Hepco & Becker Luggage Installed

This seems to have turned into a H&B thread, so here's my little unfinished tale:
For the CB1100RS, I wanted a set of solid panniers and top box. I emailed H&B, and was assured that the Explorer set would fit nicely. So I ordered a set of black Explorers. When they arrived, the dealer (I had not yet picked up the bike) installed the rack and promptly discovered that the Explorer panniers do NOT fit the RS. Remind me to write H&B and whine about that. So they recommended a kit called Gobi, and I said fine, OK, order those, then. Not the look I had in mind, but now I'm in a more pragmatic mode and let's just get some bags on here. But a month passes and no Gobis. Covid-19 has thrown a spanner in the supply chain somewhere, apparently. Then, yesterday, the dealer called and said that H&B are unable to deliver at all, and would I like the Junior set instead? Well, now we've moved from the aluminium adventure boxes to rounded, 80s plastic cases, and I'm not 100% happy with that, but they fit the rack that is already installed (which excludes looking at other manufacturers) and they're currently available in Norway. So now I'm waiting for a set of Junior cases, and this thread has calmed me somewhat: it looks quite good!
There's also a substantial price difference, so I'll probably look into getting a GoPro or something for the remainder. Or a pair of leather pants or something. I'll post a picture when it's all mounted, probably next week.
I hope I can fit a helmet in the top box, and that the panniers don't bother my SO when she rides pillion.
I do like that the side racks are so easy to remove, the RS does look better without them. :)
 
Sorry you are having continuing troubles, Hovmod. I have been very happy with my H&B side cases (the '80s plastic kind), though I have found that they do leak a bit when the rain is heavy. I just keep some plastic garbage bags in them and use those as a liner. Style-wise, I'm very pleased. They look like they belong.
 
Inhouse Bob_imp said:
Sorry you are having continuing troubles, Hovmod. I have been very happy with my H&B side cases (the '80s plastic kind), though I have found that they do leak a bit when the rain is heavy. I just keep some plastic garbage bags in them and use those as a liner. Style-wise, I'm very pleased. They look like they belong.
Click to expand...
That's what I thought when I saw this thread. They do.
My troubles are the same as everybody else's, though, I hope I don't come across as whiny or entitled. We're all just coping, including H&B. :)
 
Hovmod_imp said:
Inhouse Bob_imp said:
Sorry you are having continuing troubles, Hovmod. I have been very happy with my H&B side cases (the '80s plastic kind), though I have found that they do leak a bit when the rain is heavy. I just keep some plastic garbage bags in them and use those as a liner. Style-wise, I'm very pleased. They look like they belong.
Click to expand...
That's what I thought when I saw this thread. They do.
My troubles are the same as everybody else's, though, I hope I don't come across as whiny or entitled. We're all just coping, including H&B. :)
Click to expand...
That's what I thought when I saw this thread. They do.
My troubles are the same as everybody else's, though, I hope I don't come across as whiny or entitled. We're all just coping, including H&B. :) Yup. Hang in there. Things will get better!
 
Hope it's OK to keep hijacking this thread with my Hepco & Becker tale.
Went to the dealer's to pick up my H&B today, and I'm only medium happy. The side panniers are just a tad to far forward for my SO's feet to fit nicely, and the top box is too small for a helmet, which is a bit of a deal breaker. They've ordered the bigger one now (55L vs 40L), so we'll see.
Here's what it looks like now:

22a8c370a3a7cd90562382a6f6a21f65.jpg
 
Update:
Received the new top box, and decided after some deliberation to keep it.
It is HUGE, and it doesn't have the same coarse texture as the panniers, so it is a little bit of a Frankenstein job, even though it's all from the H&B Junior series. Weird.
Last night I went to pick up my kid from his mother's, and it could easily fit a helmet and a riding jacket for him, plus my rain suit. Also, bonus, it easily fits vinyl albums. Yay!
For everyday use I'm leaving it off, it's super quick and easy to mount. It's going to be a challenge to stay below 5kg for long trips, tbh. It's huge.

Edit: the rear pegs weren't an issue after all, my SO said she has no problems at all. Guess my boots are just bigger. The RS is now a naked touring café or something. So cool.
 
Hovmod_imp said:
Hope it's OK to keep hijacking this thread with my Hepco & Becker tale.
Went to the dealer's to pick up my H&B today, and I'm only medium happy. The side panniers are just a tad to far forward for my SO's feet to fit nicely, and the top box is too small for a helmet, which is a bit of a deal breaker. They've ordered the bigger one now (55L vs 40L), so we'll see.
Here's what it looks like now:

22a8c370a3a7cd90562382a6f6a21f65.jpg
Click to expand...
I think that looks really good.
 
So, what does it look like with the larger top box?
 
Looks like this. It's big, leans over the top of both panniers and way out over the tail light, the shape does not look like it's from the same series of cases, the plastic has a finer grained texture, and I'm not completely sold on those stripes. However, over the last couple of days I have had good use for the extra space. I'm waiting for a back rest cushion and a rail for the top of it, so I'm preparing myself for drilling holes in it. :D
Honestly, this has gone on for so long I'm almost starting to feel bad for the dealer, with whom I'm planning to have a long and friction free relationship. Every step of the process has been a surprise to them, too, and it's not like they can magic up a perfect solution. But it's not *exactly* the look I had in mind.

ab203925a5d62ef78257fa17c25ba466.jpg
 
Anyone who goes for a top case—and I say this from personal experience—is not really going for looks. The CB looks so much prettier without it, but then the reward for the loss of beauty is practicality and the ease of carrying things.

That's pretty hefty, Hovmod, but will be handy for touring.
 
I thought top case cause stability issue, hence the smaller the better?? That's what my sports touring buddy told me, why most manufacturer will provide factory side case, but seldom a top case.
 
Oh, I totally agree it looks so much better without a top box, and it stays off when not needed. Stability problems at speed are probable (and warned about in the documentation), but for touring with my SO on the back I'm not doing "at speed" anyway. Cruising at, say, 120kph the box won't be an issue, unless I fill it with lead or something (max 5kg, they say).
I think it looks borderline ridiculous, tbh, like a Lamborghini pickup truck or perhaps a Zonda with a trailer, but I want to go for the occasional long trip on my daily ride, so the RS gets boxes. :)

(one YouTube reviewer said he couldn't imagine anyone using the RS in the rain, even - he'd get a heart attack seeing my bike fully loaded, I'm sure, haha)
 
CaptainChris_imp said:
Hi All,

Just finished installing the Hepco & Becker rear rack, side carriers, 40L Junior sidecases, and the 55L Junior topcase:











The install was pretty straightforward with the only difficult part being routing the rear signal wires. Just took time and patience though. I'm impressed with how solid everything feels on the bike. Definitely happy with my purchase. Bought everything through Motomachines.com and I was very pleased with their customer service. At some point down the road I'll be adding the backrest and top rack to the topcase.
Click to expand...
Nice setup. I'm thinking about doing the same. Do you have any pictures of the bike without the boxes and without the carriers? Just the bolted hardware.
Would like to see how the bike looks with the relocated blinkers without luggage and metal frames. Thanks.
 
 
Great thread. I wish HB made some small Top Loading cases. I had a set of Givi E21’s on a previous bike and loved them.
 
The ones I have don't. But someone else might be able to speak about the C-Bow type. You can see in this photo how mine would block the rack attachment. I tried hard to make them work with my rack but ended up getting rid of the rack. I haven't missed it, so there is that.
 
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