Home Made Panniers

Hard or soft? I opted for hard because of the extra security and waterproofing (and for stickers). Last trip I was always paranoid that some oik might rummage through my dirty saddle bags - nobody ever did!

+ *designed properly* hard panniers can be waterproof, which is a real bonus
+ extra bungee points
+ some protection for the bike in the event of a spill
+ somewhere to stick your country stickers!
+ less likely to have toothpaste and shampoo spills, or breakages of delicate items.

- heavy
- (can be) expensive
- need a rack to mount them

I'd already made one set of hard panniers for my z900 out of old filing cabinet metal (1mm steel), but the hinged lid was always the problem: hindered access (when stuff srapped to rear seat), leaked, sliced my hand. However they were cheap and sturdy and proved the concept.

To my mind panniers with a lift off top are the best type, as the boxes are stronger (than side opening ones) and they are easier to reliably waterproof. I'd been keeping my eyes open for ages when I came across a pair of ammo tins for £15 each. 37 litre, removable top with substantial rubber lip and closing fasteners. I believe these are a common NATO size (google '20mm ammo tin').

Size and shape is a near perfect match to touratech boxes but they are twice as heavy (as touratech’s claimed weight 3.5kg for 35L) at 7kg each. However they are steel and I wonder nearly twice as strong. I saw a BMW GS1200 at the 2007 Dragon Rally with a substantially dented aluminium pannier from when the bike had fallen onto it. When a car knocked the GPZ900 over the pannier lost some paint and cracked the tarmac :)

I made the rack out of square section tube (1mm steel) from an old laboratory tea-trolley I found in the school skip. Round tube is said to be stronger for its size (chris scott adventure motorcycle handbook), but square is much easier to work with. Lacking my trusty mig welder I made do with an arc welder I bought at the Dragon for £5 and made quite a bodged mess of things, needing to add reinforcing triangles, and having to regrind a lot (in future I’d use thicker steel for easier welding, strength was no problem).

I made two rectangles with 3 attachment points (to the bike) each and a brace (from school chair legs) across the back to stop the panniers flexing (must be removable to take out rear wheel). I made the brackets from 5mm x 1" steel strapping, which I bent hammered and drilled to shape. I then gaffer taped it all together and attached it to the bike and added spot welds, before removing it and finishing it properly (you are supposed to disconnect the batter, dunno why, hasn’t mattered in the past, but better safe…). I drilled holes so that the panniers can be really forwards when riding singly, or can move back to accommodate a pillion. The panniers are about 1" from my legs when mounted in the forwards position and it drastically improves stability. I'm always amazed when I see sporty bikes with giant plastic panniers high up, way back past the rear wheel spindle and maybe a top box to boot - gotta be bad for stability! I designed the rack to sit as close to the bike as possible to keep the panniers as narrow as possible. I managed to keep the panniers as narrow as my shoulders so they have no effect on filtering. I was a bit worried that the boxes wouldn't be supported well enough in the forwards position as only the bottom left quadrant of the box is supported but they are so sturdy it made no difference. I was also going to add an aluminium lip (starting to worry about mass at this point) to the bottom of the rack, but it wasn't necessary.

The army tins are fitted with diagonal reinforcing bars on both sides. I had to remove (grind through the spot welds and pry off) one from each pannier so they would be flush against the rack. The panniers attach to the rack (and directly to 2 or 3 of the mounting brackets) with M8 (8mm) button head cap screws (mushroom head allen bolts), big washers, and nylock nuts (have never loosened over nearly 10,000 miles). I did try adding rubber washers to help with waterproofing but they made it too wobbly no matter how tight, so I went without and they never leaked anyway. I choose button head cap screws and put the head inside the pannier because they are smooth and wouldn't snag the liner bags. Branded liner bags cost about £80!!!! but Wilkinsons 'bag for life' fits perfectly for £1 :) I then added 8 steel drawer handles from the (amazing) screwfix catalogue (~£2 each) to the lids using bits of rubber on the inside to keep water at bay. These are the only bits that leaked a few drops in heavy rain and need some sealant or glue on them. Finally I added padlocks and hasps to lock the boxes. After myriad wondrous ideas about watertight internal locks and the rest of it I opted for this compromised solution for simplicity and cost. Hasps were about £3 each and 4 identically keyed (mandatory to preserve sanity) waterproof locks for £10 from ebay. Oh yes, all nuts, bolts and washers are stainless steel from my lovely friends at www.stagonset.co.uk. Looking at the security available on commercial panniers I was shocked at how genuinely shit they all are in this respect (mole grips would easily get you into most). One brand even offers a fake lock with no key, so it doesn't matter if you lose it!?

All in all the panniers are nearly perfect and I’m really pleased. I got a lot of (sometimes!) favourable comments from other riders and they saved my bike when a car drove into it. The only arse is that I had to relocate the indicators slightly which looks a bit odd, oh and that including all fasteners and the rack they must weigh nearly 20kg :| But I made them (kinda), for my bike and I love 'em!

Cost:

Pannier boxes £30

Padlocks £10

Hasps £12

Handles £16

S/S Bolts £8

Metal etc £0

Total £76

And two days in the front garden with a hammer, drill and welding mask J