Metal Mule....your opinions please
 

I've been looking at Metal Mule panniers for quite some and am still undecided about making the plunge. It's not just the cost. I'm concerned about after sales service should something go wrong etc..

I Googled and found various opinions about those who had bad customer service. Many of these posts were up to 10 years old though so I'd like to know peoples experiences now regarding their experiences with the panniers and the after sales customer service offered.

Thanks

I only have the MM top box on my 1200GSA
I haven't had a problem & therefore, no need for customer service :thumbup1:
But I will tell you that, with the abuse mine has copped so far, it is damn near bullet proof :D I'm very happy with it.
However, because the lock is not central on the lid, if you over pack it & jam it shut, the seal is displaced & will let water in doh
Especially laying sideways in a creek crossing :blushing::rofl:

I've not owned Metal Mule but there certainly are plenty of posts and ride reports here and over on ADV Rider about problems with the metal panniers after a fall.

The MM's are probably some of the best ... but they should be for the price!!! Nonetheless, seems they are easily "tweaked" in a fall and then can be hard to close and may leak?

But perhaps ALL Alu type hard bags have these same issues?
Sure, you can pound them back into shape ... but Fall after Fall may have them eventually being hard to fix. I think we've all heard the nightmare stories. But then if you never fall or drop your bike ... NO WORRIES! :helpsmilie:

If you insist on hard bags ... you might take a look at fitting Pelican panniers.
Tough plastic, inexpensive, easy to mount and fairly light weight. If you break one ... you get a free one ... lifetime replacement! Buy from Pelican directly, not one of the leach marketers selling kits. I literally used a Pelican as a floatation device. Very very waterproof.
bier

Aluminium + fall = dent + hammer = fixed :thumbup1:
Plastic + fall = split/crack = still broken :thumbdown:

This is based on using a set of BMW system cases for a while and then using TT aluminium cases thereafter. I've never used Metal mule but most folk I know who use them swear by them. I like my TT panniers, dents scratches and all :)

Your Pelicans break when you fall? Mine don't. Even then they are guaranteed for life.

“Plastic” describes everything from Edwardian Bakelite and classic vinyl, through reinforced PEEK, PET, PE (both high and low density), all the way through to the chopped up remains of Chinese food cartons and chewing gum. Some is good for aircraft wings, other for pop bottles. What Pelican and BMW use are certainly not the same grade, if Pelican were selling sirloin steak, the other stuff would be the equivalent of frozen meat pie filling. There are also design issues like how Pelican cases use ribs and thicker sections while other cases are smooth except for where the logos go. You can design for strength or ease/speed of moulding not both.
My experience of BMW cases is that they fail at the riveted on hinge mechanism or by flexing where the complex lock/mounting mechanism sits. More a design (for purpose) than material issue.
My experience of MM is limited but positive. They gave me great advice on making TT boxes I already owned fit a rack they sold me. This was a good fit and worked well for 6 years.
I’m a convert to soft or engineered plastic (I run a pelican tank case), but if you want tin boxes and have the cash I think MM would do well.
Andy

Yeah but surely BMW plastic has to be the best plastic....doesn't it? ;)

No question the Metal Mule product are tougher than most, not sure about TT stuff, i've seen most all their stuff destroyed in crashes. I've seen "tweaked" metal cases of several brands ... and unless you are a true craftsman with a hammer ... you ain't getting them straight that easily.

I've seen panniers tweaked into a kind of parallelagram shape, nearly impossible for the average guy to straighten them out. Other thing I've seen are rivets pulling out, corners split and latches that will no longer latch.
Waterproof? Not any more. :thumbdown:

http://patricksphotos.smugmug.com/ph...-TFtp4f8-L.jpg
Here we are lost in remote area around Copper Canyon, Mexico. My R12GS riding Buddy fell several times this day in 1ft. deep Bull dust ... each time the BMW metal panniers got more and more beat up, torn off and busted open.

Eventually, we had to use bungee cords to hold them on ...and one
would not latch. Hinge rivets pulled away. We hammered them back with a rock and got them to "more or less" stay closed. They were junk. The good news? They do a GREAT job of protecting the rest of your bike! ... As long as you don't get you leg trapped under one!

Obviously, Metal Mule are better, stronger, but after 5 falls these BMW ones were UNREPAIRABLE, and each fall he was only going 5 mph or so. A high speed crash could do MUCH more damage. Could Metal Mule panniers hold up to a truly HARD fall? I doubt it.

My buddy threw these cases away when he got home. :(

Depending on the severity of the crash no ali pannier will hold it up. Ours got hit by a car front on. Tore it off and gave it a nice diamond shape. It was never going back together. That's extreme though. But the problem with all those panniers on the market is that they are just too wide. Yep, easy to pack etc. But vulnerable to impact.

NOTHING should be wider than the handlebars. Nature didn't put whiskers on animals for nothing.

They weren't fully water tight neither. And the locking latch wasn't great. But that's always a weak point. I tried to make my own after that experience with a much narrower design and it worked perfectly. But the savings of that weren't really worth the time investment for me in hindsight. This is a personal judgement off course.

It's never to late to go to soft luggage.

Not all plastic.... not with GIVI...they are indestructible.
Many falls but only scratched.

To the original question, I've owned MM panniers for 4 years now, and I've found them to be excellent at all times. I've been in serious deluge; no problems. Sand in Morocco; easy life. Accidentally ride into something because you forgot you've got them on the bike? No worries!

Shortly after I bought them, I used them at my first HU meet at Ripley. It rained over night (surely not) and there was a little puddle at the bottom of one pannier. MM were there at the meet, so I went over for a chat to point this out. They took the pannier away after the meet, fixed the sealing and posted it back to me ASAP. All with no charge, and all within a really short period (a week, I think). It's now bullet proof, hence the above review!

Yes, they're not cheap, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again, nor would I worry about recommending them to others. The boxes themselves are top notch, and I personally think the customer service is excellent. I always go and have a chat when they're at the NEC (what happened this year?). Great blokes!

They have sold the business and I don't think the new owners do shows, I have no idea what this means for quality or service though.

This passed me by! When did that happen?! I was really happy with the original service, let's hope there's no change when it comes to quality and customer service!

I had a set of Metal Mules about 7 years ago - tough, waterproof and dustproof on a long trip to Morocco. Never crash tested them though !

Best feature was the ease of putting them on and off the bike - very quick and easy and meant they made ideal camping seats !

But there are others out there that seem to be as good but at a much more competitive price - I currently have a set from Zen Overland - custom made to the size I wanted - and well priced.

Zen Overland - Utah Aluminium Panniers (37L)

Hard Luggage Testing
 

I'm sure this has been posted here before - if it hasn't it's a decent test... starts at 41'41"

Adventure Bike TV