SIDE CASES

[efthimis]

HI EVERYBODY !

CONGRATULATIONS FOR THIS FORUM,
I THINK IT'S THE BEST FORUM ON R1150R'S EXISTING ON THE WEB !

I'M COMING FROM GREECE/ATHENS AND I OWN A 2005 R1150R.
I'M WATCHING (OR I'M TRYING TO...) ALL THE TOPICS RAISED IN THIS FORUM
AND I THINK ALL ARE MOST INTERESTING.

I HAVE A QUERY MYSELF IF YOU DON'T MIND AND I JUST HOPE THAT
IT HAS NOT BEEN ASWERED IN OLD TOPICS (SO I WOULDN'T WASTE YOUR TIME REPEATING...!)

MY R1150 IS EQUIPPED WITH STANDARD BMW SYSTEM SIDE CASES (THE HARD,,BLACK, UGLY ONES!!!)
WHICH I USE ON EVERY TRIP.
IN THE BMW MANUAL SAYS THAT WE SHOULD NOT CRUISING AT MORE THAN 130KM/H WHEN
RIDDING WITH THE CASES ON. IN MY TRIPS SO FAR I'M USUALLY CRUISING AT 140-150KM/H
WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS FACED.

HAS ANYBODY HAVE A "BAD" EXPERIENCE OF ANY KIND RELATED WITH THE SIDE CASES
AND OF WHAT NATURE ?
YOUR INFO WHOULD BE HIGHLY APPRECIATED.

THANKS IN ADVANCE AND SAFE MILES TO EVERYONE.

EFTHIMIS P.
ATHENS / GREECE

[kantuckid]

You need to search for the topic relating to side case pins that give the insurance of them not ever coming off. If the pins we are using in the USA are not to be found in Greece I am willing to send you some for cost(mostly postage no doubt).There are pics of the whole process herein. It is a cheap worthwhile thing to do! You can help me find some Bultaco parts in Greece as a payback!

[Phang]

Found it

Click me

[kantuckid]

I'll ad my usual note(for this subject) that I found removing the muffler and wheel a waste of time in drilling the holes.

[sweatmark]

This thread is good reminder for the System Case retention pin idea. Another Cycle Rob legacy invention?

Need to complete this myself!

MY R1150 IS EQUIPPED WITH STANDARD BMW SYSTEM SIDE CASES (THE HARD,,BLACK, UGLY ONES!!!)
WHICH I USE ON EVERY TRIP.

Yes, one might argue that the BMW cases are ugly, but they are very difficult to beat in terms of practicality and performance. We have dropped oilheads with the cases installed, and discovered that bikes were spared damage because of the bags' robust construction... happened to our former R850R and R1100R Roadsters... and I still have the 13-year old bags from the R850R, now used on my Rockster.

[rdsmith3]

I was rear-ended by a Toyota Highlander at low speed. The 17 year old kid hit my left side case. It came off the rails, and a hook that hangs on the rails was broken, but the case did not break and did not come open. They are well constructed.

[Airman]

I was rear-ended by a Toyota Highlander at low speed. The 17 year old kid hit my left side case. It came off the rails, and a hook that hangs on the rails was broken, but the case did not break and did not come open. They are well constructed.

They don't look that robust though do they ? I have also found that the clever german engineer that designed them evidently spent some time in the wind tunnel, because they don't add noticable drag or buffeting. After a long stretch of not having them mounted, I even fancied they added stability to the bike at highway speeds. The weak spot of course is the latch module. The reason for the safety pin has to do with that weakness. If you break that link to the mount you may loose the bag. I still have hopes that my HD technician will produce the link pieces in quanity. As some of you know, he handmade me a link from T-6 that will outlive the bike.

[rdsmith3]

I am still undecided about the safety pin. I think there are situations in which you want a point of failure. If it is hanging by the safety pin, it could rub against the wheel. Of course, the advantage is that you keep possession of whatever is in the case.

When I was rear-ended, the latch did not fail, but the hook did break and the case came off. If it stayed attached to the bike (suppose it was bolted on somehow), then the rails or something else might have broken. When SUV meets bike, something on the bike is going to break.

[bigsur52]

What are the pins you are talking about?

[NoRRmad]

What are the pins you are talking about?

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16374&p=151824&hili ... in#p151824
(From Phang's posting, above.)

[bikermeow]

I'll be a fan of the safety pin.

Recently I strapped a pack on the back with the side cases and the strap was pressing against the top forward catch under tension. The pressure and vibes from riding pushed the strap against the catch, causing it to ride up and that brought the lower contact of the box off the bike's frame, resulting in a bag-eject.

The bike was scuffed badly, scratches but my contents remained safe. I figure that even if there is a crash and the box takes damage from not ejecting, fixing a lid is cheaper than parts of the bike?

Ride safe, all. Cheers

[gaijin]

The idea of having a case come off while riding. NOT GOOD.

Here how I did this. Without remove anything, I drill the holes carefully and mount the cases. I used/cut a piece of cloth hanger wire and twist them together. Work fine, not bouncing around. Occasionally, I also used plastic zip-tight, work well also.
I leave my cases on the bike and take off when I decide to wash the bike.

The system cases is very practical..

http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj30 ... ssBike.jpg