side cases

[roybarnes]

What are you all using for side cases? I am looking at happy trails cases. What do you think.

happy-trail.com :dunno

[FredRydr]

I chose the OEM Vario cases for convenience, and because I wanted as little hardware on the bike as possible. There seems to be a lot of choice already!

Fred

[MCMXCIVRS]

I'm getting the BMW Adventure cases. They seem to me to be the best compromise between ruggedness, fit and size. The bonus is the one key for the bike and bags with these compared to other aluminum bags available.

If I were not going off road much or at all, I'd go for the BMW vario bags. I had them on my 03 F650GS, and liked the compactness of them compressed and the added capacity when expanded. They just weren't very tough in a spill. The mounting hardware was very clean with the bags off.

[nyfty]

I have a set of HT's on my 1150GS and am very pleased with them. They aren't as flashy as the Jesse's, which I acquired with a F650 Dakar attached. But if I buy a 800GS I will be looking very hard a the HT's as the cases of choice.

[Slablog]

Back in July I used these:
http://slablog.net/slideshows/moarally08/600_450/itriphomesodak.jpg

Now I have these:
http://slablog.net/slideshows/kentucky2008/600_450/93oldhousec.jpg

Both the Coleman coolers and now the Pelican 1550 cases attached to the Happy Trails bag supports. I used the attachment kit they sell to adapt the Pelicans to fit. They work great.

[danalbertson]

There is a new set of Jessie's Odesseys on my floor in boxes going on the F800GS.

The Happy Trails looked good, especially for the price, except for the appearance of the brackets, and how they would look when the boxes were off the bike (IMHO).

I kept hearing about all the various bags and how they were just as good, or better than Jessie's. Never owned a set, I decided to get them to find out why they are everyone's target.

Once they are mounted, I will report back.

[Bullett]

I decided on the Jesse 8" Safari bags in charcoal for my 650 GS.

Everything arrived nicely packaged and set up for easy installation:

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/467306510_Syfbg-M.jpg

Mounting screws pre-installed and shrink wrapped on the rack itself:

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/467307296_fgawt-M.jpg

Racks installed:

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/467308135_HiFBh-M.jpg

Bags installed:

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/469259530_5vXAz-M.jpg

By my yardstick, cases are 34" wide.

http://photos.smugmug.com/photos/469259430_J4LaC-M.jpg

http://twisties.smugmug.com/photos/470546677_AHGR5-M.jpg

Not enough miles for impressions at this point. But it should warm up enough to ride soon.

[FredRydr]

Bullett,

In your third photo, how does the front of the lower rack attach to the F650 frame?

Thank you.

Fred

[Bullett]

Here's a few pictures. There is a bracket with a couple of hex head screws,

Right bracket from the side:

http://twisties.smugmug.com/photos/474163576_tH95B-M.jpg

From the front:

http://twisties.smugmug.com/photos/474163828_dSHHD-M.jpg

And from the rear wheel looking out towards the bracket:

http://twisties.smugmug.com/photos/474163703_LB3XP-M.jpg

Hope this helps.

[FredRydr]

Here's a few pictures. ... Hope this helps.
Yes it does. Fantastic! Thank you.

Fred

[pairowheels]

I mounted the OEM bags and top case on my wife's F650 twin. They look very compact and sturdy tho' she hardly has used them yet, and never in the expanded mode. On the other hand, I mounted jesse oddessy bags on my F650 twin with the 45L topcase, in charcoal. They also look fine and when mounted they were still narrower than the OEM bags in their expanded mode, so much more capacity but look bulkier than the OEM bags bags when the latter are in the collapsed mode. I like the looks of the OEM bags, but prefer the significantly greater carrying capacity of the Jesses. IMHO, the jesse mounting rack was easier to mount than the OEM, but the topcase has to be bolted onto its mounting rack, so removal of the topcase is significantly more difficult. Plus, the OEM bags can operate with the ignition key while the Jesses use the Jesse key that comes with the package (although you'll also have 5 spare keys for the bags). Depending on use and preference, both are great additions to the bikes!