BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

Sullivj wrote: Maybe....

Did you fix your pannier?

I did.  When I discovered that a new lock-strip costs £250 and my extended warranty doesn't cover it, a combination of brute strength and ingenuity seemed to do the trick...

Richard, my offside pannier has done exactly the same as yours and handle will not go down, nearside works fine. There seems an awful lot of play in the mechanism the handle clicks into? How did you resolve?  If its an easy job I will attempt , if not dealer can have a go when 12000 mile service is due next month.

scunny1 wrote: Richard, my offside pannier has done exactly the same as yours and handle will not go down, nearside works fine. There seems an awful lot of play in the mechanism the handle clicks into? How did you resolve?  If its an easy job I will attempt , if not dealer can have a go when 12000 mile service is due next month.

I solved it myself in the end.


I was going to get the dealer to fix but I'm out of the original warranty and the extended warranty doesn't cover pannier locks.  As a new lock strip costs £200+, I spent a bit of time figuring it out.  This is what I found..


Inside the each socket on the pannier itself - where the lugs on the bike fit - there is a small spring-loaded button that is supposed to be pushed in when the pannier is fitted to the bike.  If that little button doesn't retract fully, the pannier won't lock to the bike.  I discovered that by playing around with WD40 and a screwdriver and making the pannier lock mechanism work when the pannier was off the bike.


So, the solution for me is that when the pannier is sitting on the bike lugs, I have to lift the pannier up and out, to make sure that the bike lug is properly pushing the spring-loaded button all the way in.  Once it is, the pannier locks on, no problem.


Be aware that at no point in this process is force needed - it's just a question of angles.


Good luck...

After 20 odd attempts at getting the handle to locate and giving up, I went inside made a drink then went back to bike and the damn thing located properly at first attempt!!!
Will still ask dealer to have a look as mechanism, as in my opinion comparing with other side it has too much play in it. Still under warranty so no great pain. Thanks for the guidance.

Under main warranty, I'd also get them to take a look.


Since I sussed it out though, haven't had a problem...

Have a K1600 but same panniers. Also had the same problem, but was under main warranty at the time, so went over to report the problem to the dealer and to my surprise i was asked to leave it with them and they would have a look at it. Just got back to my home when I got a call saying that a new locking mechanism was required, so one was ordered and fitted which seemed to cure the problem. Was told by the dealer that a few had already been replaced for the same problem. Cost for the parts was £245 if I remember correctly. Story not ending just yet, still every now and again it won't lock down and I have to take it back off its hangers then put back on in order for it to lock down. Guess they are sensitive to being exactly in the right position.

Jim wrote: Guess they are sensitive to being exactly in the right position.

My left hand pannier is very sensitive to being in exactly the right position. Sometimes I have to "settle the pannier down" a couple of time before it will lock.

Designed only to lock on when the lugs are fully seated is a good thing.  Mine are the same. Often have to rock them on before they will lock.  Once seated though no force is required whereas on the earlier type they feel spring loaded.

RTman10 wrote: Designed only to lock on when the lugs are fully seated is a good thing. Mine are the same. Often have to rock them on before they will lock. Once seated though no force is required whereas on the earlier type they feel spring loaded.

My GT panniers (the same I think) were the same.  Sometimes it took spirited jiggling!  However once they were on they stayed on.  Mine were helped by taking them off the bike and putting then in the lock position.  This extended the foot thingy that comes up when they lock.  Then I gave it a good wash and rinse and a liberal dose of Duck Oil.  This helped, but was not a full cure.  It was always the lh pannier, rh was fine (well until the lock barrel came out stuck on the key one day, but that's another story).

The LC panniers are identical to the K1600 ones so it depends what GT you had.


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RTman10 wrote: The LC panniers are identical to the K1600 ones so it depends what GT you had.
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Old school.  K1300GT, and I think these were the same as pre-LC RTs.  New RT LC panniers work fin (so far!).