750 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Yo, I've seen some Honda panniers via Dobles on Ebay. It says they 'click into the factory luggage slots already on the bike' - I've not actually looked over mine yet, it got delivered and I tucked it into the garage until my insurance is renewed. So, question is - do they just click right in? I would have thought I'd need a rack. Also, aside from Honda original gear, is there an equally as good/better aftermarket option? I really need two panniers and a top box combo for a big euro trip I'm doing in August. Let me know, more info the merrier :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer swimmer Posted February 8, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted February 8, 2016 The Honda factory cases are the only ones that mount to the bike using the factory location which, there is no need for a rack. The other options require a rack. Giv and maybe some other make cases (and racks) that will work but none are as neat of a solution as the factory side cases in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chanmenie Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Go with genuine panniers John then no rack required, they just clip on and of so easily and are supported by the pillion foot peg mounts you should notice a rubber bung on the bar that extends from the back of the pillion footpeg mounts, and two slots in the rear subframe under the seat, each side. Swimmer is right OEM look so much neater Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoystonRocket2 Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 I'd go with the Honda OEM luggage too, infact I did for the reasons given above. It's a very neat solution and doesn't leave you with big ugly frames when you're not using the luggage. But you do need a rack for the Honda top box so make sure you get that with any topbox you buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
750 Posted February 8, 2016 Author Share Posted February 8, 2016 Brilliant! I do love Honda :) Ok, settled...factory bags it is, I'm assuming they're not water tight as I've seen liner bags available. I'll probably get a non Honda top box as I need to fit one large and one small helmet in as the Mrs is joining us on the trip. Thanks for advice chaps :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Skids Posted February 8, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted February 8, 2016 Honda do a 45litre box for the 1200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jekrumpe Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Brilliant! I do love Honda :) Ok, settled...factory bags it is, I'm assuming they're not water tight as I've seen liner bags available. I'll probably get a non Honda top box as I need to fit one large and one small helmet in as the Mrs is joining us on the trip. Thanks for advice chaps :) Mine have never leaked and they've seen a lot of water! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marriedman Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 The liners are only so you can keep the luggage on the bike and carry your stuff inside a hotel or your house. The bags do not leak in my experience with torrential downpours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotardMenace Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I am pretty sure I am going with the factory bags because they do attach nice and cleanly. My only issue (s) is (in photos anyway) they look so low and a bit out of place. I guess for handling they are better off being lower. Price is also a tad on the high end as they will cost me 20% of what I spent on the bike but when looking at aftermarket solutions you don't really save much. Anyone have a good source for the bags? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marriedman Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 If I had it to do over again, I'd go with the Givi to be honest. They are tougher and I don't worry about scuffs happening on those. Plus they can hold more due to the shape. Just my $0.02. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer swfarrar Posted February 9, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted February 9, 2016 The OEM bags do look tidier and don't require installation of side racks but the Givis are of equal quality to the Honda bags. In fact Givi was making the bags for Honda at the time I bought mine. I commuted with my bags for several years in Seattle. Plenty of opportunities for leaks but never had a problem One small tip about packing for a long trip. Arrange your stuff as much as possible with the heavy stuff, your tool roll, your bottle of bourbon, at the bottom of the side cases and lighter stuff in the top box. It's amazing how top heavy you can make the bike if all your bags are full. I recommend these black reflective tape kits. They're almost invisible in the daytime but light up brilliantly when hit by headlights. http://www.reflectivelyyours.com/generic117.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Skids Posted February 9, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted February 9, 2016 Unfortunately, AFAIK in the UK you can only have red reflective at the rear, which means red tape rather than that stylish black tape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
750 Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 And bicycle's yellow footpeg reflectors? But yeah, seems to be an MOT fail if it's not red tape. But then look at police and paramedic motorcycles, they're leathered in the stuff I'd bet you'd be VERY hard pressed to find a police officer that would zap you for having reflective yellow tape on the back of your bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotardMenace Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 If I had it to do over again, I'd go with the Givi to be honest. They are tougher and I don't worry about scuffs happening on those. Plus they can hold more due to the shape. Just my $0.02. Thanks for the info, something for me to consider I guess. I have had Givi bags in the past and they are a quality product. I just like the clean look without racks but I guess I could get the quick release racks from SW motech and go with Givi bags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bayarearider Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 If it's Givi...make it MonoKey grade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sayo Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Oem bags look so much nicer than givi, I've always hated mounting hardware Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rydfly Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 If I had it to do over again, I'd go with the Givi to be honest. They are tougher and I don't worry about scuffs happening on those. Plus they can hold more due to the shape. Just my $0.02. Thanks for the info, something for me to consider I guess. I have had Givi bags in the past and they are a quality product. I just like the clean look without racks but I guess I could get the quick release racks from SW motech and go with Givi bags. I've been using that exact setup with Givi V35 cases since I bought the bike new in 2011. Both the racks and cases are great products and (in my opinion) don't detract from the looks at all. The racks remove quickly with 3 quarter-turn fasteners, though I leave mine on pretty much all the time. Other advantages are that I don't worry about scratching them since the whole lid isn't painted like the OEM's, and the entire setup was hundreds of $$$ cheaper than OEM. I'm using the SW Motech rear carrier as well, though I don't have a top case for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer swimmer Posted February 10, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted February 10, 2016 The GIVI V35 cases (had on a couple of motorcycles) are also a little bigger and would easily hold me size medium helmet where as the Honda case barely holds my helmet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike8729 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Brilliant! I do love Honda :) Ok, settled...factory bags it is, I'm assuming they're not water tight as I've seen liner bags available.I'll probably get a non Honda top box as I need to fit one large and one small helmet in as the Mrs is joining us on the trip.Thanks for advice chaps :) Agreed the std Honda panniers look best. I looked at a used set of Honda liners - the hard type - in my local dealer....IMHO they were awful, didn't really fit in the pannier and reduced the space available significantly. Experience says the panniers don't leak, but I've seen rumours of leaks when used above 80mph. Personally I'd always advise packing everything in a bin liner just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Rider14 Posted February 10, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted February 10, 2016 If I had it to do over again, I'd go with the Givi to be honest. They are tougher and I don't worry about scuffs happening on those. Plus they can hold more due to the shape. Just my $0.02. Thanks for the info, something for me to consider I guess. I have had Givi bags in the past and they are a quality product. I just like the clean look without racks but I guess I could get the quick release racks from SW motech and go with Givi bags. I use my Givi topcase with a SW Motech rack made for the VFR1200, and only use the Honda panniers when I am touring or traveling and need to carry luggage. I prefer Givi, but for this bike, the factory bags are the nicest fit... I use them so rarely that I have no desire to have racks mounted on the side of the bike... -Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotardMenace Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 On a side note I discovered Givi has discontinued making the racks for the V35's for the VFR1200. A search on-line came up with zip although I only looked at 4-5 places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marriedman Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 If they are no longer making it, it appears their sister company Kappa is: http://www.tourandride.com/my-motorcycle/honda/vfr1200f-10-13 I like Kappa stuff, just as good as the Givi stuff but cheaper. Most times they are just lid swaps or logo swaps, quality is the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer swfarrar Posted February 11, 2016 Member Contributer Share Posted February 11, 2016 Something I meant to add in my previous post - As marriedman said, the bag liners are for getting your gear to your hotel room or campsite without have to take off the side cases. Another very good reason to have them is to keep things from falling out of the inner side of the case into the outer side when you open it. The elastic bands will keep larger things in place but won't stop smaller things. It's so much easier to just take out the bag zip it open and find what you want rather than having to repack the case every time you need to rummage through it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridered Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 Unfortunately, AFAIK in the UK you can only have red reflective at the rear, which means red tape rather than that stylish black tape. If it is black, how would the authorities even know it is there? There is a kit for the Yamaha FJR that has a nice design to it out of the tuning forks. Does anyone know of one like that for the Honda? The Givis are larger than the Honda bags, but the Honda bags look great on the bike. I prefer not to have the racks on the bike the 90% of the time I'm not using the bags. Whatever the size will get filled up, so a little smaller just makes me pack more efficiently. I am going to add the 45l honda box too. I like how it looks on the bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotardMenace Posted February 12, 2016 Share Posted February 12, 2016 If they are no longer making it, it appears their sister company Kappa is: http://www.tourandride.com/my-motorcycle/honda/vfr1200f-10-13 I like Kappa stuff, just as good as the Givi stuff but cheaper. Most times they are just lid swaps or logo swaps, quality is the same. Awesome, thanks I checked them out and agree, same stuff only less expensive. They are out of their 33L case right now, but that might be the ticket. I might go that route since its about $800 less then the OEM bags but still unsure to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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