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Metal Mules prices go up AGAIN!! Metal Mules prices go up AGAIN!!
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Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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  #1  
Old 21 Apr 2008
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Angry Sorry Rip Off!!
Hi All,

Ive priced up a set for my 12GSA and the reply they got off me for a pair and mounting kit was "you cheeky *@?"!$&*'s . In English £1546 including vat , i think id be shopping in south wales for my panniers plus a few other gadgets for that sort of money.

R.n B.
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  #2  
Old 21 Apr 2008
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So, how much you´re looking at paying, if you get some other manufacturer´s set of panniers and racks? And I mean ones that can be compared to MM in any way.

The Mules are tough as hell, easy to take off / fit securely into the bike, and even the racks seem to be of the same quality. Not all aluminium panniers work as well as these.

Yeah, it felt like a xxxxload of money, when I bought them, but they do the job so flawlessly, everything just works well, and they seem practically indestructible, too, so in general I´ve just enjoyed using them, and havent really worried about the money.
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  #3  
Old 21 Apr 2008
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Ttt
I know the £ is down the pan, but take a look at Bernd Tesch's stuff. Outstanding and you will NOT find a stronger rack system

Globetrott Zentrale Bernd Tesch

46 liter are quoted at €185 each and the rack is about €350.

Mine survived being sideswiped, caving in the car door with the L/H box and the bike landing on the R/H box from about 70kph. Its a bit dented and scraped, but still servicable.

Just a sugestion... MM & TT are NOT the only things out there.

John
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  #4  
Old 21 Apr 2008
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I was interested in a set of these for my new KTM990. Was thinking along the lines of selling the new racks and panniers that came with the bike on ebay, adding a few hundred quid and getting the MM's.
Just checked their website and the cheeky feckers are now asking £1200 for a pair of panniers and racks.
A set of TT's and racks go for just over £500, so I reckon maybe £800 tops is a realistic price. Are people really willing to pay the sort of prices they're asking??
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  #5  
Old 30 Apr 2008
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cost
I bought a set of mules in jan 07 for my ktm640 the cost then was 775 sterling. the cost on mules website is now 1279 sterling.

I looked at the price of the individual boxes and a pair of boxes with all the handles, tie down points and rubber feet cost just over 500
so how do they get the other 800 am i missing something?

The boxes are good and i am very happy with them, but they are not worth twice the amount as the competition.

I used to worry about people getting into my boxes and stealing things now i am worried about them pinching my boxes.

IAIN
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Old 30 Apr 2008
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You are right. MM seem to have decided to charge what they can get away with. My mate bought his for less than £800 a few years ago. Has alu suddenly gone up in price? Surely the price should go DOWN as they sell more units. If they follow the usual trend, in five years time their boxes will be £2000 and a pile of cr*p. As they are clearly aiming their boxes at the "1200GS, loadsamoney, never go further than my own backyard" market (a distinct group from the "1200GS and ride round the world" market, before anyone gets uppity! ) it is only a matter of time before they lose the plot and start adding blackberry brackets and making them out of 'aluminium effect' plastic.

I wouldn't buy 'em on principal, even if I did have the money. My Alpos boxes and Touratech racks came to less than £400. OK, so maybe they aren't as good, but they've done around 30,000 hard km and are still going strong. If they last another 30,000 then you'd have to do 180,000 km with a set of Metal Mules to get the same value. Hmm.

Shame, but that's the price of the commercialisation of adventure biking.

Matt
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Old 30 Apr 2008
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Make Your Own
You could always try getting a set of seconds off of MM, not sure if it will reduce the cost that much but it might be something. Bit of a shock on price though, I bought mine just before Christmas and thought they were a bit steep even then.

The other thing to do is try to build your own, found this link on this site somewhere and if I had seen it before I had bought my MMs I would have certainly built my own instead.

rtw.xtz660 - Home made aluminium boxes
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  #8  
Old 18 Jul 2009
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roi View Post
Hi All,

Ive priced up a set for my 12GSA and the reply they got off me for a pair and mounting kit was "you cheeky *@?"!$&*'s .
and yet you quite happily handing over mega-mula for a 12GSA?

the 'adventure touring' market is just that, a market. plenty will pay over the odds (just like the 12GSA), when something much simpler will do. $5 army bags will do the job fine, but yeah, don't give 'the look'...
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  #9  
Old 18 Jul 2009
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For really cheap alternatives
If you just want something to start with you could try either of these, teh first is soft luggage, teh second hard but you will have to make your own frames, but at £40 set worth thinking about.
Buy Oxford First Time Pannier Set. at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for .

or

Find the cheapest Concorde Low-Level Plastic Cistern White by , best price, compare prices at MyVoucherCodes Shopping

have fun.
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  #10  
Old 19 Jul 2009
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Find the cheapest Concorde Low-Level Plastic Cistern White by , best price, compare prices at MyVoucherCodes Shopping

I prefer the ones by Royal Doulton , they have more kudos .
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  #11  
Old 26 Jul 2009
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give MM some grief/feedback
is it enough to vote with your wallet and buy another brand, without telling metal mule why you didnt buy theirs?
if everyone who asks MM for a quote or looks at the website and goes "WTF? no way im paying that!" then bothered to tell that to them, they might realise that A/theres a world recession and prices should go down, not up, and B/they might think about the lost trade, for every set of luggage they sell they let five sales go because of price.

item priced too high, they sell less. profits mustn't go down so prices go up, so they sell less and prices must go up etc etc till the company goes bust.
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