Home made panniers, what are some ideas

[snakebitten]

Still narrower than my bars.
But yea, that same "basic" level of design results in less streamlining.

I see them as "Home made" by a "craftsman". Not by an "artist".

They aren't for everyone. Nothing is. But they are solid. And very affordable. And home-grown, if you are American.

 

[Checkswrecks]

MuffinTops are welded aluminum boxes with a great price and made here in the US of A. You can have them thin or wide. Mine are different widths to account for the muffler. From one of the previous pannier threads:


MuffinTop MT1-OC bolted to SW-Motech removable racks...
[/size]http://muffintopindustries.comThe available volume is great and top loading is practical. Fabric shopping bags work great as liners to carry clothes and such into the tent or hotel rooms. Tools & heavy stuff sits in the bottom with no worries about the plastic and very little affect on cg.There are cargo loops on the lids to lash down extra stuff, or to serve as accessible storage for my pillion while riding. The bike falling over has been a non-event, as the black powder coat is really tough and can be touched up with nobody the wiser.And then of course, you have a place for stickers... I don't like to have them on the bike itself, and the removable boxes aren't compound curves.

 

[autoteach]

just to be clear, a 36x48 sheet of .080 aluminum is about $50-60 and should be able to complete one muffin top MT1-9. I am not sure why I should want to spend $800 for a set of 3 and then also purchase some other racks for these bags when I can spend about $200 and build them myself. I was hoping for complaints about current products and ideas for a future one rather than a list of the companies making panniers. Is it really that weird to want to create your own?

 

[Checkswrecks]

just to be clear, a 36x48 sheet of .080 aluminum is about $50-60 and should be able to complete one muffin top MT1-9. I am not sure why I should want to spend $800 for a set of 3 and then also purchase some other racks for these bags when I can spend about $200 and build them myself. I was hoping for complaints about current products and ideas for a future one rather than a list of the companies making panniers. Is it really that weird to want to create your own?

Absolutely not weird at all! The reason I posted about off the shelf bags is because the price difference of the $309 set of Muffintops and making a set of boxes is close to a wash. Sorry that part didn't come across.


I bought mine a while ago, but at today's prices, this MT-01C set is $309 unpainted. You'll need at least 3 of those ~$55 sheets of aluminum, plus gaskets, 4 locksets, and whatever other supplies. So you are paying about $78/bag in this 2 bag set for that extra hardware, Wendell's labor, experience, and jigs. Maybe you are good enough to get yours right without scrapping the first set and have the time, but most people need to make parts a couple times to get them right. (One reason kit planes are so much faster to build than scratch built.)


Even so, I've not priced luggage in a while and your $800 was a surprise. But especially on a teacher's salary, I see how you got there and the issue.


I watch for scratch & dent & clearance, and am pretty sure I paid something like $230 for my rack set at TwistedThrottle's Clearance site, so was surprised at the new full retail price of $325. That brings a 2-bag set with racks to $625, which is way less than the competing off the shelf welded aluminum sets. Add for the third bag and I see where you got your $800 figure. Of course, when you sell the Tenere, you can re-use the boxes or sell them to recover probably 1/2 at least.




So maybe the best option from a cost/time aspect is to do what we did for my son's VStrom; buying boxes and making the racks? For aluminum, the Muffintops are still hard to beat. But for absolute cheap, my son's boxes were a set of used/broken Caribou/Pelicans that we got for almost nothing and I had to fix with a glued sandwich repair. It's visible in the following photo. The quick-detach mounts were shop scrap, a $12 bag of hockey pucks, and misc hardware.


(Can't find the original to re-size this photo. Sorry about the size.)

 

[Ramseybella]

My plan of attack is this.

Happy trails racks and hardware I have two large Doskocil cases

Grey what the heck if I don't like them I can fit other Panniers on the racks, I am not picky they work.

 

[thfraser]

My ideas maybe a little different, but might be useful.

1) Strong - Built to take a crash
2) It would be really neat, if they could open from the top, or the side. A dual opening system. If you have a ton of stuff strapped to the top of it, wouldn't it be nice to get into side of the pannier without having to unload it?
3) Separate tool compartment built into the pannier. So you could access your stash of tools without having to dig through the bag when they sink to the bottom.
4) Water tight
5) Connection points for auxillary gas contrainers
6) Strap down locations
7) Document holder

1 and 4 are what I would consider the "No duh" requirements. 5 and 6 could be considered pretty standards. Many folks modify their bags to do this as is.

The differentiators in my opinion would be 2 and 3.

 

[thfraser]

Is it really that weird to want to create your own?

::026::

Not all, I love it when I can be creative and create my own solutions!

If I had the time, resources and material to work with, I would create my own.

 

[snakebitten]

The most beautiful (to me) set I have seen on a Tenere was built by a fellow inmate (Canadian) that attended the Ouray rally.

There is an old build thread around here somewhere. They look better in person than the images. And a true gent to boot!

He rides with BMC, if I'm not mistaken.

 

[autoteach]

I bought mine a while ago, but at today's prices, this MT-01C set is $309 unpainted. You'll need at least 3 of those ~$55 sheets of aluminum, plus gaskets, 4 locksets, and whatever other supplies. So you are paying about $78/bag in this 2 bag set for that extra hardware, Wendell's labor, experience, and jigs. Maybe you are good enough to get yours right without scrapping the first set and have the time, but most people need to make parts a couple times to get them right. (One reason kit planes are so much faster to build than scratch built.)


Even so, I've not priced luggage in a while and your $800 was a surprise. But especially on a teacher's salary, I see how you got there and the issue.


I watch for scratch & dent & clearance, and am pretty sure I paid something like $230 for my rack set at TwistedThrottle's Clearance site, so was surprised at the new full retail price of $325. That brings a 2-bag set with racks to $625, which is way less than the competing off the shelf welded aluminum sets. Add for the third bag and I see where you got your $800 figure. Of course, when you sell the Tenere, you can re-use the boxes or sell them to recover probably 1/2 at least.

Maybe I am confused on this. A top box from muffin top is $200, but both side panniers are $300? I think it is $300 for one, but I could be wrong.

 

[BWC]

He rides with BMC, if I'm not mistaken.

Close, BWC often rides with DougC as its great to have someone around to help pick up the beast when this happens. ??? Be wary of roads marked 4x4s only. Did manage to complete the ride and get out the other side. ::26::

Was a good test of the home built panniers, and other than a few scratchs, frames and cases stood up very well.
My take on the home built theme;

-first, at least for my build, very little money was saved over buying something available that could suit my requirements, cost of alluminum sheet (the cheapest part of the build) 3/4" tubing for frames,locking knobs to secure cases to frames, hinges, case latchs, lid seals, primer,topcoat paint etc. adds up quickly.
-mine were designed around the Yamaha cases as I liked their size and how well they suit the bike.
-tried to stay away away from as many plastic parts as possible.

On the other hand if you have the tools and equipment it is an enjoyable project to take on, although I chose to build them from pieces flush riveted together as I lack any sort of alluminum welding skills at this point. Do have a small mig welder that did an easy job of building the frames though.
There is another forum member Dave6 that built a set as well, which were welded and looked very nicely done, along with a custom auxiliary fuel tank to match. ::008::

 

[Checkswrecks]

Maybe I am confused on this. A top box from muffin top is $200, but both side panniers are $300? I think it is $300 for one, but I could be wrong.

You got the prices right and that was my original point. It'd be a close call to make a side bag set for what Wendell charges.
::008::
While his site says 3-5 weeks delivery, he told me that he generally tries to keep the most common sets in stock, which includes the MT1-OC. A set of matched 41 liter boxes adds a whopping $10 and substituting the narrower matched set of 34 liter boxes is $10 less. So underlining the description from http://muffintopindustries.com for $309:


MT1-OC[/size]

• • Our off center set includes one standard 34 liter and one extra large 41 liter aluminum saddlebag.
  • TIG welded out of .080 5052 aluminum alloy.
  • Locking tension latches have 600 lbs load capacity and are keyed alike.
  • Lids come with footman loops for lots of extra storage.
  • High quality marine type hatch seal.
  • The size of these panniers are 17.5" long, 8.5" wide or 10.5" wide and 14" high.
  • [size=medium]

 

[twinrider]

Great price, wonder if they'd attach to a Givi rack...

 

[snakebitten]

BWC, you will forgive me? I'm terrible with nicknames.

I assure you I will NEVER forget you guys and can recognize you in a crowd.
Thoroughly enjoyed our chats beside that stream.

 

[AVGeek]

Like Checkswrecks, I went with the Muffintops on the SW-Motech racks. Since I also commute on this bike, the bags are on more often than they are off (in fact, about the only time they came off the bike was in Ouray when I rode a few of the passes). Two things I've been looking to improve:

The racks; for some reason the SW-Motech racks still splay the bags out so they are wider at the back. Since we can't legally split in AZ, this hasn't created any problems. But when I go to Cali, I do split, and have to keep in mind that she's a fat-bottom girl.

Small storage that stays with the bike; since the racks are the means for removing the panniers, I don't have a good place to store the tire repair kit. I've been looking at the storage box on here (ADV Motorad?), but it's a bit pricey to me, and I'm worried about clearance issues.

 

[cb0802]

If you were to go to another forum focused on adv riding, and search mermite cans project, you will find a very in depth post about converting old army food cans into panniers.
I've seen this on a KLR locally, and it looked very cool on that bike.
I'm not so sure it would look as good on a Tenere, but might be fun to try.
And none of these photos are mine. Credit to the OP in that other forum.

 

[Ramseybella]

If you were to go to another forum focused on adv riding, and search mermite cans project, you will find a very in depth post about converting old army food cans into panniers.
I've seen this on a KLR locally, and it looked very cool on that bike.
I'm not so sure it would look as good on a Tenere, but might be fun to try.
And none of these photos are mine. Credit to the OP in that other forum.

I read a long thread on converting these awhile ago on an older Triumph Tiger forum. What a PITA they are full of foam insulation and getting the inserts out was a project in itself.
On the other hand they did look way cool on a bike when he finished the job painted black.

I just ordered the Happy Trails racks and hardware for my Doskocil box project $350.00 shipped.

 

[Ramseybella]

My plan of attack is this.

Happy trails racks and hardware I have two large Doskocil cases

Grey what the heck if I don't like them I can fit other Panniers on the racks, I am not picky they work.

I am having a hell of a time getting this XL gray Doskocil case from Ebay!!

I received another large case not XL as Advertised guy had wrong model number and measurements in his listing, it arrived yesterday and it was like the Spinal Tap - Stonehenge scene!!
At least it was a Gray box..
I am starting to look at other options need a setup for Moab in October.

 

[Freewheeling]

Looked around shop saw the saw box and said Hmmm. :lamp: Its not mainstream but it was fast and cheap! Now if I could find some sawzall cases for the sides.

 

[RCinNC]

I guess you couldn't call these homemade, since they are made from ammo cans, but I did quite a bit of work on them to get them down from their original weight (I think it was somewhere around 25 pounds) to 14 pounds. I removed a large section of the sheet metal from the front, back and one of the sides and replaced it with (if I recall correctly) 2mm aluminum. I left one side in the original sheet metal because I wanted to present a smooth face on the outside (more visually appealing). The aluminum was riveted to the ammo cans, and sealed with silicon to make them waterproof. I scrapped the lids (way too heavy) and built new ones from scratch using simple aluminum angle and 2mm aluminum sheet. The panniers were painted with truck bed liner, and the insides were sprayed white to make it easier to find things. The latches are your basic hardware store latches. The were attached to Happy Trail racks using a homemade quick release system. I think I had about $150.00 into the project, which included the price of the ammo cans.

After all that work, I ended up not really liking them, and they were recycled for the aluminum.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Those look great.