My next project was the 1200GS, which i sold last year. This bike was a challenge. The sub-frame on the 1200gs is very flexible, and building a new one was not an option at the time, so i opted for a more sacraficial type of box made from 1.5mm aluminim and connected them to a tubular frame.[IMG][/IMG] I used small stainless steel bolts to attach the panner hooks, which i milled myself from aluminum blocks.[IMG][/IMG] The idea was, in the event of a crash, the box will crush, or the soft stainless steel bolts will shear, saving the sub frame from harm. Both instances are easy to fix, a twisted sub frame is not
This time i chose to build the pannier racks from 3/4 stainless steel, as i really had no plans on entering the 3rd world with this bike, and anyways, welding stainless still is much more common that most people think.[IMG][/IMG]
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[IMG][/IMG] The boxes were welded simple and rectangular, without a re-enforcing angle, again with removable lids which proved extremely useful on previous travels as tool trays or whatnot. [IMG][/IMG][IMG][/IMG]I coppied the tapered pattern of the stock Vario cases to keep the lines of the bike square. I also purchased a muffler from Metal Mule that allowed me to keep both boxes the same size. [IMG][/IMG]
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the building process:
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BTW... all the primary fitting was welded on the bike without disconnecting the battery or ECU and i never had a problem, but then again, i know where to place my ground and start my arc.

If I'm doing a trip that will take in more off road then I go with soft panniers.
Help's keep the weight down, and if..or when the bike get's dropped there is less damage.




If I'm staying on the black stuff,then I use alloy pannier's.



Which are best ? .. who know's

I have also tried useing Tank bag's....but I can't get on with them .

But now i've got an Ohlins shock
I think everyone should do this before hitting the road.

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Some nice fabrication Wish you lived in my neighborhood!

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Avoid panniers ?


We bought the bags from an army surplus store in SF. They hold a tent, sleeping bags and ground mats.

Jean will hate me for this pic.

And Ventura tail pack has enough room for 2 people to pack for 3 months.

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http://www.ytc1.co.uk

The loading of extra weight will always effect the handling of a bike to some degree or other.
In order to minimise this the weight should be carried, as much as possible, as close to the sidesof the bike and within an imaginary triangle drawn from axle to axle and up to the riders head.
The heavier items really need to be as low slung as possible within this triangle and the weight as evenly distributed between sides as can be managed.

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The electric monk always has faith.

Awesome efford building that rack. Is that bender one of these jobbies? If so, how do you find using it? If used the hydraulic ones only but found it limiting as there is only a bottom die and the pipe buckles on tight radii.



also, how do make those clamps?

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

Yup, thats the same bender! Usually i try to avoid chinese crap, but for only $100, i couldn't resist, and it's been worth every penny. This is called a roll over mandrel. The mandrel suports the tubing while you roll it. Another way to use the bender you are describing without collapsing the tubing wall is to stuff it with sand and cork the ends. This method will always give you a desirable radius!
The clamp was quite simple to make. First, i took a block of aluminium and drilled it to the same size as the tubing of the frame. I then drilled the two holes for the 6mm threading tap to the proper depth. I then cut the block in half with a bandsaw and re-drilled the top holes to accept the 6mm bolts and tapped the bottom holes. The frame was a piece of 1" SS angle iron drilled to match and welded to the tubing.

Here are a couple of photos of how we packed for a trip from Munich to Cape Town

Audrey on her F650GS in Ethiopia with Jesse bags and an Oxford duffle bag


Me on my R100GS with Jesse bags and an Oxford duffle bag


I think the only thing slightly unusual about how we packed for this trip compared to other trips is that we anticipated that in less developed countries we would be spending more time in hotels than camping. So what we did is move all the camping gear from the duffle bags to the metal panniers. All of our clothing was then put in the duffle bag. When we rocked up to a hotel we just unclipped the duffle bags and walked in. Everything was then secure on the bikes (after tossing a cover over it) and we didn't have to lug stuff up to the hotel that we weren't using.

We also had PacSafes (as can be seen in the picture of Audrey) that we put on the duffle bags whenever we thought that there was a security risk such as leaving the bikes unattended or riding in big cities.

Camping was still reasonably easy as we pulled the tent out of a saddlebag and then tossed our duffle bags into the tent. The only downside was that the duffle bags could be dirty or wet in the tent.

The only other problem we encountered with this system was that the Oxfords were not waterproof as they were intended more as a pit bag rather than motorcycle luggage. Next time it will likely be something like an Ortlieb waterproof bag on the back.

This system works for us with the usual proviso that hard luggage can hurt if it falls on you. Audrey still has a bit of a bruise from a fall in the Sudan.

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Ekke Kok

'84 R100RT 141,000 km (Dad's!)
'89 R100GS 250,000 km (and ready for another continent)
'07 R1200GS Adventure 100,000 km (just finished Circumnavigating Asia)
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

www.ekke-audrey.ca

Can you tell us how much your Jesse bags weigh, empty ??
I love those Pac-Safe systems. How did they work out over the long term? Any problems or inconvenience?

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Patrick passed Dec 2018. RIP Patrick!

Sorry Patrick, the racks and hardware would be awkward to remove and weigh. The mounts are made of some kind of heavy steel while the bags themselves are aluminium. Unlike Touratech bags the Jesse bags don't crumple in a crash. I think the reasoning behind each is sound: Touratech believes it is easier to repair a bag than a subframe and Jesse believes the mount will break off in a serious enough get-off.

I'll try to remember to weigh the bags this weekend.

As to tools Audrey had her rather lame standard toolkit with the addition of a Torx screwdriver in Nairobi (Thanks Tom!) and I had the standard R100GS toolkit expanded to about the same number of tools as the super toolkit that used to be available in the mid-80s. The tool roll fit under the seat in the stock location. If you look closely at the rear of my bike you'll see Al Jesse's rear compartment usually used to mount a top case. In there I stuffed a couple of oil filters for each bike, spare ignition cables, an adjustable wrench, a long T-handle allen key for the oil filter, a combination spanner/tire lever that fit the F650 rear axle and a few other sundry items like super glue and electrical tape. I'm not a believer in carrying tonnes of spares. Since you can't carry an entire spare bike with you inevitably the part that breaks is the part you haven't got with you.

I too am not a big believer in falling so my pace is quite slow. On the down side I don't have much practice falling so if it does happen I probably won't have the brains to step away from the saddlebags.

PacSafe worked perfectly for the whole trip even if we didn't use them very often. It takes a bit of practice to get good at putting the PacSafe over the duffle bag but once you've done it a few times it only takes a few minutes. When riding with the PacSafe over the luggage I found that the bare wires would scratch the bike and actually rubbed some holes in the duffle bag. I think you need to make a personal decision if the added security is worth the added weight. They are heavy.

I'll try to remember to weigh the panniers...

I see that the picture at the pyramids doesn't show the rear compartment very well. Let's try this one riding along the Nile in Sudan:

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Ekke Kok

'84 R100RT 141,000 km (Dad's!)
'89 R100GS 250,000 km (and ready for another continent)
'07 R1200GS Adventure 100,000 km (just finished Circumnavigating Asia)
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

www.ekke-audrey.ca

Love the juxtaposition

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Seek Truth

15 countries in 40 days. Tanks, crashes, minefields and Kalashnikovs

Hey, cool. I never noticed that. Thanks Spitfire!

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Ekke Kok

'84 R100RT 141,000 km (Dad's!)
'89 R100GS 250,000 km (and ready for another continent)
'07 R1200GS Adventure 100,000 km (just finished Circumnavigating Asia)
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

www.ekke-audrey.ca

Pac-safes are good at keeping your bags a wee bit secure though are a right pain to get in and out of. Also, the strap across the seat from the Andy Strap is a bit uncomfortable so a sheepskin would have useful. I really could have used a bigger rack as I often ran out of space to carry additional thing, for example when some kind person in Iran insists on giving you a bag of about 20 tins of beans/tuna/pineapple rings, I mean where does that go?? I think I'd go for a lockable topbox next time.

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Mike


www.singapore-scotland.blogspot.com
www.argentina-alaska.blogspot.com
My little Vid: India/Pakistan

BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

Man you are a wery good welder!
Bravo on the job done.