Well my "ADV" friends ... I did it again, I ordered from OTR.... This time I had plans to travel to Eastern Europe so I said that I will go aluminium way, even if I am not a friend of aluminium panniers because is so .... how to say it, even at my workplace they come with their BMW and ALU boxes .... although they only carry air inside, but looks cool.
Well, I ordered some boxes from Bernd Tesch, at least he builds them himself, and you can see it on the boxes that are hand made, not perfect, not tip top shiny unscratched .... but the man in his 70s still works so I respect that more than SW-Motech, Touratech or other crappy "ADV Company". The "problem" is that he sells only the boxes, and I could order from him extra the Touratech pannier rack. But I do not trust it, it looks like ok-ish but the box mount looks shabby.
Long I have searched for a good mix of solid frame and pannier mount, and I stopped again at Off The Road (OTR for fans). Built for XT660Z Tenere, looks strong, the pannier mounts are like I would like to have ... let's give them a try.
Facts:
Overpriced a bit, for both
solid built - touched the terra firma and no sign of bending until now at least
kit is containing "all you need" - I get back to this later
almost well thought and designed - again coming later on this topic.
Now the part where I criticize them, and maybe you will have the same feelings when you pay 250 for the rack and 70 for the mounts ...
Rack issues:
- some screws too short - Dear OTR I pay 250 eur and you give me srews which are too short?!?! And not a good quality too ... do you buy from Baumarkt or OBI, or they are in the luxury class for you? Now really ... how do you build a model specific rack and you give screws which do not fit? The nut did not had enough "screw" to turn more than 2x360 degrees (two rotations) .... Is not supposed to be like the screw tip gets at least to the upper lip of the nut?
- low quality screws and nuts - dudes at OTR, please know that even at OBI I found better ones.
Really, except the two long top screws, the ones in the exhaust area, I had to buy my own .... and this for a 250 euro rack mount with all parts included!!! Well ... up yours mate!
Mount issues:
- again short screws and poor quality ... I broke 4 of them and they did not even got through the aluminium ... or maybe Bernd Tesch uses some sort of super aluminium ...
If you ask why to get trough the aluminium ... is because the screws had a square ending which should deform the rounded hole in order to keep the screw in place while you tighten it. Well ... again I had to buy my own screws for a 70 euro mount .... which by the way is the most expensive on the market. Touratech has its mount for 40. So ...... well done OTR ... up yours again mates!
Another well intended feature of the mount was to have a back-plate. Which is quite well thought .... the bad part is that there are no holes in the plate. You can say I have problems ... but for 70 eur I do have luxury problems. OTR had laser-cut their logo on the mount but did not prepared the holes in the back-plate. Dudes .... Is for your rack, you know the size ... get the drill pattern .... I want it for other rack?!?!? No can't do because your mount can't be used on other rack ... so get the fuck those holes done, I really don't give two dimes on your laser-cut logo, no one can see it anyways, maybe if I my wheels had eyes ... Not to mention, you need to have a drill for the right size and a drill machine. Have fun spending money on that if you don't have those around your house.
I said ... ah ok I do it, fuck that, over priced piece of shit scrap metal .... well it has a top mount and a bottom mount, have fun getting that in perfect position....
Yet another feature, as safety ... the steel rod, well thought but it only works for their boxes, and even so, vibrations + steel + aluminium .... you can get what it happens.... = love, = friction, = holes in your 700 Eur aluminium boxes
After first 2000 Km I stooped at the first shop and cut some part of it. After another 2000 Km I had to use a fuel line to "dress" the steel rod so It does not dig into my boxes. After another 1000 Km I will have to put some protection directly on the aluminium box.
Guys .... you really have good ideas ... but you don't care ... you put shitty screws .... the rod is an amazing anti-theft idea, and with a small lock at least the thief has to work for his bread. But .... think it through ... there are people who can't afford new boxes each trip ... and after I pay 320 Eur for your setup I really do not expect to invest another 50!!! (Not to mention if I did not have any tools to drill holes in your virgin back-plate). Get your shit straight! It does not cost you extra to offer at least the right screw size, and for the volume you buy it does not cost you too much extra to get the right quality. Make a buck, but think at the people who trust you! What would happen if the screws pop during a highway section?!?!?! Well, you sure know the Tenere is like a dildo on wheels ... it should have good screws and the right length, otherwise you can kill me.
I imagine people having that mounted as it is ... as I got it ... with just two turns for each screw to keep the weight and withstand the vibrations. Somehow I consider OTR like small criminals, just for the sake of big buck and cool ADV stuff.
Pros:
Until now they held up ... (note that all screws except 4 of them are mine ... so don't trust me)
OTR laser-cut logo (on the inside anyways)
did not rust so quickly - they started to, but the paint is good
BMW and Touratech fanatics can't understand which other company is out there
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