accessories » Repairing panniers - experience?

I am the sad owner of two cracked OEM panniers for my RS - the first one happened in an off a couple of years ago ; I repaired it myself (incorrectly as it happens) and it's now a mess; the second one a couple of weeks ago, courtesy of the " Damn kickstand (3) " (of course, the bike had to fall on the good pannier, didn't it?

Anyway, they both need sorting out now, before next year's touring season (if we ever get there). The panniers themselves are fully intact; it's just the lids which are knackered. So I'd hoped I could just replace those rather than the entire panniers; however I just found my quote from two years ago which has reminded me why I originally repaired that pannier myself - the lids, ie with no moving parts or fittings at all, were then an unbelievable £218 each. I shouldn't really be surprised, should I, but really...

So I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for somewhere in the UK who can fix this stuff at a better price than that (eg a fairing repairer?) Alternatively I'm maybe game for attempting a DIY repair and rattle-canning it again, if anyone can point me at suitable instructions? (Last time I used a fibre-glass resin/matting bodywork repair kit, which I found out too late was inappropriate... :( )

I think it's ABS. So, plastic pipe glue should work.

In the US, a new lid (which includes the hinge) costs $346.

I would seriously think about repairing them and painting the lids (if that's all that's fubarred) in situ. I took one lid off my pannier when I sprayed mine, and it was a job and a half, and even worse trying to put it back together, what with all the sealing tape/foam that prevents water ingress. The second lid never came off, just got sprayed after masking off everything else. Much easier.

Id say try used , but they’re just as hard to find and also damn expensive !

Zitat von Freddyfruitbat im Beitrag #1

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I am the sad owner of two cracked OEM panniers for my RS - the first one happened in an off a couple of years ago ; I repaired it myself (incorrectly as it happens) and it's now a mess; the second one a couple of weeks ago, courtesy of the " Damn kickstand (3) " (of course, the bike had to fall on the good pannier, didn't it?

Anyway, they both need sorting out now, before next year's touring season (if we ever get there). The panniers themselves are fully intact; it's just the lids which are knackered. So I'd hoped I could just replace those rather than the entire panniers; however I just found my quote from two years ago which has reminded me why I originally repaired that pannier myself - the lids, ie with no moving parts or fittings at all, were then an unbelievable £218 each. I shouldn't really be surprised, should I, but really...

So I'm wondering if anyone has any recommendations for somewhere in the UK who can fix this stuff at a better price than that (eg a fairing repairer?) Alternatively I'm maybe game for attempting a DIY repair and rattle-canning it again, if anyone can point me at suitable instructions? (Last time I used a fibre-glass resin/matting bodywork repair kit, which I found out too late was inappropriate... :( )

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A good car or bike Body Shop should be able to fix them satisfactorily.

I once had a Ducati side panel repaired after a garage drop. The outside finish was perfect, while allowing the inside surface to be a bit more “obvious” due to the plastic welding and/or some fibre glass patching. I can’t remember exactly.

All I remember is the outside was A1 in yellow.

FFB,

I use a little back street lockup in Bolton A1 Motor Body Repairs, Grecian Mill, Bolton. He is a one man band who has sorted cosmetic damage on two cars for me and sprayed my top box Imperial Blue to match the bike.

I expect you can find someone similar Macclesfield way. If not send me some photos and I will get him to give me a price. You could then motor up by arrangement with him and collect at your convenience (Or, provided I have a key, maybe I could ride down with your panniers on my bike when done)

Chris

TBH I'd be surprised if a bodywork shop would charge less than £200 per repair Time is money and the fiddling around plus paint prep and booth time will easily reach £200 with VAT . Best of luck.

Pics of the damage would help out here.

Thanks for the replies. Ok then, pictures...

Here's the right-hand pannier, after the bike blew over a few weeks ago. I had originally resprayed it myself (poorly) a couple of years ago, after it was slightly scuffed in an accident. Apart from the obvious new scuffs now, the main damage is the large crack at the bottom right front corner, which extends all the way to the front edge and around the rim:





For what it's worth, here's the inside view, with duct tape over the crack. It actually holds together very well, which makes me optimistic that a repair should be possible (in the photo above, I'm actually forcing the crack open so you can see where it is)



Here's the left-hand pannier. This is as it was two years ago, just after my unscheduled dismount:



I repaired it at the time with a glass-fibre/matting resin repair kit along with car body filler and resprayed it with an aerosol; I was happy enough with the result back then (certainly there were no marks visible from the damage at all, even if my paintwork wasn't great. However, I later found out that you shouldn't use glass-fibre repair kits on these panniers because they are made of ABS. I noticed that the matting/resin changing colour over the following months, presumably due to the failing bond between the resin and ABS. Here's how it looks now:



...and the inside:



Although the pannier's still perfectly functional, cracks from the original damage are now clearly visible through the paintwork, and if I'm fixing the right-hand pannier properly now, I may as well fix this one too as well. I imagine I can scrape off all the old glass-fibre stuff OK to start again.



Any further thoughts much appreciated!

Zitat von PlacidoD im Beitrag #7

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I use a little back street lockup in Bolton A1 Motor Body Repairs, Grecian Mill, Bolton. He is a one man band who has sorted cosmetic damage on two cars for me and sprayed my top box Imperial Blue to match the bike.
I expect you can find someone similar Macclesfield way. If not send me some photos and I will get him to give me a price.

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Oh dear

Zitat von Philbuck im Beitrag #11

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Oh dear

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Back in the old days we used to plastic weld fairing panels with a soldering iron and an old number plate as a filler, then flexible filler over and paint. This worked well.

These days there are loads of Repair Kits on the market. ABS is funny stuff and you almost melt it together with adhesive. The advice is to use a backing strip rather than a butt joint.

I would be totally honest with a repair shop (also consider boat repair shops) and ask them what they use, stating that the repair by them would be uneconomic, but you would like to give a repair a go yourself. All they can do is tell you to * off at worst and tell you at best.

I know nothing about this company, but it looks like stuff for this problem

https://www.polyvance.com/PlastiFix-Kits...lastiFix-Kits-1

Wenn Sie hier auf Links zu eBay klicken und einen Kauf tätigen, kann dies dazu führen, dass diese Website eine Provision erhält.

Werbung: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-R1200RS-P...4.m46890.l49292

Freddy don't know whether you've seen these but it may solve your problem.

Ian