Panniers on a 748/916? Advice please
 

Hi

Anyone used Oxford panniers on their 748/916? Or any advice on using panniers on a 748 etc?

Don't!

Get a Ventura Luggage System instead - best bit of kit for touring without doubt.

Seconded.

Ventura makes the impossible - simple and comfortable.

1000 miles in two days last year in France with no problems.

Steve

Thirded, Ventura, throwaway the throwovers!

Ventura pic

Chaps, Thanks for the advice. Having looked at the Ventura system on the web, I can see its the business, the only problem is trhat they are beyond my means at present!

What are the problems with panniers? I have an old seat unit which I thought i might fit with the luggage, so I can gaffer tape it up to my hearts content. I was wondering about the exhausts, do they touch the panniers, or does the shape of the seat unit hold them away? I need an interim solution until I can afford the pukka stuff!

I also could not afford Ventura but I recently did 3,000km in 2 days on my 748 SPS travelling from Istanbul to London and used a combination of a tank bag and an Oxford tail-pack on the tail section of the bike. Provided you put some sort of baffle between the tailpack and the seat unit your paint will survive. I used rubber table-matting; worked a treat. With plenty of bungess from the tail pack to the footrest hangers it was rock-solid.

The only problem with a tank bag is that it prevents you from getting close to the tank and thus limits effective top speeds to c 160-170kph unless you have a strong neck !

if you dont have rear pegs, ie not a bip, then tieing down is also difficult. I looked at doing this with a tail pack I have and, regardless of potential paint damage, there is no where to bungy them down.

Luggage on a 916.................................blasphemy!

Panniers
 

Oxford Humpback Throwovers work quite well on a 998 - I've done 2 trips to Italy with these and they're far more stable than a tailpack as the weights lower down and therefore causes less wobble against the single pin-type lock at the back of the seat unit.

I bungee under the numberplate holder at the back, and run a bungee between the subframe and the heatguard at the front (just behind the shock) and everything stays where it should all the way to 150+ mph.

I'll post a couple of photos if/when I can find them...

Giles