Luggage Options 2004 XT660R
 

Hi Guys, planning a bit of a trip in August around some parts of Europe with two of my mates for 2-3weeks. We are now in the initial planning stage. My bike is a 2004 Yamaha XT660R.
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/t...y/PICT0006.jpg
We are on a budget so I dont want to spend a fortune on panniers etc. At the moment I am thinking about soft luggage which I have found on ebay. See links below.

http://cgi.ebay.ie/BUFFALO-MOTORCYCL...1%7C240%3A1318

or

http://cgi.ebay.ie/NEW-OXFORD-1ST-TI...1%7C240%3A1318

I know that there are protectors on the exhausts but would these prevent the soft luggage from melting etc? Will I have to get rails to keep them away from the exhausts? If so what do you recommend? Would I be better off buying the rails for a hard luggage set and if I want to upgrade at a later stage to hard luggage I would have the rails already on the bike. So far thiniking of Hepco and Becker's Explorer range of panniers and top box. http://www.hepco-becker.de/_eng/pdf/...20Info%20E.pdf Anyone have any experiance with these Either?

Any help appriciated

Sambo http://www.biker.ie/forum/images/smilies/thumbsup2.gif

xt660r
 

I've got the h&b rear rack with the Junior top box. I have used oxford soft throwover panniers and can confirm that you don't need racks for soft luggage. The plastic exhaust protectors do a great job of keeping the bags off the exhaust. I've done 3 or 4 hour stints in summer without any problems with heat against fabric.

The rear subframe of the XT660r is as strong as the steel girders in a skyscraper (weighs the same) and you can easily put a person on the back + panniers + topbox. It does carry its weight high up though as those exhaust contribute 15kg but they can be replaced with a single can 5kg full system, which is not unsubstantial (£350 from metal mule or offtheroad.de).

Is it just me or does the XT vibrate just a little more than is comfortable???:(

Thanks Edteamslr :thumbup1: The rack which is on my bike is a standard rack from yamaha as far as I can find out. I think it has a max weight capacity of 5kg? Does that sound fairly weak to you too? I was hoping to put a large tail pack with a waterproof bag cargo netted in front of it and then have the two Oxford expandable soft planniers as shown in my previous post on it. Are these the same panniers you have on yours? I have put my hand on the risers from the exhaust about 5-10min after a ride and they were only luke warm. Tipped the exhaust and it was scorchio! I dont want to spend money on racks for panniers if I dont have too.

Also do you have any pics of your bike when you had the panniers on or going on? Was there any hassle fitting them? Did you have to install them under your seat or what way did they strap on?

Also, I dont find the vibration to be an issue, just have to be in the right gear is all :mchappy:

Thanks again,

Sambo :thumbup1:

Have a pop over to www.xt660.com great website for all the infor you will ever need on the XT660 range.

Soft luggage shouldnt melt on the standard exhausts due to having the heat shields but there are a few guys from the forum who have made a simple wire rack to hold the panniers away from the exhausts. Also there are loads of other options that can be found on the above website.

I was going to go down your route but bought some cheap panniers and made my own rack, its a bit rustic but does the job.

the exhausts shouldnt get too hot or they wouldnt have made them out of plastic. if you are worried about it put spacers under them to push them out from the endcans another inch or so.

Thanks, Im a member on that site also. Have you any pictures of what you ended up doing to your bike for the rack?:thumbup1:

Hi sorry for the late reply, been very busy at university, and also trying to reorganise a trip (was suppose to be going to europe but cant afford it credit crunch so now going to england for 2.5weeks)

Heres a few links to photobucket where you can see the racks and the tin panniers i got, they are branded as alpos but are sold as many different named panniers. They where cheap at i think £80 each for a 40ltr or so pannier.

SDC10587.jpg picture by maxwell123455 - Photobucket

SDC10592.jpg picture by maxwell123455 - Photobucket

SDC10585.jpg picture by maxwell123455 - Photobucket

Thanks for all the help lads! I ended up going with the oxford panniers and took a road trip from Wexford Ireland to The Giants Causeway at the other end of Ireland in a day to see how many miles we could cover in one day so we could better plan a trip around europe based on it. Here are some pics of the bike fully loaded. I am currently making a video of the trip and once it is complete I will post it up here for you all to look at.

Thanks again,

Sambo :thumbup1:

http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/t...y/PICT0106.jpg
Will on his Yamaha XT600E and my XT660R beside him after breaking down camp the following morning. I took some of Wills gear for the return trip because he siad his seat was like sitting on plywood for the whol trip so at least on the way back he could slide around on the seat a bit more to ease the pain.
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/t...y/PICT0110.jpg
This is me as we were just about to set off.
http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/t...y/PICT0118.jpg
Both bikes fully loaded and not an ounce of trouble with them. :mchappy:Long live the bunjee cords! :thumbup1:

And a special thanks to those of you who sent me pms. Sorry you got no reply yet but I dont have pms yet!

Sambo :thumbup1: