Well after some research and debate on luggage systems I have gone for the Caribou cases and the SW Rack.
The primary reason I went for them was a) the cases are indestructible, b) they have a life time guarantee c) I like the idea of a rounded plastic case you can carry easily d) the SW rack detaches easily from the bike and finally cost. Including a set of inner bags total cost is �700

I bought the 35L cases, these were recommend as they are the strongest around the handle area. As they are side opening cases they come with a retaining strap and a lanyard to stop them opening all the way. This stops all your stuff falling out when you open them. If you use an inner bag as I plan to then this is not an issue.



To install the SW Rack you first bolt the brackets to the bike and then fix the rack with � turn fasters. These fasters seem fairly heavy duty but if you plan to do a long trip over rugged terrain you can replace these with hard bolts. The big benefit of this is that when you are not using your cases the rack comes off very quickly so you don’t look like a pizza delivery bike.


The rack fitted well and uses the intended points on the frame. You do need to remove the rear mudguard to get the bolts in. The rear bracket does mount to the rear mudguard across the back of the number plate, if you have cut your mudguard it does not need to but then of course it will show.
So overall the quality of the cases and fitting system looks very good, the quality of the rack looks ok but until it has been used in anger we will have to see how it holds up. I do think the design of the rack also lends itself to be able to repair.
Once all together they seem sturdy, although I to put a washer on the Givi adapter to force the case snug. I also plan to put some hard rubber on the rack that will be slightly compressed when the case is locked into position.



So will it all stand up ? the bottom line is if you have a big incident something has to give, the cases will not break and you don’t want to bend the subframe of your bike, so it’s likely that the compression lock at the top will break. In that case you tie the case to the rack to get you home and then buy a $25 replacement lock. Seems sensible to me.
The only modification I plan to make is to possibly lower them a tad. I’ll give more feedback as I start to use them.
more pics