What are your favorite airhead sidecases?

[JAMESDUNN]

Here is a shot of my ol' 78 with the BMW Touring Cases. Pretty good cases. I have a Reynolds rack I installed that I find very useful but had to find some Reynolds bag mounts to work with the rack, I did, brand new, and a new old stock Reynolds backrest I bought from a former dealer.

 

[brianthack]

Touring Cases +1

I have a set of Touring Cases on my 75/6 and have been happy with their capacity and water-tightness. No leakage in the Portland "sunshine," and accommodate a full-face helmet.

When I got the bags off local CL, they were equipped with small key latches. I upgraded to newer style and ordered barrels to match my ignition key. Kind of a $$$ project but I'm happy with the convenience afforded by the change.

 

[AnnapolisAirhead]

On my R90/6 I had the small Krausers and
...<snip>...
My R100/7 came with the large Krausers and while they held more

I thought all Krauser bags were the same size. When you refer to 'large Krausers' do you mean the BMW touring cases as pictured with the picture of Jamesdunn's gold R100RS? They hold a full face helmet, but I've not found a Krauser that could.

 

[88bmwjeff]

My 88 R100 RT has the integral cases. I don't like them too much since they cannot hold my helmet and are not square. They're more of a parallelogram, which limits their usability, IMO.

 

[mneblett]

My 88 R100 RT has the integral cases. I don't like them too much since they cannot hold my helmet and are not square. They're more of a parallelogram, which limits their usability, IMO.

If you want to preserve the original look, you can use a later set of Integral cases, which are a hair larger (enough for a helmet). The cases off of my '94 R100Mystic dropped right onto the '88 RT's bag mounts.

 

[beemokat]

On the airhead, I have and like the Enduro bags. I like top-loading bags much better than clam-shells.

 

[kourt999]

I prefer the BMW city cases, but my riding is usually strictly in the city, short commutes, no big loads (though they do hold lots of groceries, and a single case can hold two gallons of milk). The lock to the frame, and use the same key as the ignition. No leaks in hard rain, and they carry like a small briefcase when I need to take one off the bike and bring it in to work/school/home/whatever. They look good and don't give the bike a big butt (cuz she's already got big jugs).

<img src="http://kourt.dehaas.com/horizons/5-15set/5-15set-4.jpg"><P>

<img src="http://kourt.dehaas.com/horizons/5-15set/5-15set-3.jpg"><P>

One case can hold my Aerostich jacket folded up--and I can leave both the jacket and pants on the bike in these cases, securely locked up.

kourt
austin, tx

 

[kbasa]

+ one on the '81-84ish bags.

Same here. Watch for cracking on them, though. If they start to crack, drill a hole at the end of the crack and stop it. Fill the hole with epoxy.

 

[JAMESDUNN]

/Quote/....have taken off the Krausers and rack and fitted a set of Craven Golden Arrow cases with the BMW-specific frame and rear carrier. While the Cravens are a bit smaller than the large Krausers they have better locking and water-sealing properties are more rigid and don't seem to have the problems with turbulence that the large Krausers had.

I prefer the mounting/quick detachable arrangement with the Cravens and the fact that I can move them to another bike of a much different make which cannot be fitted with Krauser frames but for which Craven attachment points are easily fabricated.

The rear rack on the Craven carrier is also a better design, in my view, than that of the carrier on the Krauser design.

Craven went out of production a few years ago but the designs and patterns have been sold to another firm who are, I am told, planning to re-introduce the Craven line./Quote/

I like the Craven cases. I see them occasionally on ebay. Where did you get yours? I hope they are brought back.

 

[JAMESDUNN]

Mine came from a close friend who had had them on a previous R90/6 which he had owned. His current R90/6 had Krausers on it when he purchased it so the Cravens were "surplus to requirements".

Cravens are very adaptable and can be mounted either with the "handles up" (alloy bands vertical as in the above pictures) at two different heights, or with the alloy bands horizontal and handles on the side. Paul Dean's web site has some nice pictures of these on older BMWs.

The web address I have been given for the new Craven firm is
http://www.cravens.org.uk They are not yet in production, from what I can gather.

PT9766

Thanks! I saved the site in my favorites. Apparently the only contact for now is email. I am going to check them out from time to time.

Jim D.

 

[20774]

Paul Dean's web site has some nice pictures of these on older BMWs.

That's probably Jeff Dean. Pictures at:

http://motos.home.att.net/craven.htm

 

[lkchris]

I thought all Krauser bags were the same size.

Back in the day, there were "classic" Krausers and then the "cheapo" (Star) models, which aren't seen much.

http://w6rec.com/duane/bmw/bags/krauser/index.htm

One concern regarding actual Krausers is whether there is clearance for the grab bar/rack fitted to the S-type seat. The size of the cutout on top of the bags is a little different between classic Krausers and the BMW/Denfelds and the "cheapo" Krausers for sure won't fit at all on a bike with S seat. I discovered this to my dismay and was forced to immediately sell my set on to a guy with a Guzzi.

 

[criminaldesign]

BMW cases here. I really like the system, easy to clip on and remove and the handles have proved to be handy. They do get a little wet but nothing major, I keep a couple of surplus cinch dry bags in the cases if I do need them.

Another major plus is my laptop fits right into the lid.

On a side note, I hate those elastic bands that they expect to hold stuff in place.
I also couldn't stand how the lids would flop open, the nylon strap connecting the lid to the case was always unsnapping.

I did a bit of modification. With a couple of bux in hardware and a couple of drill holes, I removed the elastic bands and replaced them with adjustable nylon straps from misc bags I have. I also took out the nylon connecting strap and replaced with wire that can be removed if needed.

Works very well, stuff stays in place and the lids aren't flopping around.
<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/o3rYL_aKdyjCNbgs8fBtQA?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_QUlLxCsQNp0/SxVllYP1rTI/AAAAAAAABB4/uKqWQeOKkAI/s400/case1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/houstonmcintyre/Random?feat=embedwebsite">Random</a></td></tr></table>

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[r80andr100rt]

I've got the Hepco and Becker aluminum which are sort of corrigated and are lined w/ a 1/2" of tarred styrofoam at least thats what it looks like. Top fed, water tight and make great coolers.

 

[baldwithglasses]

40mm ammo boxen FTW

Smooches, and tons of space. Cheap, too, and a mere 11lb weight penalty.

Reflecto-tape. hockey puck/ Reynolds bag-to-bike interface.

Pennytech = more gas to put in tank and more to spend on important stuff (Alpha ignition, Omega charging system).

Tough.

 

[baldwithglasses]

*bike mount optional

 

[baldwithglasses]

 

[baldwithglasses]

Yup.

Function, not form.

Good news is, you can take 'em to any radiator shop to get dipped, then blast 'em with etching primer, and paint 'em any color you want.

 

[JAMESDUNN]

Yup.

Function, not form.

Good news is, you can take 'em to any radiator shop to get dipped, then blast 'em with etching primer, and paint 'em any color you want.

I like 'em. I have seen this on older model BMWs. Yep, sometimes painted black with logos attached on the black mit white Beemers. I made a reference to ammo cases when I started this thread. Function over form;I agree. That is why the older squareish cases always pack better than the newer "swoopy" designs.
JD
P.S. If it's ever needed you have the bicycle for "back up"!

 

[lkchris]

Given that BMW only permits 22 lbs in its factory saddlebags, there's nothing "mere" about 11 lbs.

This, BTW, is not about the saddlebags but about the stability of the bike.

But, hey, who cares about engineering?