[longjon]

I have the Vario panniers on my GS. How does one fasten luggage on top of them without drilling holes for attachment points?

 

[PerazziMx14]

Bungee nets. Be careful about what you put in and on the Vario’s, it’s not uncommon to have the plastic mounting tabs break as there is no crossover tying the panniers together. When the Vario are loaded they can sway side to side and eventually fatigue the mounting clips until they break.

If it were me I’d ditch the Vario panniers and go with a pannier system that has a full frame mounting system. I also prefer too load panniers to clamshell/sideloaders.

Good luck,

P-14

 

[longjon]

Thanks, will look into it

 

[20-100]

I second PerrazziMx14, the Vario's are all plastic, I would only attach light stuff on/over them (jacket, tarp, small backpack).

 

[HerndonP]

You can also lay stuff on top of the pannier and use cam lock straps to tie them down to the bike sides. Thats what I did and worked perfect.

 

[capt2u]

No clue. But, I’ve found fuel mileage suffers with additional stuff on the panniers. Especially when there’s wind.

 

[Hogges]

I have the Vario panniers on my GS. How does one fasten luggage on top of them without drilling holes for attachment points?

At least on the hexheads (pre-LC R1200GS), the varios offer a perfectly flat mounting platform if you remove the rear seat. Therefore I mount my luggage sideways and it is all well supported, without drilling into the varios. A pair of Rok Straps holds everything down. This way I can access pretty much everything without unloading.

 

[longjon]

I asked the question for when I carry a pillion. When I am riding solo, I have enough space

 

[20-100]

I asked the question for when I carry a pillion.

So, you want to attach bags lengthwise on you Varios ? In that case, you don't have many options without drilling holes and adding attching points.

When I got my 2009 GS, it was equiped with Varios, I looked for a way to add attachment to them... and ended selling them and purchasing a used set of aluminum panniers... The Vario's expansion mechanism makes it really difficult to bolt something on the outside.

One solution might be to forego the size-changing capacity, leaving them full-size then installing anchoring points where you want them.

 

[dpickens]

Luggage Rack for Vario Case

Check out the deal on Luggage Rack for Vario Case at wunderlichamerica.com

www.wunderlichamerica.com

 

[rogerf]

I have the Vario panniers on my GS. How does one fasten luggage on top of them without drilling holes for attachment points?

I found a way with an elastic strap around (see photo) and a strap between left and right in front of the top box, and one to the passenger footrest bracket. The solution was OK enough, but as I always travel with my wife, and after one season with the Varios, I found them to small and side loading a bit unpractical, I also don't like overloading them as several have mentioned. I decided to take the cost and have just recieved some Touratech Zega Evo X 45 L (silver). They seems great I like them, looking forward to put them on when the winter is gone. With the Touratech, you can still have the Vario support at the passenger footrest, the rack can easy be dismounted and the Vario's can be still be used.

 

[homer dean]

I agree w/P-14 about the plastic attachment points on varios as mine has broken. Also, as one stated above, you can expand them and drill holes for attachment points. I did this w/mine and it works fine. I went to local hardware store and p/u drawer handles and they've worked perfectly. Remember to put a little silicone where screw goes so as not to leak.

 

[mikec]

Get some footman's loops as they're inexpensive and work great.

Mike

 

[Krons]

Vario Case footman loops

Short overview of adding footman loops to vario cases. Note that there is a ideal mounting point on the top of the cases. This area is simply a cover and requires no drilling in the inner case. The footman loop is 1 inch long. This is the length of the inner loop itself. I got mine here...

www.r1200gs.info