Good day, I would like thoughts / opinions / pro & con of the various options, such as plastic v.s. Alu, ect. mounting Hwd, and styles, big or small, ect, ect, ect... I have had the Jessie on a past GS, and used the H&B on a past 990. Still have no clear direction on what to do at this time, the "new 990 R" is on the way. Oh yeah, how about the same thoughts & opinions on a new seat. Again I have had several and am looking for others experiences to help influence this round of decissions. Shoot, lastly your unput on new exhaust system would be well taken. Thanks, Let the good times roll!
Luggage: I like the HB Gobi's becasue they bouce back when you dump the bike. But To each thier own i guess. Regardless I carry a ratchet strap or two in case the latch breaks after a crash. Although mine came with the 950, so WTF do i know. Seat: No Argument, Get a Renazco. Same price as a Corbin, $300+ depending on materials. The seat is custom made for you, unlike the corbin or touratech. Im tall so this was key. The only problem is the wait time, Book an appointment with them NOW. I ended up buying a 2nd seat for $75 bones so I could keep riding while mine was out. Truthfully the seat was only gone about ten days, But James (Renazco) overnighted me the seat from california so I could leave on a trip (he was late on the build date). He then redid the seat for me after I felt it needed some tweaking. I could not be more happy with my seat, It looks good, and feels great! Here is a pic of mine. http://www.renazco.com/
I went with the Jesses- had the Hepcos on my GS and they were fine, too. The Jesse attachment system and the latest brackets are really clean on the 990. They ride nice and tight to the bike, too. No regrets.
I have the Jesse's as well. Excellent build quality and the brackets are unobtrusive when the boxes are off. But, the mounting sytem doesn't hold up well to any real, hard, off road usage. I've had the mounting pin dislodge from the mount on several rides. The bag never came off but it definitely left we with doubt about the off road worthiness of the boxes and the need to take it easy, which is tough on this bike!! If I had to do it again I'd get the Giant Loop Great Basin and not worry about how hard I ride.
Exhaust? in my opinion "WINGS" just got a set from another inmate (Thanks Deadly) boxes I have the Zegga 41 litre and love them but I am looking for smaller option for rough rides and overnighters
I haven't had any issues with riding in dirt with the Jesses- I've very pleased with their new latch style. Unintrusive, no tools, stays put. You control how tight you wanna torque on 'em.
Zorsts have to be Akra Evos...... without Baffles http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGntSuIEvU0 and with http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWrHNKlU0Gc
My personal experience - Jesse's are very very nice, very secure and nicely watertight. Sadly, they are about the MOST expensive aftermarket bags available. If they take a big hit, you're hosed... they can only be re-shaped to a certain extent. If you don't mind "character", you can easily add dings, dents and dimples offroad. You can also re-arrange your sub-frame with them. For hard bags, I'd recommend Caribou, found in the Vendors forum. Roger is straight-up and contributes to the m/c community. Can't say enough good things about him, and I've never even bought his side cases yet, but I want to. My Gobi's are about worn out after 2 years, but these came on the 950. For dual-sporting, as in offroad, I'd suggest soft bags for a couple of reasons : 1) they won't rearrange your frame when you fall over, 2) you don't worry about scuffing them so much, and they won't dent. But of course, they're difficult to lock if you need to put valuable stuff in there. Look at Great Basin, Wolfman, and Andy's DirtBagz for nice examples of soft luggage. Usually you'll want to pack these with your stuff in smaller, waterproof stuff sacks or similar. Wet clothes suck when you want to get dry.
The Caribo systems use Pelican cases which are extremely durable & don't stick out quite as far as the Gobi's. The Gobi's hold up well & make nifty stools at the campsite, but make your 990 almost as wide as a truck. If you are going to ride offroad, you will eventually drop the beast & the aluminum cases do not survive the naps very well. For exhaust, you need to decide if you want 2 into 1 or stay with two mufflers.
Soft luggage like Ortleib or Wolfman, 2->1 with Remus (Austrian exhaust for Austrian bike!), I really like the stock seat on the R.
I have a set on Touratech Zega's on my 990 and like them very much. I have the 35l size on both sides. The mounting pucks are easy and very durable. If the bags get dented, you can pound them out. The removable lids are very handy and can be used for all kinds of tasks when you need a platform to work with out on the road (or off-road). Price wise maybe a little more $ than the Gobi's but a whole lot less than the Jesse's.
If you're gonna go with soft bags on the ADV, you've damned near gotta go with aftermarket exhaust first. Why? Fire. Those cats in the stock cans get hot enough to set a soft bag ablaze- DAMHIK:huh
I just got a set of Happy Trails hard bags and brackets. Very reasonably priced, free powdercoat on bags thru Feb. I got the Teton bags in the 9 inch width. Quality is top notch and easy to mount plus if you want narrower bags you can order 7 inch. I found FMF pipes for around 400 bucks, much much lighter, sound good and no re map recomended. As far as the seat goes the factory seat is excellent, mines an '08. Ive done a number of 8 hour stints and no comfort issues, even with my daughter on the back.
