Panniers Close to Exhaust

[Guest irishrider]

I have a NC700x with a lowering kit fitted and I have the PL1111 rack fitted with the E36 panniers. Today I tried the panniers for the first time (stuffed with books to give a 10kg weight  ) so I can get used to the extra weight before I go to France early May.

 

There only seems to be just a few cms between the exhaust and the panniers and I am worried incase the pannier could melt or touch the exhaust.

 

Any advice to a worried irish woman with a 400mile solo trip to London before I meet my biking companion!!!!

 

Also wondering if anyone has instructions to adjust the suspension for extra weight as nothing in handbook.

 

All comments/advice greatly appreciated, thank you

 

Debbie

 

[Guest billc700s]

You will need to remember the maximum weight is 209kgs fully loaded as Honda do not reccomend exceeding this, your ride height is already lower so any more than this could cause serious problems. The adjustment on the rear spring is a pre-load setting up for the feel of your ride ie. soft or hard and not really used to adjust for weight, you could try this but you will need a 'C ' spanner to unlock the rings and adjust the preload up or down then lock it all up again. You need to try the ride after each adjustment so you may need to purchase your own spanner.

[Guest EasyTiger]

If you are still worried after you or your friendly neighbourhood mechanic have stiffened your spring to allow for the extra load, you could stick some heat reflective/resistant material to the underside of the pannier. This is a solution used on some MotoGuzzis with OEM panniers and racks...

[Guest irishrider]

Hi I weight 80kg and the bike shouldnt have more than 120kg when I am fully loaded with bike gear on and luggage I expect so we shouldnt exceed the 209kg.

 

I am just worried that the small distance between the panniers may cause problems.

 

thanks for your advice

 

Debbie

[bikerbampi 542]

A photo is worth a thousand words Debbie, easier for us to give you an opinion then.  I've seen an X fitted with E36's on a PL1111 rack at my dealers and it looked OK to me.

[Rev Ken 6,348]

The gap between silencer & panniers will remain the same, so I guess the only thing is to tell us the size of the gap. If you look at other bikes many of them have small gaps, but if you are worried, then two suggestions.... Tray it out for a longish ride - it will get hottest when the bike is stationery with a hot engine idling for an extended period of time. A bit of cooking foil stuck on the bottom would help!

[Guest irishrider]

if only I can work out how to add photos to a reply on here.....

 

Debbie

[Guest burger650]

Debbie ... you need to first upload your pics to something like photobucket.

 

The when adding pics .. click on the picture icon above .. (bottom row 11 icons from the left) .. then insert the web address for where your image is ... I use photobucket .. and if you click on the image direct link at photobucket and insert here as stated . you should have no bother.

Edited April 15, 2013 by burger650

[Guest martroy]

BMW panniers get quite close to the exhausts and all they do is put a foil backed adhesive pad over the bottom of the pannier. As Rev Ken says,the only time you MAY have a problem is if you're stuck in traffic for a long time or MAYBE when you've stopped the bike after a long run and left the pannier on the rack and the heat.Try sticking a few layers of kitchen foil to the bottom of that pannier or go into Halfords and see if they do any engine bay soundproofing, that sometimes has a foil layer on it.

[Guest Lockon2]

The gap between silencer & panniers will remain the same, so I guess the only thing is to tell us the size of the gap. If you look at other bikes many of them have small gaps, but if you are worried, then two suggestions.... Tray it out for a longish ride - it will get hottest when the bike is stationery with a hot engine idling for an extended period of time. A bit of cooking foil stuck on the bottom would help!

Agree with Rev Ken gap does not change with lowering or weight, the distance between exhaust and bike is fixed it does not move- I have the V35's and also the Givi T493 which are soft thermoformed - on these Givi say to give 5cm between them and exhaust.

So that may give you some idea and I touched the bottom of my panniers after getting the bike nice and hot and they were fine after being on its stand for 5 mins.

Be safe

[Guest CBR45]

Adjusting the preload affects how much the shock squishes when loaded, so the more weight you carry, then the more you need to adjust your preload setting.

That's what it's for, not to set a hard of soft ride.

It's a total pig to adjust, Honda oddly don't supply the spanner, and expect skinned knuckles.

[Guest billc700s]

 

Adjusting the preload affects how much the shock squishes when loaded, so the more weight you carry, then the more you need to adjust your preload setting.

That's what it's for, not to set a hard of soft ride.

It's a total pig to adjust, Honda oddly don't supply the spanner, and expect skinned knuckles.

The spring is set for the optimal preload by the factory, too long and it will be easier to compress over bumps, too short harder to compress over bumps , this will effect ride quality. Honda do not even recomend a different tyre pressure for loads ( see handbook ), the shock is pre-set for the bike ie S X Integra and regions ( workshop manual lists different rear shock assy for region but no adjustments ) all they say is maximum load 209kg hence no spanner.

The shock contains a gas/oil damper to dampen out the spring occilliations when the spring is compressed and then rebounds otherwise you would be bouncing about until it did this itself, very dangerous as hitting another bump when the spring is still compressed can throw you off. Many sport bikes have separate rebound and compression settings to set up the dampening effect on the spring for track or road use as heavy braking and cornering can load up the spring and cause problems or professional riders who set up their bikes by fitting different fork springs or rear spring and different oil and gas combinations in the dampers.

[Guest CBR45]

Preload is to pre load the shock with the appropriate amount of load on the coil spring so that it is already partially loaded when you and your luggage jump on.

If you have zero load and stick 100kg of load the rear will squat, the shock will bottom out and the handling will be non existent.

Pre load it, stick the same 100kg on, and the rear doesn't squat, the shock doesn't bottom out and the bike still handles.

Pre load can't be factory set to an optimum as we all weigh different amounts and all carry different amounts. If it wasn't meant to be adjusted, it wouldn't be adjustable.

Compression of the shock over bumps is what compression damping is for, which as stated, can't be adjusted on the NC.

The shock should also have the correct amount of sag appropriate to the individual rider and their load. That's also adjusted by way of pre load.

[Guest irishrider]

Thankyou for all your comments and advice, I know have a much better understanding of the susupension.

 

I took my bike to my Honda dealer yesterday with filled panniers with books (10kg in each)   and the Honda mechanic adjusted the preload for the weight on the bike.

 

He also checked the pannier height above the exhaust and doesnt think I will have any problems.

 

The only problem I hadwas  that my inside pannier fell off going down a busy street in Belfast, abit scratched but ok, I just had not clipped it on properly!!!!

 

Anyhow just to wash and polish the bike, check oil tyre pressures etc and I am ready fro the ferry Monday week.

 

Thanks again for all your help.

 

Debbie

[Derek_Mac 1,404]

 I've found that it's better to work the latches on the Givi panniers  directly with my finger when the lid is open rather than using the button on the lid.

 Have a nice trip. 

[Guest EasyTiger]

Thankyou for all your comments and advice, I know have a much better understanding of the suspension.

The only problem I had was  that my inside pannier fell off going down a busy street in Belfast, a bit scratched but ok, I just had not clipped it on properly!!!!

Debbie

Now the bike is Yours, Debbie and a few battle scars are the sign of a veteran!

[Guest ColinB]

With the givi panniers and rack you do have to sure to properly 'click' them on. You can get a half click, one of mine came loose but fortunately hung off at the lights and did not fall off.