I spent some time researching different luggage options for my BMW R1200RS. BMW’s top box was far too small for my needs and my bike doesn’t have BMW’s own rack fitted, so I chose a Shad SH48 top box and full fitting kit. The top box itself is excellent, the fixing kit for my BMW is heavy and needed some forcing into alignment so wasn’t an especially easy task to fit.
I considered buying BMW’s panniers as they are designed specifically for the bike and can be keyed alike to the bike’s key, but they are not guaranteed waterproof, unlike the Shad panniers, and I hate the appearance of the BMW pannier mounting rails (most of the time I ride without panniers). They are also very expensive - over £700, without inner bags.
I’d seen an RS with the Shad 3p system which looks far neater on the bike without the panniers mounted. Having been impressed with the SH48 top box I bought the matching SH36 panniers, complete with red reflectors, coloured inserts to match the titanium topbox, and inner bags. The panniers come with a third lock cylinder so after 40 minutes careful fiddling I’d changed the lock on the topbox to match the panniers - 1 key fits all three cases. Brilliant!
The thing that really persuaded me to buy Shad was that if/when I change the bike, I can keep the cases and just buy new mounting kits if needed for the new machine. If you are fortunate enough to have more than one bike you could even use them on either bike if you bought the extra mounting kits.
The panniers themselves are excellent quality - tough, good locking system, secure on the bike, easy to mount/remove. They comfortably fit my Shoei Neotec II helmet inside. I love the little shelf so things do not fall out when the pannier lid is opened. I’d like the whole outer surface to be painted rather than Matt black plastic, but hey-ho - the little optional titanium strip livens it up, but if I’d not already gone for the titanium on my topbox I’d give it a miss (expensive for a bit of painted plastic that doesn’t fit as well as the original) and simply stick to the smart looking free carbon covers instead. The covers were also very fiddly to replace. My only disappointment in the panniers is that they do not stand up well on their own when away from the bike (the topbox has a similar issue) - Shad should mould little feet on the bottom. And why are red reflectors not standard?!
The 3p mounting rails work very well and are relatively unobtrusive visually and practically. Fitting the 3p system was ok, but allow plenty of time for any issues - I found I had a cross-threaded mount on my bike which I had to re-tap. The instructions say to mount the 3p rails before the topbox frame, but that doesn’t make sense as it physically won’t go on that way round and, even if it did, the topbox frame would cover the pannier mounting rail. So, ignoring that instruction, and the bit about the exhaust bracket mounting - I placed the bracket in a different order to the instructions as it would force the exhaust hanger to an unacceptable angle otherwise - it went together fairly easily. I don’t like the fact the mounting bolts, etc are black steel and Allen key based, rather than matching my BMW’s stainless steel torx fixings, but it looks OK and blends in against the black frame and my mudslinger.
The finish on my topbox mounting kit is still good after one winter so I hope the 3p kit has a similar good quality finish and corrosion resistance long term.
Bike luggage supplied the topbox box and were the cheapest supplier I found online. They then also agreed to price match the panniers and kit to an EU seller’s price (plus import duties, etc - thanks Brexit 😖) bringing the cost below £500 complete with fitting kit and all the optional extras (covers, reflectors, inner bags and a brake light).
Can’t wait to put them to good use on a long road trip….
