Givi E22N panniers on my 200NS

[lkm]

Repost from my blog: http://wp.me/p7vt0U-4s

 

I finally bit the bullet and got myself a set of lockable hard side boxes. I have been thinking about this for awhile now. After Sunday’s attempted theft, I figured that my soft panniers won’t cut it (security wise) if I were to travel up north.

 

I have a 48L Shad top case and I just love the amount of space it provides. But for a multi-day trip, the top case alone isn’t enough. Also, the 48L Shad looks a little big’ish on my humble 200NS. I figured a set of panniers would compliment it well – both in terms of additional storage, and in terms of aesthetics.

 

I’d prefer something that will still give me the ability to lane-split. So I was looking for something not too big. And after some research, I narrowed to the Givi E22N ($250 from Universal Motors) or the Kappa K22 ($190 from LAB). Honestly, I cannot tell the difference between the two. They look identical. Both are 22L capacity each side. Some claim it’s produced from the same factory. Anyway, I went with the Givi for 2 reasons. Firstly, it’s GIVI vs Kappa – online research suggested that Kappa may actually be a “cheaper” or “lower quality” sister of Givi. But more importantly, I went with Universal Motors as being distributors of Bajaj, they are more familiar with the installation of this side case on my 200NS. I’ve heard some good, and some not-so-good things about LAB’s workshop. Anyway, installation was an additional $30. But from what I observed on the amount of effort it requires, I’d gladly pay for some expert hands here.

 

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the side boxes. Gives me an additional 22L of storage space on each side - that's 44L total. Add my 48L top box and I have about 92L of total storage space on my bike. That should be enough for my next multi-day trip... I only wonder when.

 

Box and installation pics here.

Edited May 26, 2016 by lkm