Bags of weekend fun
I’ve increased the Commando’s practicality with a set of Speed throw-over panniers from Ortlieb, a German manufacturer with a reputation for making waterproof bags that stay waterproof. They’ve converted my Norton into a sort of mini Goldwing for trips away.
Mounting them quite far forward minimises disruption to the Commando’s fine lines, and if they’re evenly loaded you can just sit on the main straps. They can be properly fastened in place front and rear.
The Speed panniers are £220, and clearly named because they’re small and therefore aerodynamic and light. Or maybe because they’re easy and fast to take on and off. Who knows – what matters is durability and water resistance (which are both excellent) and the small size, which means I need to think a bit harder when packing.
I can get a sleeping bag, small roll mat, one of those handy Trangia cookers, a couple of beers, shorts, flip-flops and a spare shirt and unterhosen in them for a well-dressed weekend away (the tent gets strapped to the seat). The bags close by rolling over the tops before being strapped tight in the middle and ends, so stuffing them to the gunwales reduces the number of rolls and hence their waterproofness.
Of course, I always make sure they’re not catching on anything. This is a habit hardened by losing my tools and spare fuel 300 miles out of Cairo, when a set of home-made bags were cut through by the chain – the chain guard had fallen off at some point beforehand (this was on a different bike, of course). Using proper kit minimises the chance of calamity.
One note: when I got these they were sold as Ortlieb, but are now branded Touratech. Same thing, same manufacturer, different name.