Attaching Vario panniers.

[Jason W]

Feeling pretty stupid, but don't want to risk damaging the lock mechanism.
I've just bought a 2nd-hand pr. of BMW Vario panniers, and can't seem to fit them to the bike.
I'm reluctant to pull too hard on the red plastic tab above the latch that mates with the round-headed Allen bolt projecting from the mount.
Am I missing something?
The mounts are the standard BMW items made for them.
Thanks,
Jason.

[Schtum]

The red tab needs to be pulled fully up before the pannier lock will fit over the mushroom bolt.

Also, you need to ensure that the mushroom bolt is screwed down into the mount as far as it will go while still allowing the red tab to be closed to lock the pannier down. Failure to ensure this is the reason that a fair number of the OE panniers find themselves travelling up the road while no longer being attached to the bike. You can get an idea of approximately how close to being correctly adjusted this bolt is by the degree of force you need to apply to the red tab to lock the pannier onto the mount and the amount which the pannier moves once it's locked onto the mount.

HTH

[marc]

You did lift the red lever that's under the handle, didn't you? Lift handle, lift red lever under the handle, lift red part next to the mushroom bolt, in that order.

// marc

[Jason W]

All sorted, thanks fella's.
They were quite cheap, $350 Australian, and for a minute, thought there was a reason...
They're on, look good.
Would've preferred something else but for the price they were too good to ignore.
A few marks on them, but they heven't been sliding up the road or anything.
Now, off to BMW to order pannier locks that match my ignition...

[GSRider]

The dealer should be able to key the existing locks to your ignition key without getting new locks...for a charge of course.

[kurt1305]

Originally Posted by GSRider

The dealer should be able to key the existing locks to your ignition key without getting new locks...for a charge of course.

You can do it yourself if you have the original key.

How to re-key Vario cases