[Toni59]

Hi,
I am planning to mount some boxes on my Himalayan (once I got it finally).
At the moment I am reading and comparing all the main supplier.

My two favorites are right now:

A) Original Royal Enfield Aluminium panniers in connection with the original carrier.
Advantages:
Original RE Himalayan


Disadvantages:
Mount to carrier looks very basic
Only 26 liters
Seems, that rivets protrude into the interior (from pictures)


B) Givi trekker alaska in connection with the Givi Himalayan mount
Advantages:
36 liters each
From avalable Internet information: well built
Good locking system on carrier
Easy detachable with key lock
Additional optional equipment available


Disadvantages:
Overall width might be larger than A) due to bigger volume


Interesting for me would be the overall width when mounted for A) and B)


It also seems, that in both cases the flashing lights have to be mounted further back since otherwise the boxes hide the light. (That is is also the case with the original RE boxes seems like a design failure)

Has anybody some expierience with one or the other and can give me some additional advice?

Thanks
Toni

[oldphart]

I've got the Royal Enfield panniers and they are brilliant. Solid. Well made. Waterproof in heavy rain (proven). Lockable. I love mine and they're on the bike constantly. I love that I can stop on the way home and do some shopping.

However, because they're on the bike constantly, I carry too much stuff - full water proofs, three pairs of gloves (summer, intermediate, winter... and there have been times where I've happily changed from one to another during a ride), a hat (coz I'se bald and have skin cancers on my pate), two shopping bags (filled carefully, one will go each side with room for more and that's over a week's shopping for this single bloke), disc lock, cable lock so I can leave my helmet on the bike while shopping, binoculars (seriously).

They're riveted together, as you commented, and these interfere with removing the panniers. If you're going to be taking them on and off, you need to back off the bolts for the lower mounts slightly (maybe a turn) to allow a bit of flex in that mount. If those bolts are done up tight, the rivets foul on the frame. I don't remove my panniers, so I keep them tight, but I don't seriously think it'd be a problem if you kept them loosened so you could remove the panniers. In simpler terms, it's not perfect but it's not a problem.

The frames for the panniers are an enclosed rectangle. If I ever go touring on dirt, I'll use my soft panniers - firstly because they hold more, secondly because it's more fun being trapped under a soft pannier than a hard one. My soft panniers have a strap on each corner and I will be able to strap the panniers securely to the frames while having them held in place away from the bike.

The panniers are very strong. I've whacked them against things and dropped it on its side once (mucked up moving off didn't I) and they're essentially unmarked. Very well made.

The Royal Enfield panniers are well worth considering and a brilliant product for my use.

There's an Australian company (Queensland I think) that makes panniers out of the same plastic as wheelie bins. Their promo video shows them driving over a set with a four wheel drive, then massaging them (with heat) back to their normal shape. I don't have a link but might be able to find it if you're interested.

Then there's this option which I know nothing about because I only found it while searching for the product mentioned above
https://www.motorcycleadventure.com.au/parts-finder/royal-enfield/himalaya/

[Toni59]

@ Oldphart:

Thanks for the detailed report 

Yes, it's like a house with these suitcases - every room fills up at some point. 

Could you please measure the width on the cases when they are assembled?

Yes, I already assumed that the Himalayan boxes are made rather to stay mounted. Since the lock mechanism seems to be not designed to open it  more often.

I don't want plastic cases on the Himalayan, I don't think it fits the style of the bike. (I have plastic boxes on my BMW and there they fit and are perfect).

For the Himalayan I prefer either cases made of aluminium or soft cases, but I haven't found any soft cases yet that would have convinced me.

Another good Point for the Givi‘s is, that Givi is a well known European manufacturer with a lot of experience in travel gear.

I am looking further to find a report about the Trekker Alaska to compare it with your report.

Regards

Toni

[oldphart]

The RE panniers come off easily enough, but you do need those bottom bolts loosened slightly (NOT loose, just backed off a little) and you need to reach inside to undo the top clamp. The beauty of this system is that they're locked onto the bike.

I can't measure them at the moment because the bike is at a mate's place while I borrow his Bullet. If I haven't got back to you by next weekend, it's because I've forgotten so just post a reminder on here and I'll see the new post come in.

Do you want the overall width? The internal width of the cases?

One issue with leaving them on all the time is that the bike now has the arse-end of a bus - although still narrower than the handlebars, lane filtering is a thing of the past for this old bloke.

[Bilgemaster]

Noraly Schoenmaker of YouTube "Itchy Boots" fame is the gal who's probably put the most miles in the saddle of a Himi. So, perhaps it might interest other adventurous types to learn about the gear she likes.

Informed by the personal experience of putting over 36,000+ kilometers through 25 countries on her white Himi dubbed "Basanti" with those stock RE Aluminum panniers, etc. through India, Malaysia, then through Central Asia, Iran, Russia, Turkey, Europe, and back to her home in the Netherlands, here's a video showing how she's fitted out her new black Himi named "Dhanno": https://youtu.be/q1_EecI70W0.

For her Tierra del Fuego to Alaska run on "Dhanno", currently on a hopefully brief hiatus due to the whole "Covfefe-19" unpleasantness, she's opted for soft luggage from a company called Mosko (see: https://moskomoto.com/). Aside from the fact that the new luggage was a gift to support her voyages, I seem to recall her explaining some advantages she imagined to soft vs. hard luggage in one of her videos before she set off for South America...maybe even the one I've already linked to. I'm old. I forget things.

For far more details on her other gear, check out her blog at https://www.itchyboots.com/bikers-guide/gear-and-equipment-dhanno (for Dhanno) and also https://www.itchyboots.com/bikers-guide/basanti-gear-and-equipment (for Basanti).

Anyhow, good luck fitting out your own Himalayan. Personally, I rather like those OEM Himi panniers, and have the rather more--"Ahem"--primitive  OEM metal panniers on my own Iron Bellied Bullet "Military", and just adore the rattly handy old things. From my many previous postings about them here, it must also be clear by now that I'm also a big fan of those ultra-cheapo yet sturdy canvas Stansport saddlebags, which serve handily as supplementary storage on longer trips and a fine place to stow my camping doodads in the closet when I'm not off communing with some elderly woodchuck that enjoys Beanie-Weenie.

[Toni59]

Hi Bilgemaster,

thanks for your advice.

Yes, of course I've stumbled upon Noraly, and her videos were certainly also part of my decision for a Himalayan.
I think I have seen them all and also read her homepage several times. You get the wanderlust...

It's probably the same as always: Probably you could take a trip around the world with a few shopping bags or without any luggage at all. But as long as you only dream of it, it is also the preparation that makes you happy and gives you a nice pastime.

At the moment I only dream of it, due to my job, and indulge in preparations.

In my younger years, I used to travel to a different European country every year on holiday in a motorcycle group - each time in one or two week stages. Over everything seen I was so more than 70000 km on the road on my BMW.

Now that I'm getting older, I want to slow down - and I'm working on that :-)

Still enjoying reading about hard and soft cases, pro and cons and gathering experiences 

Toni, who still has no delivery date for his Himalayan... 

[oldphart]

Rough measurements in the dark suggest that the overall width of the panniers fitted to the bike is 89cm or 2'11".

If you want an accurate measurement, I'll have to have a proper go at it, but the answer would be less than that. Knowing Royal Enfield, it could vary too (one of my frames was a bit wonky so they aren't welded in a jig, well, not a good one anyway)

[Toni59]

Hello Oldparth,

Thanks for the measurement - that is  accurate enough.

I hope that I find someone who has the Givi‘s in use to get the äquivalent  dimension of this combination...


By the way: Did you move the flashing lights to the back?

Regards from Germany

Toni

[oldphart]

Yes, I moved the flashers to the back. I even ran the wires the way the factory recommends but it's a sloppy arrangement and you may find yourself wondering about neater ways of doing it.

The RE panniers are rather slim in themselves, but the frames place the panniers well out from the bike - it's there you might be able to narrow things. Having said that, the overall width of the panniers is still less than the handlebars (though not by much)

[Toni59]

Hello Oldparth,

Yes, I have already recognized from the pictures that the Original Himalayan frames are very wide.

It could be (I take this from the Givi pictures) that the Givi frames are narrower. So it could be also that the Givi boxes, although they have 10 liters more each, might not be wider overall.

It is good to know that the handlebars are still the widest part :-)
So where the handlebar is through, the rest will fit 

Yes, moving the flashers increases safety....

I am still of the opinion that the lighting system should be mounted at the factory in such a way that at least the original boxes can be fitted without having to make any changes.

I have already seen pictures of Himalayan‘s with Original Boxes,  where the owners have probably decided not to move the indicators for convenience. That would be too risky for me.

What I can not see from pictures:
Is the rear light still sufficiently visible after mounting the boxes - especially from the side or is visibility also limited?


Regards

Toni

[oldphart]

Having had a good look at my bike:
The flashers are a good six inches in from the back of the panniers and well below the top - they'll be near enough to invisible unless the observer is directly behind you.
Also, one of the bracing struts almost certainly goes through the head of the flasher.
Sorry mate, I think you'll be moving them.

[ChristofR]

I've got the Royal Enfield panniers and they are brilliant. Solid. Well made. Waterproof in heavy rain (proven).

That's hard to believe. I've heard several stories that the original RE panniers are NOT waterproof. It even says so on the official Royal Enfield website.
@TS: take a look here, SW Motech have a nice range as well. I'll be mouting the Sysbag set but the contents may be too small for you. But they've got loads of other options as well.
https://sw-motech.com/

[oldphart]

That's hard to believe. I've heard several stories that the original RE panniers are NOT waterproof. It even says so on the official Royal Enfield website.
@TS: take a look here, SW Motech have a nice range as well. I'll be mouting the Sysbag set but the contents may be too small for you. But they've got loads of other options as well.
https://sw-motech.com/

Yeah. I'm obviously bullshitting and trying to lead someone on.
I'm talking from my experience. I'm sorry it doesn't match yours... oh that's right, you don't have any but you're qualified to call me a liar because you read it on the internet.

[Toni59]

Hello ChristofR,

that is an interesting information...

I checked it on the GIVI Homepage

https://www.givi.it/givi-products/side-hardbags/monokey/ala36apack2-trekker-alaska

 and couldn‘t also find any clear information about water protection.
They are talking something about „high ingress protection against dust and water“.

Somewhere in one of the videos from Noraly she spoke of condensation water that had formed in the Enfield boxes due to high temperature fluctuations and had soaked the content....


Regards

Toni

[oldphart]

I know you want aluminium, but this is impressive to watch just the same.

https://youtu.be/zGaUgQfBV88