BMW R1200RT/R1250RT Forum

I generally ride with panniers as the bike looks the business with them on (a bit like my old Pan European did). I have BMW cylinder head guards fitted and some bumper protector strips from Halfords on the panniers. I had a slight 'Off' last week doing a 'U' turn when I put my foot down on a patch of diesel oil, throwing me clear of the bike across the verge.
I thought there would have been loads of damage to panniers. bars, levers etc as it went right down. When I cleaned the muck off at home all I could find was a small gouge on the plastic inserts on the n/side head protector, I crawled all over the bike but nothing else showing.
Now either I'm extremely lucky ( I did win £4-50 on the lottery once) or BMW have sussed out what happens when a bike goes down and how to mitigate the effects. I'm sure the pannier saved major damage to the rear of the bike.
They'll always stay on now.

Exactly my setup including the £9.99 spent in Halfords.  Well done my man.

RTman10 wrote: And your reason for fitting them is?  Can't be filtering, if the front goes through so does the back.  They are designed that way. ..

I know this is an old thread, but this comment is not true. The Wethead is wider at the back than at the front. So don't rely on that old ;if my mirrors fit, then so will the rest'.

bandytales wrote:So don't rely on that old ;if my mirrors fit, then so will the rest'.

As this unfortunate guy discovered, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e05ayLVTOoM

elephant8869 wrote: Thanks Richards, I've contacted nedplex and they do make slim lids for the watercooked RT panniers. Cheers

Do you have any contact (or indeed any other) details, because I contacted them and they have no information at all. They (Oliver at Nedplex) say they don't and haven't made them?

I do a lot of commuting/filtering although I am finding the bike ok for this I am always conscious of the panniers, more of a psychological thing really  so I decided to fit the Hornig flat lids - https://www.motorcycleparts-hornig.com/BMW-R-1200-RT-LC/Seats-Trunks-and-Bags/Suitcase-Flat-Lids.html

I used paints from here - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/391337514662 I bought two sets.

Trial fitting the lids first I think in general they are good quality obviously not as good as the original, fit reasonably well, there are some discrepancies but nothing that really bother me.

After a good flat down, masking on the inside I used some etching primer followed by normal primer, left to dry then a further light flat with 400 grit.

Colour went on really well, paint looked to be full of orange peel initially but flatted out over time really nice. The colour itself is an excellent match to the original

I designed some graphics to echo the original and cut them out on my vinyl cutter.

After placing them I applied the clear coat which again went on really well


Really pleased with the results and it makes a huge difference to the width of the bike at the rear, overall I would recommend the lids, I will report back on how watertight they are

heli_madken wrote: I do a lot of commuting/filtering although I am finding the bike ok for this I am always conscious of the panniers, more of a psychological thing really  so I decided to fit the Hornig flat lids ..... Trial fitting the lids first I think in general they are good quality obviously not as good as the original, fit reasonably well, there are some discrepancies but nothing that really bother me ..... Really pleased with the results and it makes a huge difference to the width of the bike at the rear, overall I would recommend the lids, I will report back on how watertight they are

These lids look really nice, but I think I'll just continue to make allowance for the extra couple of inches at the back.  I need all the pannier capacity I can get.

I would say no more than 10 minutes a side to swap back to the originals, 4 bolts per side, if I need the capacity I would just swap back, dont need the big cases to carry my lunch to work

They look good, nice job.

elephant8869 wrote: Does anyone know where I can buy the pannier city lids for the panniers on the liquid cooled RT? These are the replacement lids which reduce the pannier width by about 100mm?

like heli_madken,  I fitted the Hornig ones to mine and like them a lot.
To swap between the Slim and the Fat lids will take about 5 minutes.

RTman10 wrote: And your reason for fitting them is?  Can't be filtering, if the front goes through so does the back.  They are designed that way. One of the advantages of the OEM is if you are unfortunate enough to drop it at a standstill (easily done).
, the lids save some very expensive bodywork and bits like end cans and drive shafts. 
I never ride without them.

Sorry, for once I have to disagree with RTman10!


Without city lids fitted (or the panniers removed) many of my heavy traffic maneuvers could not be done. The front can go through a space the standard panniers cannot! Plus when lane splitting on the motorway at say 35 mph'ish knowing that the back end is thinner than the middle is very reassuring!!


Regarding a tip over, I parked up on a bit of a slope and thought the angle of bike on the side stand was ok. Well it was for about 15 seconds as I walked away and then I guess the suspension uncompressed, the bike came upright and toppled over onto it's right hand side. The damage; rider's footpeg broke, the outer plastic of the mirror housing broke, scratched the engine bars and the City lids a bit. But the rest of the body work was ok. Now this was 0 mph tip over so a slow or mid speed drop might be different and I am sure full pannier lids would give more protection than city lids but in this case the city lids did the job.