R18 OEM Saddlebag review

Bwana

Active member
When I picked up the R18 I ordered the factory accessory bags at the same time. I was told they wouldn’t be in until the end of July but I was pleasantly surprised when they showed up this week. (Yes, BMW actually BEAT a time estimate!).

The bag frames were easy to install. The hardest part was finding a “socket” that fit. The bolts appear to be between a T30 and T45. Closer to a T30 though so that is what I used. Worked without issue. There was one possible issue; it looked like each parts bag was missing a spacer for install with a backrest. Since I don’t have a backrest I don't know if the parts are reused from the backrest. It didn’t look like it though.

B9D252BD-3BD2-44EB-876A-5F9C8009130E.jpeg

The bags themselves are heavy duty waxed cotton. The mounts on the bags slide over the frames and click into place. You remove the bags by pressing a button on the front mount point. No, there is no way to lock the bags to the bike.

D8B24ABE-2ABC-412B-A417-8D48884B9AE9.jpeg

The bags are expandable. There is an outside zippered compartment and another zippered compartment is under the lid. Inside there is a zippered dry compartment on the back of the bag and two velcro compartments on each side. Each bag comes with a dry bag.

9DB5DDD6-CCFB-48AB-9A04-D3CD8E2DC572.jpeg
6DE59E80-51CF-479B-A622-566FDDD62480.jpeg
18DA6D56-ADAD-4CEC-B20C-5245005B2908.jpeg
BDDF9C43-D9A9-4BA4-93F8-6C99B9CF2DD3.jpeg
E1AF6871-14FB-4804-AA2A-6DFD73E84F44.jpeg

I’m pretty happy with the bags so far. Only time will tell if they are built to last of course. Rewaxing them is going to be a royal pain (several clothing places suggest once a year) and something I’ve never had to do before. I do wish (much like Indian) there was a way to lock the bags to the bike. Seems like a real oversight.
 
Back
Top