Piece of cake. I warned readers that I would call bullshit on the Touratech Zega-Pro panniers and rack system for the BMW F800 GS if they were not super-easy to install, as advertised. They really were simple. I did the whole thing in under an hour. First, you have to take the seat off, and remove the existing pillion handles. The Touratech racks are comprised of a right side and a left side, as well as a stiffening cross member. The racks utilize existing mounting points and hardware, plus a little clamp system that mounts near the passenger foot pegs. Once you get everything hooked up (without tightening everything down) the right and left racks bolt together under the seat to keep them rigid. Ingenious. Then you tighten everything down. I recommend using some threadlock like Locktite on the small bolts for the clamps that attach to the footpeg braces. Those babies will loosen up. And what is with supplying 3mm allen head bolts for those clamps? Too wimpy, they will strip out if you are not careful. Everything else is bomber. Oops. I had two washers left over. You are not supposed to have parts left over, but I figured out why: because I already had the Touratech luggage rack, which uses slightly different hardware. No worries.

I love the black anodized finish on these Touratech Zega-Pro boxes.

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Last Fall, I got to test out Giant Loop Moto’s Great Basin Saddle Bag on a long tour through the highlands of the Colorado Rockies. I came away thinking the Great Basin is a great product for dualsport motorbikes. For less than $400, you can carry a lot of stuff in a waterproof bag. It has great advantages over pannier boxes in terms of light weight, cost, and convenience. But there is one huge problem for me. There is no place to stick my big Rush “2112″ sticker. Another smaller problem is when we camp, all my buddies have boxes to sit on around the campfire, and I always have to sit on a rock. I’ve checked out a few solutions for boxes, and it was a tough decision between the BMW factory Adventure boxes, and the new Touratech Zega-Pro. I like the options that Touratech offers in terms of replacement parts and accessories. I like the fact these come in black. I also like the price difference: retail to retail, the Touratech Zega-Pro anodized black boxes, rack, and matching locks are about $400 less than the factory boxes. Stay tuned for a full report on the installation process. The folks at Touratech say it’s easy. I’ll put that advice to the test.

Zega-Pro black anodized panniers from Touratech. Photo courtesy of Touratech-USA.