 10"Odyssey IIs and they are pretty cool..

Yes, they look wide but when I started packing just to see how I'd pack.. decided I didn't need a top box anymore.. so, drilled a few holes in my brand new bags and added a powerlet bulkhead connection to be able to charge phone/computer in the right bag. Now, I can pack my duffel length-wise and still open the lids.

Not sure if the 1" would make a difference in packing. I don't feel like it would be a big difference and it does look like the lid storage is more in the safaris.. I have my raingear in one lid with some space still left for gloves.

The Jesse bags are very good quality, best I've seen. Waterproof, tough and made in the USA. My 1st call to them, Al himself answered the phone and took my order.

Now that I have the 10's... I don't feel like I would want smaller bags... I've never seen them 9's in person, just pictures and the left one just looks too small to me.

 

[Twisties]

I like the slimmer mounted width of the Safari's - Jesse says you can get these down to 33" mounted vs. 35(ish)" for the Odyssey's.

I don't think 35" is at all realistic for the Odysseys, although I would be interested to hear what others are achieving. I wouldn't plan on much under 37" with the passenger grab rails removed (I am at 36 3/4" neglecting the outward facing hinges). Also, unless Al has changed the mounting kit (which he told me he was working on), you will need to purchase hardware to mount that way. If you want to cut into or remove the OEM under pillion seat luggage carrier you could probably squeeze another half inch off them. Note that the widest point is towards the front of the bike.

Al is supposed to be updating the installation instructions as well, but has been shipping with none. The old xplorermoto installation instructions are available HERE, at least for the moment.

My wife has the Safari's on her F650 GS. On the GS both bags get cut outs, and I felt they were a bit small, so I went with the Odysseys. They are huge. I think both choices are reasonably durable and sturdy. The radiused corners are plenty strong. You should decide based on appearance, price and size. Personally, given the fact that a 35" mount width is not achievable, I wish I had gone with the smaller Safari bags.

 

[Don in Lodi]

About the only thing of note I have with my Safari bags is that they seem to ride higher than the Odyssey bags. The Odyssey look to be flush with the top of the passenger seat. If my seat was on, my lids would be at least a couple inches above that. Not sure if it's all lid height or not. Maybe because of the lid depth the mounts are lower, raising the entire bag? The lids leave a huge canyon between them for any kind of duffel to be laid in lengthwise.

The bags can be slid far enough forward that you can't fold down the passenger pegs. Mine are just short of that and they just touch my hips every once in a while. Storage in the lids is spacious. The Z bracket hold down in the lid won't hold small items unless you capture said small item w/ something else, so you'll need a bag to store small stuff in the lids. (they sell 'em) Bike cover and Frogg Toggs are all that ride up there right now. Oh, and a Stinger flashlight and a spare pair of gloves. A put-your-foot-down-in-open-space solid tip over did nothing to the bag but mess up the powder coating on one corner. Super stout bags and hardware. I didn't intend to spend the bucks, but I'm glad I did.

 

[ThatsLife]

I'm of the opinion that most bystanders wouldn't notice the difference in the overall width of the two sizes on the bike. That's one of the reasons that I didn't bother removing the grab handles to pull them in tighter. Although I think the difference in capacity between the 9" safari and the 10" Odyssey would be noticeable when you wanted to load them up. The Odyssey's really swallow up a lot of stuff! So much so that I don't anticipate the need for a top box. The overall width is still narrower than my buddy's GSA with the BMW cases and mine are larger in capacity.

I seriously doubt that the rounded corners of the Safari's would provide any benefits other than appearance. It's a style preference. Personally I don't care for the slanted lids or the taller stature of the Safari's but to each his own. However if I did, I would seriously consider the 11" Safari's instead of the 9". I mean what's another couple of inches, right? Seriously though, I bought the lid liners for my Odyssey's and keep lots of small stuff them and it works out great for me. Not sure if the liners work on the Safari's?

The capacity of the Odyssey's is larger than most, if not all, of the competitors but narrower in width than most also. Most of the time I will not come close to using all of the space but it's there when I need it. I was afraid that they would look too big on the bike at first, but they look awesome in person. I love the Odyssey's and I am genuinely happy that I chose them over something smaller/narrower. Except when I go to scrape all the bug guts off of them!

All opinions here so do with them as you wish. Good luck in whichever style you chose and don't forget to post the pics!

 

[stevepsd]

I don't think 35" is at all realistic for the Odysseys, although I would be interested to hear what others are achieving. I wouldn't plan on much under 37" with the passenger grab rails removed (I am at 36 3/4" neglecting the outward facing hinges). Also, unless Al has changed the mounting kit (which he told me he was working on), you will need to purchase hardware to mount that way. If you want to cut into or remove the OEM under pillion seat luggage carrier you could probably squeeze another half inch off them. Note that the widest point is towards the front of the bike.

I have seen pics posted here of the Odyssey bags at just over 35" to 35.5" or so at the back. Are you saying that the mounted bags are splayed-out and are wider at the front than the back, by like a 1.5"????

 

[RCDantzscher]

I saw my first Jesse bag back in '98...Al sure has done a sweet job building these over these many years; My dad still has those bags and they work perfectly, inspite of time and miles. Once you have a pair of these bags, you'll never go to another maker.

I have a set on my Wee. They have never disapointed me. My Oddysey bags will arrive for my Super T next week... Save the money and use the difference for another farkle; once you start using the Jesses, the price tag will fad immediately.

My neighbor dropped his GS on some mexican road last winter; it hardly stratched the Safari's and probably saved him from personal injury, to boot. Either bag won't let you down. There is no 'wrong' choice.

 

[maddog5150]

I don't think 35" is at all realistic for the Odysseys, although I would be interested to hear what others are achieving. I wouldn't plan on much under 37" with the passenger grab rails removed (I am at 36 3/4" neglecting the outward facing hinges). Also, unless Al has changed the mounting kit (which he told me he was working on), you will need to purchase hardware to mount that way. If you want to cut into or remove the OEM under pillion seat luggage carrier you could probably squeeze another half inch off them. Note that the widest point is towards the front of the bike.

I got my Odyssey's to be 35.5" across the back of the bags. The only thing I needed to purchase was some shorter bolts and then drop the grab bars. The included Jesse spacers ended up being perfect, to get them in that tight.

For me I did really like the look of the /safari's, but I saw a set in person and for me, the left bag with the cut out for the exhaust seemed narrow. I like to run without a top case, so I wanted the extra space. However the 11" Safari's seemed really f'n huge, and the fact that they were more money helped me pick the Odyssey's. For commuting and most days, they are overkill, I admit. But man is it nice to have all that space for stuff. When the Mrs. goes we can both bring extra jackets, purse, etc... I also didnt like how high the Safari;s seemed to mount. My Odyssey's are pretty much fluch with the top of the passenger seat

I love these bags and have no regrets about going with the Odyssey's. Perfectr "middle" ground b/w the safari's

 

[Mellow]

I got my Odyssey's to be 35.5" across the back of the bags. The only thing I needed to purchase was some shorter bolts and then drop the grab bars. The included Jesse spacers ended up being perfect, to get them in that tight.

For me I did really like the look of the /safari's, but I saw a set in person and for me, the left bag with the cut out for the exhaust seemed narrow. I like to run without a top case, so I wanted the extra space. However the 11" Safari's seemed really f'n huge, and the fact that they were more money helped me pick the Odyssey's. For commuting and most days, they are overkill, I admit. But man is it nice to have all that space for stuff. When the Mrs. goes we can both bring extra jackets, purse, etc... I also didnt like how high the Safari;s seemed to mount. My Odyssey's are pretty much fluch with the top of the passenger seat

I love these bags and have no regrets about going with the Odyssey's. Perfectr "middle" ground b/w the safari's

I was going to remove the grab rails to see how I'd like that but the rear grab rail bolt seems to run out of thread before it locks down and there doesn't seem to be enough room on the front grab rail section as the luggage tie down there looks to be in the way. Curious how you even got it to work. I'm assuming the only think you're supposed to do is remove the grabrail and put both supplied spacers and bolts in those areas and then just remove the spacer that attaches to the pass foot rest on the left and one of the two spacers in that area on the right side?

 

[hANNAbONE]

...I actually got the 10" silver Odyssey's that were in the photo shoot.

Al Jesse is a friend of mine.

Anywho - I'm loving the 10" O's

 

[houndman]

Waiting for Holans, if their shipment is screwed up, will go with the "J"s. With the Safari 9", with the raised lid etc. can the passenger sit there without sides of bags hitting :question: ?

About the only thing of note I have with my Safari bags is that they seem to ride higher than the Odyssey bags. The Odyssey look to be flush with the top of the passenger seat. If my seat was on, my lids would be at least a couple inches above that. Not sure if it's all lid height or not. Maybe because of the lid depth the mounts are lower, raising the entire bag? The lids leave a huge canyon between them for any kind of duffel to be laid in lengthwise.

The bags can be slid far enough forward that you can't fold down the passenger pegs. Mine are just short of that and they just touch my hips every once in a while. Storage in the lids is spacious. The Z bracket hold down in the lid won't hold small items unless you capture said small item w/ something else, so you'll need a bag to store small stuff in the lids. (they sell 'em) Bike cover and Frogg Toggs are all that ride up there right now. Oh, and a Stinger flashlight and a spare pair of gloves. A put-your-foot-down-in-open-space solid tip over did nothing to the bag but mess up the powder coating on one corner. Super stout bags and hardware. I didn't intend to spend the bucks, but I'm glad I did.

 

[Twisties]

I have seen pics posted here of the Odyssey bags at just over 35" to 35.5" or so at the back. Are you saying that the mounted bags are splayed-out and are wider at the front than the back, by like a 1.5"????

In the mounting kit I received, for use at the main mount points where the passenger grab rails are on an OEM configuration, were 4 ea M10 1.25 x 90 bolts, 4 ea 1" spacers, and 4 ea 3/8" spacers. One set comprised of one each of these three parts is used at each of the 4 passenger grab rail mount points. These work fine with the passenger grab rails in place. However, as you may note, the amount of spacer at each of the 4 mount points is equal. Moving along then....

I found that in removing the passenger grab rails several changes were required. First, the supplied M10 bolts are too long. I got 4 ea. M10 1.25 x 80.

I also realized in dry fitting that the supplied spacers would not work with the OEM under pillion seat luggage rack/luggage tie down in place. With 1 3/8" of spacer and no passenger grab rail, the Jesse mount is contacting the front of the OEM under pillion luggage rack where the front tie down protrudes. So I got a number of spacers to try as well.

What I found was that using the same amount of spacer front and rear keeps the mount tabs parallel to the spacers for proper mounting. As well, using the same amount of spacer front and rear results in the "splayed" positioning of the bags, so that they are narrower at the rear of the bike and wider at the front.

What I have presently mounted is 1 1/2" of spacer plus a washer all the way around. I have less than 1/16" clearance of the OEM under pillion seat luggage rack tie down at the front on each side. The unfortunate thing is that this results in the left mount coming too close to the muffler heat shield at the rear of the bike. This causes two problems, one is potential damage to the muffler heat shield and the other is that you can not mount the Jesse side case too far back on the rack. The mount hardware can become stuck if you do. You can get just over halfway back.

So, I am thinking I will add some spacers at the rear. This should result in a more even profile (reduced splay) front to rear, pull the front in slightly, and correct the clearance problem at the rear. The only question is if pulls the mounting tabs out of parallel, and what, if any, effect this has.

In any event, as I have them presently, there is about 3/4" difference in the mounted width front to rear. My rear width is presently 36" and my front width is presently 36 3/4" Both measurements not counting the hinges, which would roughly 1/4" each if you were worried about such things.

The only way I could see to achieve a tighter fit with the Jesse mounts would be to either cut the luggage tie down near the front of the OEM under pillion luggage carrier, or remove the OEM under pillion luggage carrier and replace it with another cover of some sort. Then you might get another 1/2" off, 1/4" on each side, before tabs on the Jesse mounts start to contact hard parts. Again, the limiting measurement is at the front attachment point.

That completes discussion of the 4 main points of attachment. The other hardware also works fine in the standard mounting configuration, with the passenger grab rails in place. If you take the passenger grab rails out it seems prudent to remove a spacer from the right foot peg mount point for proper vertical alignment. Two are supplied and I used only one, the 1/2" one. However, then the screw for this mount point is too long and contacts the frame. So I cut about 5 mm off of it. It is still plenty long for the standard two spacer mount as well.

Again, Al has told me he is redoing the mounting kit and creating an instruction set. Also, as I mentioned in another thread, because of the splay, the actual width depends on where you mount the bags, front to rear. But I think the numbers I have given are pretty much a minimum.

 

[Mellow]

Thank you VERY much, well written and easy to read... appreciate your efforts!!

 

[Don in Lodi]

Waiting for Holans, if their shipment is screwed up, will go with the "J"s. With the Safari 9", with the raised lid etc. can the passenger sit there without sides of bags hitting :question: ?

It depends on how wide she... mmmm, broad she... no, that's not it, stout? Stout's good... depends on how stout she is, whether she'll fit between the bags or not. The lids taper away from the seat some. It's about seventeen inches between the lids at seat height. Set her on a bench with a couple blocks of wood to either side and measure away.

 

[houndman]

Yea I'll measure her out later, 8), nah she'll fit fine...

 

[stevepsd]

Again, Al has told me he is redoing the mounting kit and creating an instruction set. Also, as I mentioned in another thread, because of the splay, the actual width depends on where you mount the bags, front to rear. But I think the numbers I have given are pretty much a minimum.

Twisties,

Thanks for your detailed explanation! When you talked to Al, is is re-doing the actual mounts or just the spacers?

 

[Twisties]

Twisties,

Thanks for your detailed explanation! When you talked to Al, is is re-doing the actual mounts or just the spacers?

My understanding is that he is redoing the hardware kit that ships with the mounts. It's been a little over two weeks since I talked to him, so it might be done. He said two weeks. Really you ought to talk to him. No telling what he decided when he looked it over.

 

[Twisties]

I got my Odyssey's to be 35.5" across the back of the bags. The only thing I needed to purchase was some shorter bolts and then drop the grab bars. The included Jesse spacers ended up being perfect, to get them in that tight.

So how wide are they across the front? Are your front mounts contacting the oem under pillion seat luggage carrier tie downs? Do you have an aftermarket or modified muffler, or is there contact between the mount and the muffler heat shield? Just intensely curious. I hate being the only one. Makes me feel like I did something dumb.

 

[Twisties]

Well, I changed the rear spacers to 1 3/4" total length. The bags are now nearly parallel, and sit, roughly, at 36.5" final installed width. The right bag is now a bit out of vertical alignment, but not enough that I am going to put the second spacer back into the foot peg mount point, or at least I don't think I will. The left mount still contacts the muffler heat shield, but not so much as before, and think the bag can now be mounted further back without issue.