I've been debating on whether or not to post about my experience with Bumot panniers and ADV Motoraad, their U.S. based distributor. After a month of back and forth emails, taking and submitting numerous photos, and testing the pannier mount then adjusting the mounting hardware I'm still awaiting a resolution.
The back story goes like this; I discovered the Bumot brand while perusing a GS thread on another forum (not ADVR) where I learned of Bumot so I did some research and found out they are highly regarded. One YouTube video I watched put the Bumot up against ten other offerings and found them the best and that includes a rating above BMW's panniers.
So, May of this year I mount the panniers for the first time and head out. About a mile from my home I hear a loud metal bang and look over my shoulder to see the left pannier sliding across two lanes of traffic. One driver almost ran over it and another stopped to retrieve it and drive about 300' to where I'd pulled over. Nice folks, I couldn't thank them enough. So I check out its condition and notice it didn't suffer too badly after detaching at 35 mph and sliding on asphalt until it came to a rest against the curb. I reattach it and give it a pretty good tug in all directions - JUST AS I HAD DONE IN MY DRIVEWAY PRIOR TO DEPARTING.
I continue my ride occasionally keeping my hand on the pannier lid. My ride took me 60 miles north to the Denver 'burbs where I bought some MC clothing from an inmate. The rest of the way up and back was without any issues but still, I was bothered. I was also impressed at how well the Bumot pannier survived the get off that I sent the distributor an email with photos. My email mentioned that I somehow must have failed to ensure it was securely attached to the pannier frame, how else could it have ejected??
Fast forward to October when I prepped for a trip to see my sister in TX. A few days before departure I install the panniers and head off to the nearest gas station to top off the tank. This time I was more aggressive with my post-mounting test of the pannier attachment and once confident I took off. This time the pannier ejected about 15' past my driveway. Shit. I pull over and reattach it and give it the test again and this time I made it about 150' before losing the pannier. Double shit. Aside from some scratches to the pannier's body, the main areas of damage centered around the composite corner protectors and hinges.
The photos above were taken after the first ejection, the damage is a little worse after two more incidents.
I return home to drop off both and fuel the bike. I was set on riding my GSA to TX and this problem wasn't going to prevent that from happening so I went to a nearby Ace Hardware store in search of some straps but most everything they had was more like for tying down stuff but a more thorough search of their shelves yielded the perfect strap so I bought four - all they had at the time - figuring I'd need two for each pannier even thought the right side never gave me a problem.
Here's my solution to securing the panniers:
So, upon my return I contacted the supplier to explain what happened and asked them to provide a solution. After several emails asking me to do more rigorous "shake" tests to include having a neighbor come over to stabilize the bike while I REALLY yanked on the pannier then the problem became obvious. The locking latch wasn't fully engaging the tube frame:
They suggested that I loosen the fasteners on the lower frame mount to drop the latching mechanism so that it engages the upper pannier mount a little more. I did this and it seems to work. What bothers me is that I have damaged goods - expensive goods - through no fault of my own. Yea, I know items like panniers are bound to get dinged up but still, it would have been nice not to have experienced this. On a positive note the U.S. distributor has been great to work with but it's obvious he's taking his direction from the manufacturer. At a minimum I'm hoping for replacement corner protectors and hinges.
Thanks for reading.....flame away...