For two seasons now I've been riding with a top box, and last season also a tank bag. For rides spanning a couple of days I've also had to add a small backpack to bring enough stuff with me. I know, take as little as possible right, but a pair of extra shoes alone take up a lot of space.
So I've been looking with envy on the BMW 1200 GS's and other bikes with big aluminum panniers that I've met along my way. The price of aluminum panniers has held me back though, as has the $250-$300 (about the same in euros/pounds at today's exchange rates) price tag for a Hepco & Becker rack. And when a used rack or pannier set pops up on ebay, the shipping cost to Norway is usually so steep it's not worth looking at.
Then late one night, browsing ebay again for the umpteenth time to try and find a luggage solution that I could afford, suddenly my eyes glanced upon two magical words:
CLOSEOUT SALE
Moose Racing aluminum panniers that I had already ruled out because of their high price, were suddenly 70-ish percent off in the United States. Down from $350-$400 to just $90. And the seller offered shipping through ebay's global shipping program, meaning the shipping was very affordable.
Long story short, I thought "it's now or never" and promptly bought two cases, and in doing so added almost 70 liters of storage capacity to my bike.
Two weeks later, the cases arrived and with shipping, taxes and fees they ended up costing me just $150 a piece. That price even included a nice lid liner for each case, with several zipped compartments!
Inspecting the cases on arrival, I was very happy with my purchase. The outside has a nice, grey structured paint and a bunch of sturdy plastic corner protectors that double as tiedown points.
The latches seem to be stainless steel, feel very strong and secure, and come ready for my choice of padlock or cylinder lock (the latter by removing a rubber bung on the latches). They work flawlessly and really clamp the lid down tight. There are latches both front and rear on the cases, and if you only open one the other acts as a hinge. Great!
Judging by the inside of the case and lid, great care has been taken to flatten rivet heads and apply caulking in all the right places to seal the case up good and tight.
The lid also has a groove around the edge where it meets the case, and the case has a lip that protrudes up from the case and seats in the lid's groove. Great waterproofing even by rainy Norwegian standards!
Lid liner closeup.
I was so happy with the included lid liners' quality, that I went online and looked for liners for the cases, too. Sure enough, the case liners were also on sale. Two more weeks and $20 per liner later, two very good looking Moose Racing case liners arrived. Fitment was 100% and I can't wait to put all of these new items to good use in the upcoming riding season.
There was only one slight problem.....
I still didn't have a rack!