Touratech UK
 

Dear All,
I have had some panniers on order from Touratech UK ( ordered through my insurance company because of a crash ) for 6 months for my Triumph Tiger. I still cannot get a decent response from them as to when I will receive these. I know their products are great, but I am finding their service rubbish. Has anybody else had this experience or similar and how have you found their products generally on trips ?.

I'd suggest you post this directly into the Touratech forum. The link ist
http://forum.touratech.de/index.php?language=english

Unfortunately the setup is in German. Try the folder "Gepack". Usually the guys from TT answer immediately.


But why not try phoning them? The UK details are:

Touratech UK Ltd
Nick Plumb
Unit 9 Neath Abbey Business Park
SA 10 7DR Neath Abbey

Telephone: +44 17928 16 660
Fax: +44 17928 15 234

Internet: www.touratech.co.uk


Alternatively you could contact the compant in Germany directly via their web page.

Hans

I have had a terrible experience with them. I have two new Transalps. Ordered two sets of crash bars in mid October. I finally gave up on ordering two sets of panniers because service was so bad and went with Metal Mules without a hitch. Anyhow, they said not in stock and would ship in mid November. I started inquiring at the end of November and after several emails they tell me they LOST MY ORDER.

First of December they finally say they are in stock and will ship out next day. Mid December I email them and they say they shipped and here is the tracking number with DHL. Number is no good and when I email them about it no response...................

In the meantime the wife did a low speed drop in the mud and scratched up side faring. NEVER will I do business with these people again. I have ordered stuff from all over the world trying to outfit these bikes and no probs with anyone but Touratech.

Matt

I ordered a tankbag for my Africa Twin. Quality piece of kit, but Touratech's attitude does leave a lot to be desired. As I say the bag was great but the fitting instructions were in German. I sent an E-mail asking for an English translation but they didn't even acknowledge it let alone send a translation! I fitted the harness using the photos in the leaflet but what really bugged me was the fact that they had totally ignored me. Won't be going to them again!!!

same same
 

I ordered rack and panniers for my XT600e. After a couple of months, the UK office could still not give me a date of when the product would arrive. What i was more supprised about was that they were completely not bothered whether i cancelled the order or not!

So i did and went to Metalmule. Cost a little more, but the service was excellent and the delivery prompt.

get them on the phone
 

I have no complaints from them and I have so many bits from them I've been asked a few times what kind of bike's a Touratech!
f

Have you thought about Hepco & Becker? http://www.hepco-becker.de/ They have their site in english as well. They have some really good kit.

Another recommendation would be Happy Trail. A friend has them on his XR650L. They make a real durable set of panniers -- with a nice "canyon cut" -- specifically for the Tigers.

http://happy-trail.com/ProductInfo.a...ANKIT-CLIF_CUT


Thankfully my Dakar had TT panniers already on when I bought it... so I have no experience with TT... even though I live about 1h10m away from their home. Had I not, I would have also considered H & B or Happy Trail before deciding on a set of panniers.

Cheers,
Drew

@Tigerman: So, did you get any response from TT via their forum?


I fortunately didn't have any probs with TT service, but then that was in Germany... I consider their pannier racks as some of the best on the market. The boxes aren't bad, but so are Hepco & Becker. What I like about H&B is the mechanism how the boxes are fixed on the rack. Easy to put on and to remove them.

Hans

Touratech Aus
 

Sounds like each Touratech dealer is a bit different. I contacted Touratech in Germany for info on their Australian Dealer. Was given the dealers email addy here and contacted them early this week. Received a catalogue this morning, was sent a price list by email this afternoon. :thumbup1: The response has been polite, and very quick. Hopefully the service stays this good as I'll probably be ordering crash bars tomorrow. So far I can't recommend the Aussie dealer highly enough.:clap:

Touratech UK
 

I had a mixed experience with Touratech UK too. I ordered a pannier mount kit and some other bits (2L water container + mount, etc) from them online.

When there was no sign of the items being delivered, having read this thread, and knowing that other people have had issues, I emailed them to confirm delivery. As yet, they have not answered that email, although the items were delivered a few days later. A simple response from them saying "your items have been dispatched" would have sufficed.

Good gear, poor service
 

I have had mixed fortunes when dealing with Touratech (UK). The bits I ordered via my dealership failed to turn up. However the rack and panniers for my F650 turned up promptly.

Should you be passing through Hamburg, there is a Touratech shop (Touratech Nord, Lubecker Strasse 91, 22087 Hamburg) where I managed to buy my missing bits of the shelf, which worked out a lot cheaper. But even they failed to get my topbox in time and I had to get it shipped to Danmark. I suppose they would be able to ship stuff to England.

I ordered a lot of stuff for my africa twin from touratech UK. Having heard about the problems ordering online I always ordered direct over the phone. Never had a problem with anything & items were dispatched & delivered quickly.

In Touratech's defence, they're not the only ones to not respond by email. I've tried to place orders by email with a couple of US suppliers (for minimum $150), and haven't even had an email in response from most of them (but not all of them). Poor customer service seems to be the order of the day. I tend to buy stuff from other places, like ebay, instead as a result.

Tigerman,

While I hope you get things resolved with TT, I came across another company that makes panniers Tigers.

Jesse Luggage: http://www.jesseluggage.com/odyssey.html

I totally forgot about them. A friend who did a RTW in 2003 experienced some problems with the aforementioned Happy Trail's frame (their maintenance log (www.blue-dunes.com) indicated the "frame is made of soft steel and is hollow - does not hold up to rough roads we have been encountering"). Their logs indicated the Jesse Luggage frame was pretty durable to handle the trip.

Just thought you may want to know should you not opt for TT and cancel your order with them. If you still have a problem and desire your TT panniers, let me know. I plan to visit TT's facilities/main shop in the next couple of weeks and could mention your plight. Just let me know...

Cheers,
Drew

Problem solved
 

Thanks to everybody for their help - I did contact TT in Germany direct and posted a bolshy note on their forum. They obviously do not appreciate bad publicity in their own backyard and have now sent me a set of pannier racks for my Tiger that they had fitted to a display / show model. Not entirely satisfactory but at least they have made an effort. Very disturbing to hear of everybody elses problems - mine was obviously not isolated. Keep safe chaps and many thanks.:thumbup1:

I am desperate to give Riky Cros in Italy about 400 quids worth of business but there is no number to call, no UK importer, emails go unanswered for months and there is no online ordering facility. "Go figure", as our American friends say, who usually know a thing or 2 about customer service

Aluminium Panniers
 

I've had a bad experience with Touratech UK. We ordered 2 sets of racks and panniers for XT600E's in August 2006 - 6 weeks before we needed them for our one-way trip from UK to Spain. Lots of phone calls later (and I was actually told on one occassion it wasn't helping that we were calling every week) they couldn't guarantee delivery. I said I needed to know if they couldn't deliver as flights were booked, the bikes were ready to go etc. Five days before we were due to leave, Touratech informed us they wouldn't be ready until October - 6 weeks too late. We were devastated.


We telephoned Metal Mule on the Thursday morning, they were sent to us on Friday, arrived on the Monday morning and we left as scheduled. We were on a very tight budget which arguably is why we chose Touratech in the first place, but they did us a HUGE favour. Metal Mules are worth the extra money and are a far more superior product. Check out their Q-Fit attachment system. My hubby had a rear shunt and the car lifted his bike up - it barely marked the panniers but the bumper on the car was cracked.

Metal Mules are quality panniers from a quality company - they respond straightaway to emails, they are helpful, friendly and they are interested in their customers. Touratech could learn a lot from them!!!

Oh, and Touratech called in January 2007 asking if I still wanted the panniers. Er, no!!!

Get Metal Mules instead, you won't be disappointed: http://www.metalmule.com/

Depending on what you're buying
 

Dick,
Just to say I've just received my crash bar from TT Belgium (3+ months wait), its from Ricky Cross (packing stickers included ... ) Hand Protectors are Acerbis, same with my tank bag....

I guess they have supplier problems...

However TT have the very best catalog available to date...



Matt
Honda RD04

A few weeks ago, I made a second order to Touratech, because, for some silly reason, I only ordered one pannier mount kit the first time around, so I had to put in a second order for the second set.

When the second set arrived, and I opened the package up to have a look, I noticed the difference in machining straight away. I didn't think it would be a problem, until I realised that the top mounting, which is comprised of a threaded bolt into a bracket type thing, had no thread locking compound applied (the two parts were meant to be fixed permanently together)... and all I had was a medium strength locking compund for regular fixings that wasn't up to the job of securing the parts together. I had to go out and invest in a stronger version, costing me another £3 (about $5.80) which I resented paying.

It was a simple thing: no locking compound applied, but it just struck me as really sloppy work, and a complete lack of QA. I didn't even bother complaining to them about it, because I knew it would just be a complete waste of time. I hope Touratech can fix little issues like this, becuase I, for one, will not be rushing back to them with my business, and I will not be unconditionally recommending them either. Nick Plumb, I hope you read this forum and see some issues that you need to resolve.

Hear Hear!!

I couldn't agree more.:thumbup: It may have something to do with the fact that the company boss is a bike traveller himself.

Derek.

Dick, what do you want to buy? As you know, others here may be able to suggest alternatives...

Touratech Australia
 

See my previous post in here. After I posted last, I ordered a set of crash bars from the Touratech dealer here In Victoria and they arrived three days later. It might not be quite as cost effective, but all you guys having trouble with the UK dealers, contact Touratech Aus. EXTREMELY helpful and great to deal with.:clap:

I bought direct from them last year - the email address I used is info@rikycross.it

Follow-up. After several more e-mails in January and dealing with the third employee, like the rest of the folks at TT, apologized about the problems and said she would work with DHL and find out where my parts were. Never heard from her again.............

Parts finally arrived in February. Ordered in October, received in February. Directions suck, but I finally got the bars on both bikes. Nice fit and finish, but DAMN! these folks are ridiculous to deal with. Never Again.

TT Pannier quality and delivery times
 

Despite never having ordered anything from TT personally, after meeting a few people from the UK who have a few TT fans from Germany, it seems that the UK TT dealer will wait until he has an order to the value of some thousands of GBP before placing the order with TT in Germany. So if you're unlucky and place your order just after he's placed an order, you'll have to wait until another customer wants something. This might explain why sometimes the delivery time is OK and sometimes why not. No Excuse for not keeping the customer informed though.

As for TT panniers, which I do have (they came with the bike) I would strongly advise against them. Although the ones I have are light and being square, very easy to pack, the quality is terrible. I had hoped they would have lasted my Americas trip and then some. But after the bike blew over in the wind the other day the base seam has come away, leaving a gaping hole along about half of the edge, and I suspect it would have been worse if the pannier was not so tightly packed. I'd hate to see what it would have looked like had I slid down the road with them on.
MikeS's Al Jesse panniers stood up to hitting a lamb and sliding a good few meters along Ruta 40, much more impressive. They've also got a much more secure locking system and despite being heavier, are much easier to carry.

Anyway, my two cents worth.

Michelle

Touratech
 

I emailed them a technical question regarding a product, they took 21 days to reply, dont think i will risk buying anything from them !!

Metal Mules
 

If you email Metal Mule Metal Mule Motorcycle Auto Luggage Systems generally you will get a reply from Stuart within the hour. Far superior service (and panniers) than TT.