Panniers | Moto-Abruzzo

23/03/201603/05/2019

First ‘breakdown’ in ages

Removed the right pannier the other day while changing out the rear brake pads (makes life a bit easier!) but couldn’t get the latch to close properly when refitting it …… turns out the latch has broken on one side of the pivot. It looks like it’s just fatigue over the years of bouncing (over) loaded boxes across the continent. So a new latch (Hepco Becker part no: 700.101.00.01) has been ordered from http://www.hepco-and-becker-luggage.co.uk a spin-off company of Moto-Bins. Cost should be £22.80 but they’re knocking 15% off at the moment, so it cost £19.38 delivered. I can live with that!

The latch comes complete with new lock, keys and pop-rivets to fit it. However the original is installed with solid rivets, so this is what I’ll use as well. This of course means stripping the liner out and unbolting the aluminium box from the chrome/steel frame, but it’s only a 10-15 minute job and a good excuse to give everything a damn good clean and polish at the same time. 😀

08/11/201426/05/2016

Augmented reality Capo luggage!

(AR) – Augmented Reality, the overlaying of graphics, data etc. on real-time video or imagery. Nothing new really, it’s been done for years ……. but not in my back yard it hasn’t!

I’ve been playing with an Android app called ‘Augment’ which in combination with its website, allows 3D models to be uploaded and then selected from your smartphone and overlayed/inserted into the real-time image from your phones camera. These stills and video were taken after uploading a basic model of a pannier/water bottles I knocked up last year. The bit of paper in the pannier frame is a target I printed out from the website – it’s this that the model is oriented and locked on to.

And here’s a couple of stills taken via the app. I must say I was bloody impressed with how well it stayed in position … I could move round to quite severe angles to the target before it lost position lock. Even moving the camera around quite agressively didn’t seem to phase it much.

Since playing with the pannier, I’ve tried a few more models – coils, various brackets and brake caliper bits …. it’s fantastic fun just sitting at a table looking at various Capo parts over a cup of (real!) coffee.

21/01/201226/05/2016

A mouse in the works

What with the mild winter and the vastly improved road surface, I’ve been lucky enough Aprilia Caponord ETV1000 Rally-Raid good times! to use the Capo far more than previous winters. That has meant the Range Rover languishing in the corner. And that has been the cause of yet more trouble.

One man’s car is another mouse’s home, especially when it sits day-after-day slowly dropping to its bump-stops and enticing grass and weeds to grow through the wheels. So muncher-mouse duly set up home under the battery compartment lid and made a comfy nest – from the bonnet liner, cable insulation and some hoses!

The car still started and ran, but what a mess! So I served the little darling an eviction notice (waved a big fluffy chicken!) and took stock of the damage. All this meant a trip to town for spares, so on an obscenely sunny afternoon, I took the Capo for a whiz around Pescara.

Long-story-short, I got the bits I needed AND luck would have it, I got the last bit of aluminium chequer-plate (on sale!!) to finish off the capo pannier lid modifications I started a couple of years ago. I already had the marine grade stainless steel tie-down points and hardware on the shelf, but the plate just seemed to get forgotten each time we’d been in-store.

So the Range Rover got shiny new cables and pipes and the Capo got the topbox make-over I’d waited aeons to get around too. All-in-all, a tidy result.

Oh and the mouse? Last I heard it was doing impressions of a dog whistle at Mouseville!

30/06/2011

Brew ha-ha!

I’ve written before about the good and bad points of the Aprilia (Rimowa) panniers, but one of the niggles I never mentioned was the carry handle on the lid. I never use it and the damn thing gets in the way.

So after a happy couple of hours cutting, sanding and drilling … they’ve been replaced by a nice piece of checker plate. A vast expanse of flat surface on which to make a brew and sort out my sarnies and nibbles. Smashing stuff!

Now I’m looking for a set of ‘pannier-top’ bags to finish off the job … bags to put the afore mentioned sarnies and tea brewing paraphernalia into. No more unstrapping panniers to delve inside for munchy stuff, it’ll all be on hand at the ‘zzzz‘ of a zip ….

25/02/201128/04/2019

Thinking inside the box

The Rally Raid comes as standard with luggage – Aprilia badged Hepco & Becker ‘Alu-Exclusive’ luggage to be exact. And pretty good it is too … if a little wide. Each of the panniers – from Aprilia £421.02 each (unbadged – £317.25 each) holds a quoted 41L but in fact holds nearer 28L once you take into account the room lost to the foam lining. In fact that lining is one of the case’s endearing features. It not only provides added rigidity to the case, but also makes it very thermally efficient – excellent for keeping stuff cool on long hot ride-outs.

The lid hinges forward about 120° to a stop – a nice touch that prevents the lids dropping down against the pannier body and stressing the hinge. A single locking latch keeps the lid locked tight against the weather seal which, though not completely waterproof does a damn good job (rain for 1,500 miles/24hrs and only let in an egg-cup full).

So far so good … but now the not so nice bits. Firstly, the pannier is only held in place by one latch. A latch that can be easily broken in a low-speed ‘off’, leaving the pannier to fall away to its lonesome fate bouncing down the carriageway. Secondly, fitting water bottle frames etc. That foam liner now becomes a pain .. you either have to remove it, or drill it to fit screws/bolts through . I used a tool that takes a 10mm ‘core’ out, then re-glued it into place – neat, but fiddly. Lastly, the rigidity the foam provides – it’s deliberate . As the aluminium body is thin, VERY thin .. like 0.5mm thin, it needs the foam to hold its shape. That means that in a spill the cases deform alarmingly easily as the aluminium has no strength of its own – not good at all.

This all leads to the question of upgrading the pannier system. I want to use the original frames and just replace the boxes. I don’t want to compromise on space or water-resistance, but I do want to improve on pannier strength – albeit at a slight weight gain. I want boxes that only scuff, not crush like a bag of crisps when the bike drops on its side …. and are relatively burst-proof when faced with a BIG impact – sadly, the Hepco-Becker has neither of these virtues.

Here are the systems I’ve looked at:-

Hepco & Becker – straight swap, different models but mass produced to a budget. Up to approx. £550 per pair.

Touratech – Easy to fit with provided kit but expensive and living off their name. Up to approx. £600 per pair.

Caja Sahel – Hand made and easy to fit with Touratech mounts. Powder coated with tie-down points provided. €450-550 per pair.

Project VND – Hand made and easy to fit with Touratech mounts. Anodised finish with hinged and removable lid. £500-600 per pair.

Metal Mule – Nice, but expensive and needs dedicated mounting system. System from £1,300!

Or the other option … design and build your own! Well almost. I’m happy to do the designing bit, but manufacturing is a tad more complex, at least to get a ‘factory’ finish …. and frankly, my aluminium welding leaves more holes than welds. So I’ve enlisted the help of a local metal guru to turn my drawings into reality … and when finished, they’ll look something like this.

500mm Long x 430mm Tall x 250mm Wide (using 2mm aluminium) ….. so the same width as the originals but longer and taller, giving a (hopefully) usable volume somewhere around 47L each. They’ll be mounted to the existing 15mm dia. rails with Touratech mount kits (01-053-0010-0 approx. €47).