Soft panniers vs hard panniers - Why I switched - USA to Argentina on a V-Strom 650 XT
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ย. 2024
- In 2018 i started my USA to Argentina, panamerica trip on my Suzuki V-Strom 650xt. At the time i had equipped the bike with SW-Motech hard panniers.
Due to current world events, i had to park the bike in Costa Rica. This gave me the chance to learn from my early mistakes and revise my gear. I looked over my SW-Motech hard panniers and decided to switch to soft panniers from 21Brothers instead. There's loads of benefits with soft panniers.
One of the main ones is safety. But they are also easier on the bike and more comfortable.
The SW-Motech 37L panniers that was on my V-Strom 650 before are not bad bags, just not suitable for round the world or adventure travel on a motorcycle.
I paid full price for the panniers and have no connection to 21Brothers.
The adventure bike spec;
Suzuki V-Strom 650xt 2018
GIVI Windscreen
TFX 141 suspension rear
SW-Motech trax panniers and crash-bars
SW-Motech top case
21 Brothers Sakwy 20L soft panniers
Baja Designs Squadron Pro lights
Barkbusters
Dryspec drybags D28
Rotopax 3.8L gas can
Video gear:
Sony ZV-1
GoPro Hero 7 Black
RØDE Wireless Go 2
RØDE LavGo
Sirui 3T-35K tripod
Editing in Lumafusion for iPhone
Backup on a LaCie BOSS 1TB SSD drive
![เปิดใจ พี่ญา คนรุม หลังทัวร์ลง หนักสุดในชีวิต!! l [Nickynachat]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/2-OJZRtclro/mqdefault.jpg)
![[LIVE] : ONE ลุมพินี 78 | คู่เอก "ปกรณ์ vs ฟาบิโอ"](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LSOmgl0Th2c/mqdefault.jpg)
good choice! I also use softbags on my V Strom and till now I am very happy with it.They survived a lot of off-road crashes. I also like, that they have a slim profile and you safe a lot on weight with oft bags. Wish you a good and safe trip!!
👍
Hello could you please advice the bags model ?
@@xianandy4191 I use the Andy Strapz Bags. They are from Australia. Here is a little Video: th-cam.com/video/VP6tZoeU8XE/w-d-xo.html I still like them. They served well in Morocco. Greetings!
for easier attaching/taking off, you could try to get the SW motech sys bags plates and see if you can permanently atach them to the bags. That will allow you to easily connect/disconnect the bags from the racks. That's what I did with a pair of touratech soft bags and it works really well. SW Motech have two plates, a 3 point attach one and a 4 point attach one. I went with the smaller one to save some weight :)
Great review. Thank you for mentioning the passenger comfort. I have the Suzuki hard cases. On long rides my wife has mentioned discomfort with the bags. Shorter rides are okay. On long rides there is a chaffing issue from vibration. Not sure if I want to go with soft just yet as I do carry camera equipment in side bags and nervous about damage. Food for thought! Safe riding friend!
Another negative to hard bags Gustaf is their weight. I have a GS with expandable bags which weigh as much as their contents, so you are effectively carrying (almost) twice the weight you have to. I just bought a 650 VStrom and will fit it with soft bags for that reason.
What model 21 Brothers bags do you have mounted on the engine protection bars? I have been looking for a set. Thanks, I have enjoyed your videos.
The ones on the crash bars are the “Plus 10”. 21Brothers need to work on their naming conventions, but great little bags for some small stuff. Fits perfect on the SW-Motech crash bars and would probably fit most other bars.
Thanks!
Great video! I got myself the mosko moto soft panniers and they also fit the bike (same as yours perfectly) as also riding with my partner across Europe. Better than yours regarding assembly and dismounting as its like a hard case, but it also moves with the bike as you mentioned... Great option for safety when riding with a pillion.
Keep up with the great videos
Only heard good things about the Mosko Moto panniers. Was looking at them but the delivery time was too long and the 21Brothers were a bit cheaper. Figured it was worth a try.
Ride safe and best regards!
Hello Gustaf. Great review. I have a '17 DL 650 and love it. I'll be looking into your setup. By the way , what modular helmet are you wearing? Have an exciting and safe trip!
Great Video.
Hi, I was wondering: what are the tires that you use ? Didn't found it in the description. I want to change mine on my 650xt for a little more offroad capability. Have a wonderful day !
Thanks for the questions, I run Heidenau K60 scout, I’m super happy with them! Great both on and off road.
Ride safe!
I had some cheap soft bags I bought from Amazon on my old Yamaha Diversion (year 1998), when I changed motorcycle to a Vstrom 650 XL three weeks ago I wanted to carry those (actually reliable) bags, but after 1000km the right one burned due to the exhaust. I wonder if it's a matter of cheap material or if you have a trick to avoid that?
Get a heat shield mounted on the exhaust. I have a small heat shield mounted that creates a air-gap between the exhaust and the bag. Even expensive bags does melt.
Gustaf how did you keep the soft panniers off your exhaust? I have Lomo Bags and they're about the same size of your side panniers but i can't have them touching the exhaust. I can see you've got something over the exhaust?
Sorry for the late reply!
I did mess my heat shield up a bit. I have a simple heat shield but mounted it poorly and it burned my bag a little bit. But it's just a simple heat shield. Available in most motorcycle stores.
Why the vstrom 650 and not the Yamaha t7 or Honda Africa twin?
Great question! With the Yamaha T7 it's simple, it wasn't on the market when i purchased my V-Strom 650. I'd still wouldn't have chosen if even if it was available. It's still too new, parts would be hard to come by in less developed parts of the world and the child sicknesses of the bike are still not fully figured out. Maybe now I'd consider the T7 to be mature enough, since it's been on the market a few years.
Regarding the Africa Twin, it's not sold everywhere (too expensive for many markets), so parts would also be hard to come by. The Africa Twin offer little to no advantages over the V-Strom 650, it's as heavy and clumsy with just a few more ponies and more electronics to give me troubles. I've never felt i needed more power in the V-Strom 650 for my use. Road conditions are poor south of Mexico, no need for anything over a 250cc if I'm completely honest. Many travel the world on KLR 650, with have half the power of the V-Strom.
@@GustafN thx, that comment made a lot of sence. The t7 has such great features though your one comment made the most sence. Parts for vstrom are available everywhere so it’s a more world bike where as the t7 is more all over Canada or USA bike
Oh no, not the Polish knock off stuff!
Can you share some more info? Which product have they copied? I haven’t seen any brand name product that looks like the 21Brothers panniers, they are just super basic soft panniers. You can only make a bag in so many ways. There sure are more feature packed models from e.g Mosko Moto, a great product for sure, but the delivery time is (or was when I looked at it) horrendous and the price is in another league.