Crash Bar Panniers
 

I'm off round europe... etc etc next year :scooter:

To balance the weight out on my Vara so that I can take the kitchen sink with me :innocent: I've been thinking about building some smallish boxes to fit on my front crash bars.

Any advice if this is a good idea... anyone done somthing like this before? will it knock my machine completly off balance or cause problems that I haven't thought about.

Cheers
Paul

I've had Pelican cases mounted to my front crashbars for the past 50k km or so throughout North and South America. I needed to pay attention to mounting position so they'd clear my knees, and ensuring clearance for the lids when they opened was a bit of an issue. Previously I'd used soft panniers up front, and I'd found that if I loaded them heavily it caused a lot of squirm and oscillation in my steering--so only lightweight camping gear and similar go up there now.

No other issues for me. If you're riding something more robust than my KLR, this might not even be an issue.

Hope that helps.

Mark

Thanks for your reply...

I'm using somthing like a pelican case for my netbook which then goes into my topbox.

My plan to to have a the netbook in one side and a rechargable battery system in the other. Security is a concern so I ruled out soft panniers.

I ride a Honda XL 1000 so a concern I have is the side radiators.

The pelican case idea is looking very good at the moment but had been worried about the way the case opens.

Do you have your cases permanently mounted or can they be easily uncliped off the bike.

Paul

"Easy" is a relative concept. I was in a hurry, so my attachment is sort've half-assed. Each side has a plastic u-channel, a single stainless steel ubolt, and a buckled nylon strap as a backup. I take them off and put them back on in five minutes or so, but this requires unloading and reloading, which in some situations is a bit awkward (think: rain, thieves, darkness, etc.). Usually I leave them attached, and their contents are not high-use items.

I could definitely do a better job with a bit of thought, time and energy...but those are all in short supply.

Mark