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R100RS fairing pouches...?

maxpete

New member
Dear All:

I recently acquired a nice 1983 R100RS and while the bike is great, there are a couple of minor omissions which I am trying to address, one of which is the lack of any easy-access storage in the fairing.

It seems to me that the spaces between the inside of the RS fairing and the right and left sides of the fuel tank would be ideal for a couple of closed (not necessarily lockable - but with at least a flap and a simple snap latch) leather pouches to hold small items such as sunglasses, ear plugs, a bit of change for toll booths, a battery charger and cord, etc. etc.).

Is anyone aware that such devices have ever been offered?

Pete
 
Yes

Yes, pouches were offered. I had a set on my RS when I first bought it. They are somewhere up in the rafters of my garage so I can't tell you offhand who made them. If you are interested, I may be able to get to them and make a deal. For now, they are up there until mid February when I will be overhauling and shrinking the size of the heated portion of my garage. At that point the storage I have will be rearranged.

It has been 20 years since I had them on the bike, I recall they fit on with a combination of velcro straps and strips. Nothing fancy or hard to make up. St.
 
Kathy's

Another person making things I was not aware of. I can tell you pouches from her will be better than what I have. I am not looking forward to seeing how they survived 20 plus years in the rafters. LOL. St.
 
R100RS fairing pouches

Check out Kathy's liners...there's some designed for the R100RS:

https://kathysmotorcyclebags.com/product-category/bmw/

Hi again! I had a look at these and they sure sound good but I went out to my bike and measured, and either these are too wide or they have mixed up the height and width dimensions.

Kathy’s website quotes: 12” long x 4” high x 6” wide - BUT - if they are 6” wide, they’d be jammed right up against the side of my fuel tank.

Have you, or anyone else actually got a pair of these and do they fit alright without scratching the heck out of the tank?

Any chance someone could post a photo of them in-place?
 
Last edited:
R100RS fairing pouches....thanks!

Yes, pouches were offered. I had a set on my RS when I first bought it. They are somewhere up in the rafters of my garage so I can't tell you offhand who made them. If you are interested, I may be able to get to them and make a deal. For now, they are up there until mid February when I will be overhauling and shrinking the size of the heated portion of my garage. At that point the storage I have will be rearranged.

It has been 20 years since I had them on the bike, I recall they fit on with a combination of velcro straps and strips. Nothing fancy or hard to make up. St.


Thanks for the kind offer Steve - much appreciated and I will keep in touch.

QUESTION: why did you remove them?
 
Seems to me they need to fit tight in order to not slip out while riding down the road. I wonder if there's something you could put between the pouch and the tank. For magnetic tank bags, I've read where people put some kind of kitchen shelf liner to keep the rough part of the underside of the bag from actually touching the tank. Maybe something like that, cut to fit the size of the pouch would act as a protector.
 
Did

I didn't really need them. My tank bag and side panniers were enough. I find the same thing in my RT, the last time I checked the only thing in the fairing pockets was the tool to adjust the shocks and a beat up copy of the anonymous book. St.
 
I have a set of the Kathy's fairing pockets on my '92 R100RS, they came bundled with the pannier liners, bought many years ago. They fit fine on the fairing support strut, a useful little add on when you're on a trip, for things you don't need to have locked up

Adam
 
Hi again! I had a look at these and they sure sound good but I went out to my bike and measured, and either these are too wide or they have mixed up the height and width dimensions.

Kathy’s website quotes: 12” long x 4” high x 6” wide - BUT - if they are 6” wide, they’d be jammed right up against the side of my fuel tank.

Have you, or anyone else actually got a pair of these and do they fit alright without scratching the heck out of the tank?

Any chance someone could post a photo of them in-place?

Look at the picture again they appear to be used with the tag up. The zippered looks like it has a rain flap to keep water out if used in that position. I have an RT.
 
Fairing pouches and tank bags

Have you thought of going to a tank bag?

Hi Skibum: oh yes, I have been a tank bag user since before tank bags were a thing. In fact, my RS came complete with a really nice leather Bagster tank shroud and tank bag which work great!

The thing is that when I travel, my tank bag is usually crammed full and smaller stuff like sunglasses etc. seem to get lost and when I am not travelling but just booting around the home area, I usually remove the tank bag.

Anyhow, as long as the Kathy’s pouches don’t scratch the tank, I’ll get a set and give them a whirl.

Many thanks!

Pete
 
Pete:

What I used to use on my RS was two zippered cordura sausage pouches from my local outfitter (Mountain Equipment Co-op). I put a rain suit in one and inner tubes in the other, and then just dropped them into the slots, where they would rest on the fairing mounts. They fit snugly and I didn't attach them. IIRC, they dropped down below the gas tank, but there was no issue with scratching. They are great little spaces for storage.

Originally I mounted these tubes vertically on either side of a day pack.

But the Kathy's Bags ones would be a more elegant way to go.
 
RS Fairing pouches

Pete:

What I used to use on my RS was two zippered cordura sausage pouches from my local outfitter (Mountain Equipment Co-op). I put a rain suit in one and inner tubes in the other, and then just dropped them into the slots, where they would rest on the fairing mounts. They fit snugly and I didn't attach them. IIRC, they dropped down below the gas tank, but there was no issue with scratching. They are great little spaces for storage.

Originally I mounted these tubes vertically on either side of a day pack.

But the Kathy's Bags ones would be a more elegant way to go.

Now THAT is a cool idea Rinty! Thanks for the thought.

Pete
 
Hi again! I had a look at these and they sure sound good but I went out to my bike and measured, and either these are too wide or they have mixed up the height and width dimensions.

Kathy’s website quotes: 12” long x 4” high x 6” wide - BUT - if they are 6” wide, they’d be jammed right up against the side of my fuel tank.

Have you, or anyone else actually got a pair of these and do they fit alright without scratching the heck out of the tank?

Any chance someone could post a photo of them in-place?
Here's a photo of the original on my '83 R100RS. The dimensions are 12" long, 6.5" tall, and 6" wide (outer top ends) 5.5" wide (middle top) and 4" wide (bottom). I'm the 3rd owner so not sure if they started life at these dimensions or morphed into them over decades of use.
They are a press fit because that actually stops any rubbing that would occur if they were loose.
e4b1ff9f577169cb7ec561e595d29d1f.jpg


Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk
 
R100RS fairing pouches

Here are two photos with it on the bike.
268421c6b5b3b2e84f51e0957f37c3c9.jpg
15304cef591d642c1f0b28ac37e7433f.jpg


Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

Ahh hah - thanks Alan - those photos are very helpful indeed!

Say, that’s quite a collection of BMWs you’ve got there.

Cheers,

Pete
 
Here's a photo of the original on my '83 R100RS. The dimensions are 12" long, 6.5" tall, and 6" wide (outer top ends) 5.5" wide (middle top) and 4" wide (bottom). I'm the 3rd owner so not sure if they started life at these dimensions or morphed into them over decades of use.
They are a press fit because that actually stops any rubbing that would occur if they were loose.

Those were the most common item back in the day. The velcro shown in the first photo fits around the metal brake line and there is similar velcro on the bottom to fit around the lower fairing cross bracket.

Whether they scratch the tank is a function of how much dirt you let get between the two more than anything. The inside surface was nicely padded and there is little movement.

In the day, my left one carried quart of oil, faceshield washing stuff, drinking water bottle, and sidestand puck. The right one carried an entire genuine BMW bike cover.
 
Fairing pouches

Those were the most common item back in the day. The velcro shown in the first photo fits around the metal brake line and there is similar velcro on the bottom to fit around the lower fairing cross bracket.

Whether they scratch the tank is a function of how much dirt you let get between the two more than anything. The inside surface was nicely padded and there is little movement.

In the day, my left one carried quart of oil, faceshield washing stuff, drinking water bottle, and sidestand puck. The right one carried an entire genuine BMW bike cover.

Great info - many thanks lkchris!

Pete
 
MAXPETE, I have a spare set that came with a bike that I used to have. I also have a set of Kathy's that I really like.

Send me a PM, and I'll make you a super deal on the spare bags.
 
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