Because of the exhaust on the right side of the Africa Twin I decided on a smaller pannier (35l) for the right side, and a larger one (41l) for the left side. The exhaust can be lowered, so that it runs below the pannier, but I wanted to avoid this trouble.

Being new the aluminum panniers are not only waterproof, but also air tight. If one opens the panniers on top of a mountain, and then opens them again down in a valley one can hear the air flow into the pannier!
BUT, the relatively complicated gasket has its disadvantages too. If the bike falls over at some point, and the pannier gets dented a little, it is hard to impossible to straighten the pannier again, so that it will be 100% waterproof again. Waterproof maybe, but air tight never again.

The system to attach the panniers to the rack is relatively simple. It consists of four plastic parts, two small steel plates with screw, and two aluminium hand wheels. The pannier gets hooked into the rack with the two lower plastic parts, then the upper part of the pannier gets pressed onto the rack. The two steel plates get turned up over the rack, and one tightens the screws by turning the hand wheels inside the pannier. Who wants can then also tighten two plastic locking nuts. Since the hand wheels are inside the pannier nobody can steal the entire pannier, if it is locked. But the wheels can be hard to reach when the panniers are full. That's why I use the pannier inner bags (Zega-Bag) made to fit each pannier size. I now sell pannier liner bags for my pannier in my online-shop.

The hand wheels, screws for petrol canister holder, and others can get in the way, and depending on what one loads into the pannier they can vibrate holes into loaded things. As in all bare aluminium panniers, there is also the problem of black aluminium dust, created by vibrations and rubbing. This dust is very hard to remove from things, and impossible to remove from clothes. The solution for this problem are again the pannier inner bags (Zega-Bag), they are not cheap, but absolutely worth their money. I now sell pannier liner bags for my pannier in my online-shop.

Who needs less luggage might be interested in buying the 29 liter panniers instead, or in case of the Africa Twin, a 35 liter pannier left and a 29 liter pannier right. This certainly makes the whole bike more slim, but one looses 12 liter of storage.

Now there are also the Zega Pro panniers, they are pretty much the same, except that they made them more "pretty" with some plastic parts. If one likes them better, and is willing to pay the higher price for the new version is a decision that has to be made oneself.

Conclusion: Not cheap, but very good panniers. With some accessories and a little imagination one can still improve and customize them, see below. If one buys the panniers together with the rack, one can safe a little.

Years later I designed a topcase for my bike and panniers for my wife's bike, both are now available in my webshop.

The pannier racks for the Africa Twin fit near perfect, and are relatively easy to install.

The racks are powder coated, which holds up much better than just paint. But even the powder coating rubs off after several thousand kilometers on the places where the pannier touches the rack. There the rack will start to rust, which is not pretty, but not really avoidable.

The pannier racks are also available as "Slim Line", meaning that the right pannier is as close to the bike as the left one. But for this the exhaust has to be lowered to run below the right pannier.

Conclusion: The price is OK, and the quality is good, so I can recommend it.

One can either buy the build in locks from Touratech, or just use four little padlocks. But it is not easy to find at set of four padlocks that are keyed alike, as one doesn't want to fumble with four keys to finally find the one that opens the lock. Eventually I found a set at a home improvement store.

Conclusion: By now I had these locks on the panniers on quite a few trips, in the rain, as well as on dusty gravel roads. They still work just fine, therefore I can recommend them.

Similar padlocks are now available from me, for only Euro 3,00 / US$ 4.00 per piece! It doesn't matter how many padlocks you need (2, 4 6, or more), they all open with just one key.

The jerry can  holders are handy and simple to attach, mark the four holes on the pannier, drill and attach the holder with the four screws and a little silicone. They keep the can secure in place, on or off road.

The actual cans are available from Touratech, or a little cheaper from many motorcycle supply stores. In Germany they can legally be used for fuel or oil, in other countries that might be different, e.g. in the USA they ca only be used for oil, but I have never seen any policeman care about the cans. If they are filled with fuel the cans will get very round in the sun, but they withstand the pressure. The gasket doesn't seem to be suitable for fuel, as it tears after a short while, but it can be replaced with a fitting O-ring. I now sell fuel cans with holder in my online-shop, these fuel cans have a large opening for the filling nozzle and have no problems with the gaskets.

Conclusion: Since my motorcycle doesn't need much oil I always carry gasoline in both canisters. Together they only hold 4 liters, but in an emergency that is still about 80 km, and by then one hopefully has found a petrol/gas station.

Since the motorcycle with the pannier is very wide I first put on a few reflective stickers. Then I thought that a couple of LED lamps would be even better. So I bought two white ad two red LED strips with 6 LED's each from Conrad Electronics. As I often take the panniers off the bike to use them as a table I didn't want a wire connection to the bike. Also connectors didn't seem to be a good idea, as they would just hang there if I didn't have the panniers on. So I bought two small plastic boxes, two plugs for 9V batteries, and 4 small switches. I glued a small aluminium plate with silicone to the pannier and screwed the plastic box to it. This way I didn't need to drill holes into the panniers.

The whole thing was a bit of work, but I like to do stuff like this.

The red LED's at the back last at least 72 hours non-stop with one battery, and as I only use them at night or in heavy rain, they last at least one year.

The white LED's on the front weren't such a great idea, or at least not entirely thought through. Not only that they use a lot more power, but at the front they are much more exposed to the elements. Also gravel and bushes will destroy them eventually.

Conclusion: The red LED's at the back make the width of the bike much more visible than just reflective stickers, which only work when they are clean anyway. I think this is an idea worth copying, as it adds to the own safety.

While camping I missed a table, as the pannier tops are not that big. Then I saw somebody who put a plate between the panniers to get a relatively large table, great idea, I will build that for me too. I went to a home improvement store and bought a piece of thin plywood, cut it to size, so that it would fit in the pannier, then I put in 4 slots, so that it couldn't slip off the pannier, done. I now sell these pannier tables in my online-shop.

Conclusion: One can either buy it in aluminium from Touratech for Euro 32,-, or build it oneself for much less.

I wanted to show where all I've been (showoff - yes, I know), but I didn't like sticker from all countries and regions so much. Therefore I downloaded a Europe and a North America map from the internet, printed it on clear foil. Then I used a projector to project the maps to the panniers. I used a black paint pen to mark the outlines, and a red paint pen to mark my trips. Then I coated the entire piece of art with clear paint. Done, and additional trips are easy to add.

Conclusion: It certainly is a eyecatcher, and often also a conversation starter with other motorcycle riders and locals. Everyone has to decide for themselves if they like it or not.

Motorcycle aluminum panniers and top cases

Made by an experienced motorcycle traveller.