BMW luggage for R18

jthras said:
Hi, Has anyone determined a way to mount the OEM R18 Classic bags on a FE R18? I am considering Easy Backets (link).
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If you swap the exhaust to the straight pipes of the Classic, you can use the OEM Classic brackets (they are a bar supporting the bags from underneath, just above exhaust, while the bags bolt into the fender at the top). The R18 Pure & R18 Classic are the same bike with different accessories, so you can use most of the parts of the Classic on the Pure with minimal effort.

The challenge with the Pure is the exhaust. It is much taller than the exhaust used on the other R18 models. So, you need to either raise the mounts on the fender, or use a shorter bag to clear. The OEM bags for the Pure were much shorter and the mounts raised the connection on the bags a bit above the fender to ensure exhaust clearance.
 
In agreement with nielsm above, the best route for the Classic bags on a Pure would be an outright swap of components. I have actually ended up with everything required after the mods I have made to my Classic. That would include the rear exhaust, hangers, supports for the bags, and the bags themselves. I doubt that I will ever use any of it again. Not sure what I want to do with it, but anyone interested in talking about it can send me a DM/PM. Located in SE USA.
 
Thanks, If I try the Easy Brackets and offset the mounting points on the OEM R18 Classic saddlebags, I will let you know how it works. I like the fish exhaust and don't want to swap a bunch of components. But I do want completely removable bags....without having to remove hardware each time.
 
jthras said:
Thanks, If I try the Easy Brackets and offset the mounting points on the OEM R18 Classic saddlebags, I will let you know how it works. I like the fish exhaust and don't want to swap a bunch of components. But I do want completely removable bags....without having to remove hardware each time.
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Any reason the OEM R18 Pure bags wouldn't work for you? Those would be guaranteed to fit, while buying the Classic bags & Easy Brackets without knowing they would work is a bit of an expense.
 
The Classic bags are larger and I would prefer not to use the BMW mounting hardware for the Pure Bags (I like the minimalism of the Easy Bracket mounts that stay on the bike vs the larger BMW bag supports)
 
jthras said:
The Classic bags are larger and I would prefer not to use the BMW mounting hardware for the Pure Bags (I like the minimalism of the Easy Bracket mounts that stay on the bike vs the larger BMW bag supports)
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The big issue I see is the Easy Brackets are just attaching to the 2 holes in the fender & they rate 15 pounds total weight. Since the easy brackets define 15 pounds total, if the bag itself weighs 10lbs, you really can only put in 5 pounds, so the increased size doesn't really help you. There is nothing supporting the bag underneath like the bars on the stock R18 Classic. Those bars not only provide some additional vertical support, but also keep the bag from flexing side to side. BMW rates the R18 bags with the bottom support bars as able to hold 17lbs within each bag. Without the bottom support, I'd be concerned with how much weight was added to the bag as all the weight at the bottom turns it into a pendulum that could damage the fender.

Given the height of the Classic bags, the offset you'd need to add to the mounts to work with adequate exhaust clearance would create another pendulum point.

I've attached a view of the classic bottom support bars from the manual to help you visualize what I mean. The little tube marked as 3 in the photo attaches to a channel on the bottom of the bag keeping it centered.
 

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Unfortunately the FE R18 bikes do not have the mounting points (1 and 2 in your diagram). Otherwise, I could install something similar to tube marked as 3. I agree with your points above.....there must be a good engineering solution....if not I will abandon trying to use the Classic bags.
 
burangs said:
That is why the swap of the exhaust AND the hangers is important. The hangers are designed to accommodate the supports and in turn, the bags.
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Dam, no love for the base R18 though great info. Indeed it seems to have been a styling exercise for bmw though a great one. Next, they made the functional Classic :)
Maybe I should have ‘settled’ for the corbin bags at 10% off lol. Then again, with bmwmoa discount the basic bmw canvas bags might have to make due For a Euro look…will check how much weight they can hold. Else a rear rack and back rest…will go see what, if anything, bmw offers. Would like to keep the clean look of the base R18 if I can.
 
Think about it, how many times are you going to travel to worry about a big bag? Much less than you imagine, there will probably be years that you don't do it. That said, buy the bike you like the most, the one you think is the prettiest. For me, it's the base R18 with the FE package. What's more, as I've said in another post, I regret having spent money on the auxiliary lights, which took away part of the sporty look of the bike, accentuating its vintage side, but unbalancing it in that mix between the new and the old. I also think that it was a bad purchase (unnecessary expense) the OEM bags, except for the small one that goes on the right side. An easy removable passenger backrest with the rack (from motea.com) could be all you need and a new seat (just in case an Airhawk couldn’t fix the back pain)
 
It is not the same rack for the bags. The original bags don't have a rack they bolt straight onto the fender. It takes about 5 min. to change over. And the classic bags have a bottom bracket that needs to be installed
 
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