Andover Norton Luggage Rack

Dellis · Mar 22, 2020

ZFD said:
These fit straight on and don't need any clamps etc. Much more practical than the 1970s systems. They hook over the top rail of the side frames, slide into the front downtube of the side frame, and have a clamp that is also the lock that fits the panniers to the frame against theft at the rear. The same goes for the 30 litre variant that I have on my personal everyday Commando.

Thank you

Dave

ZFD · Mar 22, 2020

Dave,
Mistake from (wrong) memory (last done it last summer!): the panniers hook over the BOTTOM rail of the sideframe, then you slide them forward and they thus hook behind the front rail. But in any case you need no hooks etc. The rest of the description was correct. Very easy to use.

Dellis · Mar 23, 2020

ZFD said:
Dave,
Mistake from (wrong) memory (last done it last summer!): the panniers hook over the BOTTOM rail of the sideframe, then you slide them forward and they thus hook behind the front rail. But in any case you need no hooks etc. The rest of the description was correct. Very easy to use.

I like that l ask a question on my order and I get an answer on here which helps everyone. The reason I asked is that in the photo posted by Stephen Hill I can see an additional black plate where the supports from the rear loop connect to the pannier rails.
Dave

gortnipper · Mar 23, 2020

Dellis said:
Right I’ve bitten the bullet and ordered a pair of panniers for my shiny new rack, I guess they won’t see any use this year but once I have them they’re there for when we’re free to roam about. I was I’m-pleased with the postage costs; £8 for a pair of pannier isn’t out of the way.

Dave

Use them to go to the shop for your essential groceries or prescriptions.

Reggie · Mar 23, 2020

Dellis said:
The reason I asked is that in the photo posted by Stephen Hill I can see an additional black plate where the supports from the rear loop connect to the pannier rails.

The black plate is where the locking mechanism on the panniers attaches to. It / they come with the panniers as far as I recall.

Dellis · Mar 24, 2020

Reggie said:
The black plate is where the locking mechanism on the panniers attaches to. It / they come with the panniers as far as I recall.

Thanks for that. The panniers are due to arrive tomorrow but I’m away until the weekend so will see then.

Dave

Scout63 · Mar 24, 2020

Do 70s and 80s BMW airhead Hepco or Krauser hard bags fit on these racks?

Dellis · Mar 25, 2020

Dellis said:
Thanks for that. The panniers are due to arrive tomorrow but I’m away until the weekend so will see then.

Dave

Sorry I have no idea, did the air head boxes have a retaining clip on the rear as the AN boxes have?

Dave

trident sam · Mar 25, 2020

I think the 70s/80s Hepco panniers will fit, but certain the Krauser panniers won't, they had their own dedicated frame.

Dellis · Mar 25, 2020

Well I’ve got home unexpectedly on the day my ne boxes have arrived and I’m rather chuffed. Oh and they do come with two small plates that fit to the rear supports that the pannier latches clip on to.

Dave

Craig · Mar 25, 2020

Very nice piece of kit ! You can now carry what you need , no matter how long and far away you travel ... really cool look on your Norton , lots of possibility now ! ... as a comparison I rode across Canada coast to coast with a 25L tank bag , medium roll bag and 30L panniers .... had everything I needed during16 hotel sleeps on the road , you set now for the haul now ...

Fast Eddie · Mar 25, 2020

Nice. Looks like you could go ANYWHERE with those bad boys!

So long as you don’t try filtering through traffic...

mdt-son · Mar 25, 2020

Dellis said:
Well I’ve got home unexpectedly on the day my ne boxes have arrived and I’m rather chuffed. Oh and they do come with two small plates that fit to the rear supports that the pannier latches clip on to.Dave

So are the panniers made by Hepco & Becker ? I can't make out the label in your photo, and the description on the AN site is rather meager.

I guess it's too early for you to tell, but are they designed to deflect and/or drain heavy rain? Clothing able to withstand water ingress requires a water column index of about 15m (this equates to about 1.5 bar hydrostatic pressure). Maybe it's too much to expect a similar performance from panniers?

-Knut

Dellis · Mar 25, 2020

As I said earlier the boxes are predominately for two up riding and filtering will not be a problem as my main touring bike is a 1290 KTM Adventure with a pair of 45lt ally boxes so all is good

Dave

Dellis · Mar 25, 2020

mdt-son said:
So are the panniers made by Hepco & Becker ? I can't make out the label in your photo, and the description on the AN site is rather meager.

I guess it's too early for you to tell, but are they designed to deflect and/or drain heavy rain? Clothing able to withstand water ingress requires a water column index of about 15m (this equates to about 1.5 overpressure). Maybe too much to expect a similar performance from panniers?

-Knut

They are Hepco & Becker Junior panniers which have a very good reputation for being durable and extremely waterproof.

Dave

Dellis · Mar 25, 2020

Craig said:
Very nice piece of kit ! You can now carry what you need , no matter how long and far away you travel ... really cool look on your Norton , lots of possibility now ! ... as a comparison I rode across Canada coast to coast with a 25L tank bag , medium roll bag and 30L panniers .... had everything I needed during16 hotel sleeps on the road , you set now for the haul now ...

Our usual main holiday is 16 -20 days in Europe two up with camping gear using a pair of 45 lt panniers, a small tank bag and just the tent on the rack so I’m sure these will serve us very well.

Dave

Reggie · Mar 25, 2020

Fast Eddie said:
So long as you don’t try filtering through traffic...

You wouldn't think so would you, although those panniers will stop you in the tightest of gaps, the panniers just make it a bit more exciting. Brief moments of eye closing also helps.
I remember a couple of years ago filtering through several miles of standing / crawling traffic around Munich with my 42 litre panniers on. It was a bit unnerving to say the least.

The trouble being that with the air cooled engine you can't be stationary for very long.

Fast Eddie · Mar 26, 2020

Reggie said:
Brief moments of eye closing also helps.

Indeed !!

I guess they look bigger than they are, plus you get used to them.

I had a courtesy BMW f800 (or sumthin’ similar, it wasn’t very memorable) once when my R9T was being serviced. It had those fashionable huge alloy Charlie and Ewan type ‘ammo boxes’ on the back.

I was happily filtering way (slow city traffic approaching the lights) when I remembered the panniers, so I stopped for a quick look behind me to calibrate myself by re-assuring myself I had lots of room to spare.

But I didn’t! I was a knats cock away from gouging the hell out of both cars I was about to zip in between !

That could have been awfully embarrassing ...

DevonNorton · Mar 26, 2020

Yup...care required
This youtube video is a cautionary tale
I like the pannier system. Thanks for posting it's got me thinking but I may go for the smaller 30L panniers.
Andy

Dellis · Mar 26, 2020

Reggie said:
You wouldn't think so would you, although those panniers will stop you in the tightest of gaps, the panniers just make it a bit more exciting. Brief moments of eye closing also helps.
I remember a couple of years ago filtering through several miles of standing / crawling traffic around Munich with my 42 litre panniers on. It was a bit unnerving to say the least. The trouble being that with the air cooled engine you can't be stationary for very long.

The boxes are about 1 1/2" wider than the bars so the only filtering they’ll stop is bar width plus 3" and from my experience you’re more nervous about clouting your bars than your boxes... Biggest problems filtering on the KTM are van mirrors which are annoyingly about the same heigh as the bars and as the Commando bars are lower and the boxes narrower than the KTM then I don’t see any issues. Also the photo is quite deceptive and the box looks much wider than it actually is.

Dave

Andover Norton Luggage Rack

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