I had a closer look at the Yamaha luggage system for the Z yesterday. I like that it fits neatly on the bike and is fairly slim. Has anyone get any feedback on the strength of the system, in particular has anyone dropped a bike yet with this on ?

I do know someone who used the top box key in the side pannier by mistake and as it was the wrong key the key snapped off, is this good or bad?

Good as it means it did not open, bad in that the key seems weak?

I need some luggage for an offroad trip and if I thought the Yamaha system would stand up to the bumps I would go for them.

Any thoughts

I'm debating much the same thing Scottnet...

I think it depends how far you want to go 'off-road'... I'm sure it would hold up to the odd dirt road or trail to a campsite, but day in day out on washboard piste (for example) is hard on any luggage, and looking at the Yamaha boxes, the mounting system (and the main carcass of the cases) is plastic, and I reckon would soon start to wear and/eventually fail? or at the very least rattle like a ba*tard? I love the way it connects to the bike though, like you say...

Yes the Yamaha set is warrantied of course, but the warranty is of little use if the mountings fail a thousand miles from anywhere?

On the whole, overland travelers tent to use 'proper' aluminium boxes (ie. not plastic ones skinned in aluminium) or soft (and waterproof) Ortlieb style bags and panniers...

Having felt the weight (and seen the price!) of the Metal Mule pannier system, while I have no doubt it would hold up well overlanding (as opposed to primarily road touring), the additional weight and substantial cost really doesn't convince me... not unless security was of paramount importance.

Alternatively Touratech boxes are lighter weight (in both senses of the word), but as yet they don't have a rack for the new Tenere... likewise the Hepco Becker rack system doesn't seem to be available just yet?

Personally I'm going for soft bags for my next jaunt - keep it simple, keep it light...

JennyMo xxx

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Maybe this is the right place to ask this. Does anyone know if the Yamaha top box will fit an Arai Tour-X, I just cant seem to get a look at any of this Yamaha stuff.

I took both panniers & top box (although Yamaha say you should use one or the other) 8146 miles, everything from Fast forest gravel to bl00dy awful Romanian (war zone like) roads, and like everyone else I was worried about it's ability to stand up, had Touratech had a carrier I wouldn't have even considered the Yam OEM stuff. I did drop the bike, on gravel at about 30km/h, happy to report that the only damage was a slight scuff to the hand guards (Yam OEM ones) and some marks to the pannier. I'm quite suprised by the durability of these, and would certainly give them a go off road, although I would make some modifications and fix a stabiliser bar across the back, and I will as soon as I get chance (got my Fazer in a million bits right now, and there is still too much daylight available for some green lanes).

Yes it does, but it's tight.

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I have commented the oem panniers here, here and here. Love the mounting system in theory but I wouldn't recommend them.

Hi, re the yamaha side cases.....

My key snapped in the lock on the first trip and in the first week. That was nearly a month ago and I'm still waiting for the second fix as the first failed and didn't make it out of the dealers.

My view is a set of soft bags or a Givi set would have been a better alternative given the price and availability af the other aluminium cases.

My view is yamaha have got quite a bit of work to do before their boxes can be taken as serious contenders for the type of riding the tenere is meant for.

Think carefully before splashing the cash on the Yamaha kit.
still waiting!

See my pics&talks on the Hepco&Becker thread, I prefer the alu panniers and yes, they're already available since september. The Yamaha system looks good, but on the long run, especially when you go offroad, you'd better pick the alu panniers or softbags, like Jmo said. Greetz, Hans.

P.s.: one pic as an appetizer, look for more pics on the mentioned thread.

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I have the Yamaha stock panniers. Dropped the bike once at standstill, nothing happened to the mount, just some scratches on the black plastic bit. Keys can be way better. Got poured once, and found two drops of water at the bottom of one of the cases. I think there is some gap between the outside alu part and the black plastic part where the water got in. Inside stuff could get dusty, so I used plastic bags to cover the top. I think they will hold up in offroad better than most think because of the design, but yes, the mount is plastic. I too bought them because of its looks (with the minimalistic pannier holder when the panniers are off) and I got a good deal from them.

I've been watching this subject with interest, as I'm tempted by some hard luggage for the Tenere, even if my sensible head means I do stick with Ortlieb soft-bags for the more serious off-road adventure stuff...

While I like the way the Yamaha system works/looks, it seems my fears about longevity and robustness are coming to light when people have started to use this stuff off-road.

However, I think I might have found the answer?! - Caribou Cases in the US convert Pelican cases into proper panniers (with locks, retaining straps etc - see info in link)...

http://www.cariboucases.com/store/?n...=i&item=000132

...and while they don't have plans to produce their own specific rack mounting for the Tenere (unless it comes to the US as an official model), their ALS system allows the Pelicans to be quick-release fitted to SW Motech EVO frames, which are available for the new Tenere (for around �169 in the UK).

Yes you could buy a pair of bog-standard Pelicans for less and bolt them directly to the EVO frames (which are quick release themselves), but the Caribou conversion and QR system makes it more versatile - and the whole set up would only cost a little over �400 for the pair of panniers and the SW Motech rack.

Best of all, I think a pair of Pelican case would look way cool on the new Tenere - especially a black one!

Worth considering?

I know I am...

xxx

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"Where we're going, we don't need roads..."

JennyDakar.com

Just an update -

Last weekend (as mentioned in some other threads) I managed to get the bike through some pretty serious flooding, on the same ride the roads were wet/muddy so the bike did get a bit of a covering - and I had the top box on!

Yesterday, I tried to get the sodding thing open, and it was as sitff as hell, so I had a run over to the dealer (J&L Motorcycles in Carlisle) and asked them to take a look. I must confess that every problem I've been to see them about (I've three Yamaha's, TTR, Fizer and the Ten) they have resolved on the first visit, in my opinion they really are top notch. Fountain of knowledge the lot of them.

Anyway, they squirted some, what they described as 'Lock Oil' into the barrel and working of the lock - got it home, so it had had a chance to work it's way in - and the lock is better than new, smooth, and it doesn't feel like it's going to snap.

Maybe part of the problem here is that the locks just don't have enough lubrication ? I know when I stripped down the lock on the panniers and lubricated them they were 100% better, a bit rough now, but they have been half way around the world.....

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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.