General topics » OEM panniers

Hi - does anyone know if there’s any adjustment on the locks of the panniers ?
One of mine is just a little slack when it’s closed and I notice a bit of water can get inside.
I’m hoping there’s some adjustment and someone here can tell me how it’s done !

Cheers

Is that Oakham, Rutland Massachusetts? Right down the street from you, if so in Boylston.

These panniers can be tricky. I have a low-mileage 2016 R1200RS. And I bought the panniers maybe end of 2016 from BMW Motorad UK online store. They were shipped from Germany.
I keyed the locks myself and made a misstep of leaving a certain tumbler in, and my key got stuck in the lock. I had to disassemble completely that bag's mechanism to get the key out. I saw the rods and mechanism inside, and it's ugly. Pain in the ass to put back together.

I might if I were you take a ride to AJ Cycle on Route 2 in Gill, MA. And speak with AJ the owner. Call him first.
He use to be a BMW dealer, but still services them, and sells new Moto Guzis.
He's very knowledgeable about BMW. Has an ace mechanic.

I'm guessing one of your plastic thumb latches doesn't close all the way? There are cheapie white metal rods inside that spread to latch, and they're connected to the plastic thumb button through "Funky Wiley Coyote Super Genius" springs and levers. I think they need lubrication and can just get out of alignment.

I had a sort of opposite problem on one of my OEM panniers. The stupid plastic latch button was so tight, I couldn't open the bag. Again, the rods inside must have seized momentarily, and I was forced to try and put leverage into the button to move them. The plastic button latch broke. They're a pain. Or can be.
I now open that bag with a spare screw driver I place under the broken half of the button latch that's still attached to the pannier.

Hi - thanks for your reply. I’m in Oakham in the UK for your information.
I thought they’d be horribly complicated and it seems you’ve found that out. At least now I won’t poke about in there until someone who knows what’s what can give me a thorough explanation and advice.
I have just rested the internal seals with rubber grease so that may alleviate the problem. Time will tell - next ride out is bound to be wet, it’s the UK after all.

Nice- mirror mirror! I imagine the Oakham-Rutland analogue over there is idyllic and beautiful, no? It's a pretty area over here.

If you're patient and can tinker, you can probably open up a panel to get at the mechanism and look at things. You might see a metal rod slightly bent, maybe it can't extend all the way. You can just look at it and maybe fiddle with it, lube it. It was a pita but going slowly and observing is key.
Unless you have a warrantied bag and can swap it out for new, I think getting a "how-to" on this problem might be hard to find. A lot of people will probably buy a new pannier rather than tinker.

You can look for the couple of videos on how to key your own BMW pannier lock cylinder on YouTube to get started. Those might be helpful to get the perspective and courage to open the mechanism up.

Zitat von Rutland Rider im Beitrag #1

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Hi - does anyone know if there’s any adjustment on the locks of the panniers ?

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