This is a collection of photos and information from BMW riders and collectors.
I have included duplicate photos of a similar perspective in case one shows some aspect that
another does not. Please feel free to add information and photos.
Scans of original mounting instructions would be great.This collection covers
the hard bags that BMW started selling in about 1972-73 made by Krauser.
The former leather ones were eventually
discontinued. They were mostly made by Denfeld.
BMW bags from about 1981 to 1985?? Thanks Steve Doyle
This first one is a lateral view of the BMW pannier which was an optional BMW
extra. I'm unsure for which date they started, but I'm reasonably certain they
were changed for the monolevers in 1985...different bag and different mount
system for the monolever.
The frame was mounted at 3 points. The front mount was on the triangular
gusseting from the subframe. Note, it has been noticed that the red label
may be mounted in a different spot from the usual. As a dealer, we often
found things of this nature to be different. Sometimes a stick on label
was in the tool box, un-mounted. Other times it could be stuck on in an
"odd" place.
Looking down at the front of the taillight housing. You can see where the two frames
are connected at the rear.
The triangular welded in gusset with the surface rust braces another weak
point. This is the top rear corner of the frame. The bags can bounce a little
during normal use and the tubing may crack. Overloading may be the biggest
culprit.
The original weld broke and a gusset was added to strengthen the weld repair
work. This was a weak spot and prone to cracking. The other place prone to
cracking was the opposite corner of the rectangle, near where the crossover to
the opposite frame leaves the rectangle shape. The crossover was the upper rear
mount. The upper front mount was shared with the upper mount of the rear
shock.
This shows a view from above of the front of the bag. The grove fits on to
the front vertical part of the rectangle shape. The bag is then attached and
locked onto the frame at the rear. The lock is at the rear.
The keys have a 3 digit code eg 055. If a key is lost and the code
forgotten the code is embossed into the side of the lock. The lock does
need to be opened to find the code. There are 6 locks, each bag having 3.
Each bag has one lock to attach the bag to the frame and two to lock the lid.
All 6 lock codes are the same when they leave the factory, but over time they
deteriorate and getting the same lock/code is sometimes difficult. Some
numbers are out of production I believe. When buying a second hand bike (as they all now are) it might be
worth checking the keys and codes.
The lock in the open position
Location of the key code
The finished look
Bag liners were available for the BMW saddle bags.
These bag liners were sold by BMW in about 1981-83 and are of
high quality. The idea was to stuff them full of your clothes and then
carry them into the motel room. I sold these in 2004 on eBay and they were
still in original boxes, never used.
Here is one reason for some of the confusion
These photos were scanned from a 1981 sales brochure.
While the only bags in 81 were with the lettering "BMW" and not the roundel
logo, the literature suggest otherwise. It was very common for BMW to use
old photos in sales brochures. This is just one example. They also
would photograph a pre-production model with items that didn't exist. Then
they would sell that bike. This makes it very hard for someone later to
know what was original.
This is the accessory catalog from 1981. (I have
lots of new ones for sale too.)
The R80G/S showing a white bag with the BMW logo. I was
the sales person for California BMW and we never saw this bag color or the
emblem. They had the words BMW on them. Does anybody have an actual
R80G/S with this bag?
Again, a bag with the BMW roundel logo.
This shows the actual bags that were for sale. BMW took
the disadvantage that they didn't have color matched accessories and made it
into a
sales advantage of showing that you may paint your own bags?
If you see your photo and I failed to give credit, let
me know the photo number and name. I will add it in. I do appreciate getting
photos donated to my website, but sometimes I fail to keep track of who sent
what.
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