Hi Scottnet. is the SW rack the same as the Givi rack?
If not do you know what the difference is or which one is best to use?

Did you get hit for tax shipping them into the UK?

Your cases look great and i think thats the way i'm going to go.

Portmarco

Where abouts in N Ireland you from?

Live just outside belfast myself just incase you maybe wanna meet up someday when the roads arent covered in ice. Not that i dont ride all year round just takes the fun out of biking really.

Hi Maxwell

I'm up in Portrush. Sure would be good to meet up sometime.
I'm going to the NEC show on Tuesday and on my return I'll be ordering a XTZ through Ray's Motorcycles Galgorm, want to wait now for 2009 reg.

I know what you're saying Josephau - I'm already traveling 'self sufficient' with a minimalist kit in a couple of dry bags on the rear seat, it works well on and off road (makes a nice back rest for my camelbak x) but is a bit of a faff strapping everything on and off. Mind you, they are pretty quick release when I do drop the bike and can't pick it up with the extra weight on board!

Certainly for 'everyday' use and weekends away, I would appreciate having my gear in panniers - I'm just not sure how well the (SWM) mounting system would stand up to endless pounding on dirt roads? - I have/had a Touratech Top box for my Honda XR650, but that ended up shaking itself (and the mounting plate) to pieces after 12,000 miles...

xxx

No the Givi racks and the SW racks are not the same. I was advised by the guy that makes the cases that SW were better than Givi, so that is all I can go on.

As with all these things only time will tell if they will hold up.

Wow, I thought Touratech boxes were indestructible, I think this is the first time I hear about its sorry state.

It wasn't so much the box itself (although the catches are pretty rubbish - one was always loose and you had to lock it to keep it closed) - it was the way it mounts to the quick release bracket:

To create a snug fit, Touratech fit little rubber pads to the bottom of mounting plate that attaches to the box itself. These eventally wear out/fall out and the box starts to rattle on the corrisponding bottom half that bolts to your rack/bike. This caused the bottom half of mounting to bend and eventually crack - although to be fair Touratech did replace the cracked part under warrenty (even though it took about a month to get the part from Germany!)

The cases themselves are pretty tough (I like their simple, fuss-free design) although if you crash hard they can bend and will need a bit of straightening before the lid closes properly. Also, the lid seal is not 100% waterproof I've found. Finally, like all aluminium boxes, unless they are painted/anodised, anything you put in there tend to get grubby as it rubs on the bare metal which puts a black layer of oxidization on your gear.

It's a shame people don't rate the HB Gobi boxes particularly highly, as they seem a great concept. I guess the Pelican case solves all the problems in one?

xxx

Just looking at the pictures of your set-up again Scottnet... and thinking about all those long highway miles across the country next year...

A couple of questions - is it possible to remove the racks while the cases are still fitted to the racks? (ie is there enough room to get to the quick release fasteners).

I guess if yes, then it's feasible to use standard pelican cases on the racks (saving money) and just disconnect the whole lot if you want to take them into the hotel etc.

If no, then at least it's a good security set-up, in that the boxes/rack can't be removed when they are left on the bike...

Also, on the Tenere specifically, do you think there is enough room on any of the tabs to fit the locks that SW Motech offer as an option?

Many thanks,

Jenny xx

Yes its possible to get to all the 1/4 turn fasteners, the only one that is a bit awkward is at the top but with a stubby screwdriver you can do this, see pic

http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/p...IMG_0534-1.jpg
Carrying the case with the rack is also not a huge problem but you need to just be a bit careful with the protruding struts. This pic shows the case with the frame attached

http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/p...s/IMG_0533.jpg

Not sure of the security attachment but in the PDF showing the fitting instructions they show this part so I'm sure its feasible.

Now the big questions is is this worth the hassle, I priced 1550 cases in the UK at �150, fairly sure in the US you can get them a lot cheaper. But the value add that caribou do is
1) Quick attach
2) Lock
3) lanyards - to stop stuff falling out if you open them on the bike
4) Retaining straps to stop cases opening all the way if opened on the bike

Sure you can do all these yourself but you will lose the life time guarantee. As he does the mods you keep the guarantee.

So if you price in the difference vs the hassle of having to take the frame off every time over the number of times you are going to do this, for me personally I would go for the Caribou case.

Also if you are planning a very rough off road trip I would recommend replacing the 1/4 turn fasteners with a hard bolt kit ( Caribou also do a hard bolt kit). So then you would need to take the cases off.

On the other hand if you use inner bags you don't have to take off anything overnight just take the bags out, so in that case if the case was bolted direct to the frame you would only take the rack off once in a while

Many thanks for the info (and pictures!) Scottnet - that is a pretty thorough case for getting the Caribous...

I agree with everything you're saying, I just wanted to see what the alternative was (and for anyone else considering)... from the photo with the screwdriver, it looks like the SWM locking connectors would fit in that space if you wanted to fit them?

Thanks again...

Jenny xx