Panniers

[Dave Bennett]

Looking at Panniers from Happy Trails, Trax, Krauser, and Jesse.

These Jesse Odyssey bags look like the ultimate... Anyone have experience with Jesse Luggage?

http://www.jesseluggage.com/odyssey.html

 

[jkam]

I've had Jesse's on 2 bikes, my GS and my wee strom.

To me the advantage of having Jesse's is they are narrow and keep the weight down low. The design being not rectangle means they hold up to falling better than the Touratech or similar design. The disadvantage to that is the narrow opening which makes getting stuff in and out a bit more difficult.

The main reason I like them is Al Jesse, he is a rider, has put his stuff to the test himself and he is always making improvements to them. I've known Al for a long time, he has always been willing to help me when I need them repaired or if they couldn't be repaired then replaced at a good deal.

Some might question his customer service, I don't mostly because if I need something I usually just visit the shop, BS with Al while he fixes or makes whatever is wrong, right.

Between the 2 bikes, I have well over 180,000 miles on his bags, they even saved my leg from getting crunched when I got hit by a car in South America.

 

[Hltoppr]

I had happy trails luggage on my R100...nice bags. The Jesse luggage on my GS has been absolutely bomb proof, and could take much more punishment than the HT or likely even Touratech.

-H-

 

[GSMullins]

Looking at Panniers from Happy Trails, Trax, Krauser, and Jesse.

These Jesse Odyssey bags look like the ultimate... Anyone have experience with Jesse Luggage?

http://www.jesseluggage.com/odyssey.html

Jesse's stuff's good - I've had several sets on different bikes. If you have a GS, jesse's Odysseys are probably the best all-around; a KLR or DR, go with Happy Trails. I like the Caribou Cases package as well. I'm not fond of Touratech or any of the "box" panniers, as you can wreck the back of your ankle when footing the bike off-road (don't bother asking me how I know that).

Hiya, JKam!

mully

 

[dirtysouth]

I prefer pelicans but they are side opening.

 

[goodtimes]

I'm not fond of Touratech or any of the "box" panniers, as you can wreck the back of your ankle when footing the bike off-road (don't bother asking me how I know that).

You can do that with any of the hard panniers, including Jesse's stuff. Don't ask me how I know.

That said, I do have a set of Jesse bags on my 650 GS...when I am commuting. Currently, I have a set of soft bags from Wolfman on the bike. I am really happy with these on the trail...not so great for commuting though.

 

[Dave Bennett]

I imagine the soft bags are better if you dump it on the trail, but security is lacking in town...

 

[Blair G]

I have a set of Jesse's on my GS and really like them. I also have the smallest of the top box's he offers as well. I always thought I would take them off when I wasn't useing them but realized they were great to have on all the time as the hold alot of shopping items.
Blair

 

[nickatnite]

Looking at Panniers from Happy Trails, Trax, Krauser, and Jesse.

These Jesse Odyssey bags look like the ultimate... Anyone have experience with Jesse Luggage?

http://www.jesseluggage.com/odyssey.html

Jesse Luggage? Sheesh...

I mean, who in the world would build such a crappy product that one cannot destroy? I mean, just look at the construction and craftsmanship. You really get your money's worth out of.

Really,
Look at this photo of my friend Ted's bike, that was taken in Mexico. All you have to do is pick up the bike and go ride some more. And this is not counting when he forgot to attach the latches and one bag passed him at 45 mph. Or when we were offroading and I crashed into his left Jesse with my pegs and all it did was scrape them...


If you are looking at getting your money's worth out of a product, stay away... Haha.

















I hope you know I'm joking.

 

[Dave Bennett]

Jesse Luggage? Sheesh...

I mean, who in the world would build such a crappy product that one cannot destroy? I mean, just look at the construction and craftsmanship. You really get your money's worth out of.

Really,
Look at this photo of my friend Ted's bike, that was taken in Mexico. All you have to do is pick up the bike and go ride some more. And this is not counting when he forgot to attach the latches and one bag passed him at 45 mph. Or when we were offroading and I crashed into his left Jesse with my pegs and all it did was scrape them...


If you are looking at getting your money's worth out of a product, stay away... Haha.

I hope you know I'm joking.

Nice.

Looks like these are the way to go. unk03:

 

[nickatnite]

Nice.

Looks like these are the way to go. unk03:

All joking aside.

The Jesse Luggage is the way to go IF you are going to be rough on your gear. I got to talk to Al at the BMW National Rally last week in Gilette. He just swapped to a larger building and it's still pretty much a one man show.

I've got the older Odyssey bags (like the one in the picture). When I made that comment to him (like I did you) but in front of a bunch of people gathered around his display bike, they were pretty much :smileeek: .

Al, on the other hand, chimed in, "yeah, I mean who would be CRAZY enough to build a product that the public could or would abuse so badly." We talked some ideas about the Odyssey luggage and I had a few questions and even tho he was really displaying his new product, he still took the time to help me with my "older" bags and then gave me his cell phone number and personal email to follow up with what we talked about.

Al is a great guy. Just like the kind of small independent business we need around here. :wings:

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

I had the happy trails metal panniers on my XR650L.... hated them offroad... downright dangerous. Also, I bent the SU side rack just using the rack as a handle to pick the back of the bike up.

Oh and mounting the thing up was a PITA. It took me and a friend using a torch heating up different points to bend and tweak the rack in order to fit up without putting undue stress on the bolts....

The boxes are built great... but the fastening process, although extremely simple and reliable, is also a PITA.



Oh and the dangerous part. I went down to the beach... wallowed through some sand and started to slide sideways so I put my foot down... which kicked back and smacked the hell out of the boxes.... even with Alpinestar Tech-8 boots I had a hefty bruise on the back of my calf. Leg breakers for sure.

Id look at the Jessey option for boxes.... but Im now partial to soft panniers... which dont hurt and weight tons less.

 

[805gregg]

There are some Chinese aluminum panniers that will work good, no sense putting $1,000 in panniers on a bike that will be worth less than $4,000 when you sell it used.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

There are some Chinese aluminum panniers that will work good, no sense putting $1,000 in panniers on a bike that will be worth less than $4,000 when you sell it used.

good point. White horse press has some cheap ones...

 

[Dave Bennett]

There are some Chinese aluminum panniers that will work good, no sense putting $1,000 in panniers on a bike that will be worth less than $4,000 when you sell it used.

Linky?