All of my reason for wanting an adventure bike is to explore. Not every interesting drive or destination is close enough to come home for dinner. Sometimes it’s not the distance, but rather the exhaustion that should or should keep me from going home that same day. For some, desirable destinations require several days, weeks, months, or years to travel. Giant Loop has a motorcycle packing system for every adventure.
before Giant loop Opened in 2008, I took a 300-mile, three-day off-road trip in Colorado with a fully loaded backpack as the only storage system. I vowed never to do that again! Giant Loop has developed storage units to store our cargo safely and securely so that we don’t have to carry any weight on our shoulders or around our waist.
Now that I know the Ultimate motorcycling Yamaha Ténéré 700 Project Bike is fully suitable for me as a long tour motorcycle, I needed storage space for my bucket list trip to the Arctic Circle (or Glacier or Yellowstone). The Giant Loop Round the World panniers with lockable quick releases looked like they were just the thing.
The aluminum Giant Loop GL Pannier Mounts ($ 202) took some time to assemble. Since the panniers can be used with different fastening systems, they are delivered ready for final assembly by the owner. the Ultimate motorcycling The Yamaha Ténéré 700 Project Bike has the Yamaha pannier mounts ($ 428). Measure twice and melt once!
The assembly instructions are clear with descriptive sentences, excellent illustrations and a guided video link on the Giant Loop website. I had a question about the positioning of the internal frame board and got a quick response by calling the main number for Giant Loop in Bend, Oregon.
The two Round the World panniers are 12 pounds lighter than the two Yamaha Parts & Accessories aluminum side cases. The OEM cases have 72 liters of storage space, while the Giant Loop Round the World panniers together have 70 liters of waterproof storage space in their middle compartments. Each bag contains a 5 liter outer pocket with a drawstring and a waterproof 5 liter pocket roll for a total of 90 liters of storage space. That’s a five-gallon gas canister worth additional storage over the OEM hard cases.
If you don’t do a road trip, chances are you won’t fill them up. To keep the entire contents safe, the countless buckles (okay, 10) and straps on each pannier can be tightened as tightly as necessary.
The quick release mounts use a cylinder lock to secure each bag on the bike. Turn the cylinder lock with its unique key and lift off the bag with the sturdy handle. While the locks hold the bags on the holders, the contents can be accessed without a key.
To ensure your gear stays dry, Giant Loop offers a dry bag insert with many of its units. The Giant Loop Round the World panniers contain large dry bags, which I appreciate because I’m a person with a belt and suspenders. The additional advantage of the pannier panniers is that you can simply lift out the contents of your pannier and take it with you without removing the pannier from the motorcycle.
I haven’t done a full road trip with all the Giant Loop bags yet, mostly because I’ve only just finished my 1120 mile delivery trip. However, I drove over 200 miles and 15 hours in varied terrain with the soft panniers fully loaded. When I wasn’t admiring the look of the Giant Loop Round the World panniers from a distance, I didn’t notice them except when getting in and out Tenere.
The top of the Round the World pannier is 34 inches high when the Project Ténéré 700 is on the shorter one Camel ADV Products Camel Toe kickstand. The top of the Yamaha pannier is 38 inches above the group. With the Yamaha cases, I can’t get my 30-inch knees high enough in the inseam to bring them over the hard bag when assembling.
The forest paths and trails are dusty at this time of year due to the lack of rain, so I returned home with a very dirty motorcycle. I hosed them off Ultimate motorcycling Yamaha Ténéré 700 Project Bike and checking for leaks in Giant Loop Round the World panniers. As advertised, they stay dry inside and also keep the dust out.
Giant Loop soft luggage systems are field proven and have been dropped, crashed, submerged and otherwise tortured around the world. Giant loop packing systems have survived world travel, and I certainly won’t be doing it any harder in my own future. What you are buying now are 13 years of advancement in design and materials that have been specially developed for the rigors of off-road driving and know what they will withstand. Soft luggage also has a safety factor. When your bike is upside down, soft bags have a better chance of sculpting your body parts rather than crushing them.
I’m fortunate to have a choice of bags to ride with, and if I don’t need specially lockable securing devices for my cargo, I’ll ride with the Giant Loop Round The World panniers.
Giant Loop Round The World Panniers – Brief Facts
- Load capacity: 90 liters
- Weight: 10.4 pounds (excluding fasteners)
- Luggage carrier bag dimensions: 21 x 15 x 7.5 inches
- Front drawstring pocket dimensions: 7.5 “x 11” x 3.5 “
- Rear roll top bag dimensions: 7.5 “x 11” x 3.5 “
- Colors: black; Limited Edition gray / black; Limited edition orange / black
Giant Loop Round The World Panniers Price: $ 699 / pair
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