Front Pannier Alu Boxes like Grant/Susan's?
 

my new '09 Wee abs will be here anyday, i hope. its already got givi crash bars, but i was thinking to have a welder guy extend them higher, maybe with a removable cross bar wrapping under the front fairing for strenth, then having happytrail design me some aluminium front boxes, similar to Grants but maybe not so long up front, that would mount the same as their rear boxes/rack. i used aerostich front panniers on my '04 big trip but having lockable, waterproof, bigger ones, mite be cool. anyone done something like this? tom in missoula MT

Might be nice, but might also be expensive. I used Pelican cases up front hurriedly mounted to my KLR crash bars--no extra bracing, half-assed attachments backed up with a single nylon strap apiece--and it worked fine for my purposes. The same cases will fit my DL 650 at a slightly different mounting angle, but for some reason I don't have much urge to take another long trip to find out.

Main issues are: a mounting system which can be easily mounted and dismounted; aesthetics, if concerned about this (I am not); geometry, in that a hinged lid needs a certain amount of clearance to open, and this requires spacers to hold the boxes out from the crash bars--hard to describe, but obvious once you study them in place.

At least one other person posting here has used Pelican cases in front, and at least one ammo boxes. Must be others, too. Aluminum cases would probably cost a thousand bucks or more plus fussing around, and I doubt they'd ever be quite right; mine cost $80, took some fussing around, and were also never quite right.

Hope that helps.

Mark

box
 

I like Grant set up but do think that it is a bit easier on a BMW or large bike than on a DL650 , front pannier are great and there is a company which made a set that can carry 28l on each side , very light easy to install , cheap to buy and to carry water food or similar gear I think they are the top . I used similar ones on different trip and never had any problems.

Wolfman
 

I use throwover type front panniers from Wolfman - see link to my previous thread http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...panniers-53013 .

They are like waterproof bags strapped over the tank and can be adjusted to how much you need to carry - I found them really useful on a recent 15000 km trip.

Are you bloody sure ?:rofl:

pannier
 

just take a look at the bemmer frame and the DL650 and you can have your own opinion :confused1: