Author Topic: V 85 packing weight  (Read 1001 times)

Online tommy2cyl

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V 85 packing weight
« on: August 17, 2019, 01:37:23 PM »
So, fussing around the garage on a Saturday prepacking the V 85  for her first trip Oct. 11 th.  Yeah, you could say I am excited.  But, new bike, new packing challenges, don't like to be surprised at the last moment.   Anyway, I weighed the aluminum panniers and top case ( 11.6 lbs + 11.6 lbs + 13.2 lbs (top case) for total of 36.4 lbs.  Just for grins I strapped on my Nelson Rigg Survivor Edition soft bags (with plastic trash cans inside for shape) + Moose Racing waterproof roll top bag to replace top case.  Weight total of soft luggage 12 lbs.  Difference 24.4 lbs.  I found this a little amusing in context to how we obsess over a new bikes weight, and what we will and will not tolerate, and what number (ie 500 lbs) will be the deal breaker in the decision to purchase.  Then we get the bike and start piling on engine guards, center stand, hard luggage etc.  I get it, if you start lighter you end lighter.  24.4 lbs is substantial providing the same amount of carrying capacity.  Surprisingly, the aluminum panniers measure 38" wide and the soft luggage is 44", so the bike looks more svelt with the
aluminum cases. I always planned on using the Moose Racing bag on top.  It will eliminate about 5 lbs in weight in an elevated position and I just don't like the  look of that aluminum case hanging back there.  Maybe on a cross country trip, but a 5 day ride, it will be the Moose bag.  And yes, an argument can be made that for a 5 day ride, the Moose bag is all I should need. 

Online tommy2cyl

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Re: V 85 packing weight
« Reply #1 on: August 17, 2019, 02:49:20 PM »
I was trying to be so careful.  Let's see:  13.2 lbs (top case) - 4.00 lbs (Moose Racing bag) = 9.2 pounds lighter up top/not 5 lbs.

Offline Kiwi Dave

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Re: V 85 packing weight
« Reply #2 on: August 17, 2019, 04:06:34 PM »
I chose not to purchase the enormous tin panniers and top box for that reason.

Instead, I've gone with H&B C-bow brackets which will allow a selection of panniers, and a Givi mount on the rear bracket to take a selection of top boxes.  I'll try to be a minimalist on my first trip away, but that will depend on other factors.  Having the choice is the key.

Offline Andy1

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Re: V 85 packing weight
« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2019, 04:25:09 PM »
I don’t have a V85 but one thing I noticed was how far back the rear rack / top box are.  Not good in a X wind?  Or for general stability?

Keeping bikes light is always a good idea.  They use less fuel, accelerate better, handle better......ever seen a heavy race bike?   And keeping panniers narrow must help reduce drag.

Removing the bar end weights makes a saving (and does not seem to increase vibration on my V7).  Different exhausts can save weight, smaller mirrors, shorter indicator stalks, lower handlebars, luggage on the rear seat......small differences that add up.

And of course the final speed feature, painting it red....

AndyB

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Re: V 85 packing weight
« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2019, 04:25:09 PM »

Online tommy2cyl

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Re: V 85 packing weight
« Reply #4 on: August 17, 2019, 05:51:50 PM »
My V 85 decision to purchase the bike was for the red frame/red & white paint scheme, not for the panniers.  For the additional $1000 the brackets and the panniers and top box is a bargain and maybe will be worth more to someone down the line than they are to me.  I do like the texture of the seat better on this model.  I have posted my extreme annoyance with the tire whine and have new 705's ready to be mounted.  I just placed an Eclipse tail pack that I have had forever inside the top pannier and it holds at least 75% of the pannier.  The Eclipse weighs only 1.2 lbs, so now I will be saving 12.0 lbs up top.  This is substantial when throwing a bike around through the fun stuff.  Now having three luggage pieces weighing 24 lbs, with the majority down low is not terrible.  But lighter is always better to make the bike more nimble.  The side racks will work well supporting soft luggage if I so choose, but this trip going to try panniers that came with it. 

Online tommy2cyl

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Re: V 85 packing weight
« Reply #5 on: August 17, 2019, 06:25:53 PM »
Kiwi Dave.  Thanks for mentioning the HB C-Bow carrier system.  I wasn't aware of that design.  I haven't had a need to research bag set ups for so many years because my existing bikes are done.  I love the simplicity of design and they look rock stable.  Curious which bags you are going with and whether the left bag is smaller in a set to to balance out the appearance from behind.  Thanks for any more input.

Offline Kiwi Dave

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Re: V 85 packing weight
« Reply #6 on: August 17, 2019, 10:08:10 PM »
I already had Givi E21 panniers (with the H&B adapter), but I wanted something lighter for this bike.  So I went with the H&B Orbit panniers, they are 22 liters and fit straight on the C-Bows.

The brackets determine how far the bags are outboard of the bike. For the C-bows, the LHS has greater distance of 15mm compared with the RHS.  I reckon they could have made them the same, there's a good 18mm between the LHS bracket and the muffler.

However, I don't find it offending my balanced mind, and I certainly would not want to go with a  smaller bag, or there will be nothing left.  No other Orbit cases currently available, but I would consider a slightly larger one for the RHS if my balance perception deteriorates.

No doubt there will be greater choices as the industry sits up and notices a new model has emerged.

Offline Knuckle Dragger

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Re: V 85 packing weight
« Reply #7 on: August 18, 2019, 05:06:47 AM »
Kiwi Dave.  Thanks for mentioning the HB C-Bow carrier system.  I wasn't aware of that design.  I haven't had a need to research bag set ups for so many years because my existing bikes are done.  I love the simplicity of design and they look rock stable.  Curious which bags you are going with and whether the left bag is smaller in a set to to balance out the appearance from behind.  Thanks for any more input.

My daughter has been using C-Bows on her Nuda for the past few years.  As they're basically predicated around a 'top suspension' bag mounting, the're seemingly better suited to rigid & semi-rigid luggage.  Although of course there's something of a choice available.  Soft/er bags will tend to sag & bulge @ the bottom if suspended from the top/side over time & esp on extended trips or rough roads.  I use OEM BMW/Husky panniers & racks currently on my own Nuda R.

The C-Bows themselves are rock solid, multi-mounted as they are from the underseat subframe, pillion & exhaust bracketry.  They also don't look too weirdly out of kilter with the bizarre angularity of the Nuda either.  With ADV bikes being generically ugly anyway, I don't imagine the aesthetic of bags/mounts to be of primary importance.

She's used both Royster semi- & Orbit hard-cases, but I think prefers the rigidity and security of the latter.  From what I've been told, rough road bikes and bush-bashers seem to work best with soft/er bags, whereas hard cases seem to work well for tourers and those who leave their luggage securely locked onto their bikes whilst hiking etc. or merely seeing the sights.

I've used a whole variety of luggage options myself on my bikes, from duffles to bags to small water-buffalo leather saddlebags mounted for'ard (straps under my bum) to soft & hard panniers.  My personal preference has always been for a tank-bag of easily removed essentials (maps, passport, money, camera & other inconvenient to lose necessities) & rigid panniers with clothing & personals on one side & tent, bag, bivvy, stove etc. on the other.

I hate top boxes.  Or bags for that matter.  Back in the day almost all tourers used those big, wide NZ-made Ventura bags either backwards on the rack or back-to-front on the pillion seat.  After taking a single windy ride with a borrowed one I swore off the adverse effects on handling, speed, acceleration, economy and wind resistance.  Being so big, there's always the temptation to overload with useless crap & frippery.  They're huge, bulbous windsocks that to me seems downright dangerous with so much mass & wind resistance perched so high & aft of the rear axle.

Panniers keep the weight much more safely down low & closer to being within the wheelbase, with the tank-bag taking all those other essential smalls & valuables readily @ hand.  My old BMWs tended to get the wanders with panniers, but they're hardly speed machines anyway.

Those ugly, boxy squared off ally panniers seem ideally suited as touring luggage to me.  They might be heavy, but are nevertheless usefully shaped (i.e. square-ish) to pack hard & heavy loads down low safely with lightweight stuff up top.  Usually 100% water tight, and safely lockable to the bike, they're admittedly not as efficient in either weight or packing of weird shaped contents as soft bags.  Yet they also double as camping chairs/tables, which softer bags never can.

In the past, before I ever started using panniers, I'd always occy-strap a duffel or hiking pack longitudinally along the pillion seat & rear rack or ducktail in a bit more of an aerodynamic speed-hump arrangement, maybe with tent poles strapped on top so they don't poke holes or otherwise damage the delicates within.
« Last Edit: August 18, 2019, 11:14:35 PM by Knuckle Dragger »
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Offline Darren Williams

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Re: V 85 packing weight
« Reply #8 on: August 18, 2019, 10:45:00 AM »
I personally like the hard boxes so I can lock the gear up more securely when away from the bike. I also generally have minimal stuff in the top box when traveling, so I can have lots of storage room in there.

Most of my trips are designed around "sporting" roads and really haven't sacrificed that much for the extra convenience of hard bags verses the extra weight. And if I think the extra weight and wind issues of having hard cases is too much, then I might think I selected the wrong bike.
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