Desert Raid 2015 - Rawlinna - Tuesday 5 May 2015

[Robbo]

Made it home safe and sound about 4pm today, what a fantastic trip.
Flotation device haha I like that one.

Unfortunately I've got to get back to work!!! Take it easy Steve.

[jls]

Onya Robbo
Steve hope the bike,s holding up

[Digger]

Am I the last one to be accounted for....
Returned to Perth at 3pm today (Thursday)....never got to the Kennedy Ranges due to 800mm of water over the road from the Gascoyne river. That was run off from the cyclone about three weeks ago. Returned to Perth via some known roads and others that I hadn't ventured on before.
A great time away out of the city.
So much to do...so little time.

[_Wilks]

First effort posting up a video. Took me half the trip to realise I hadn't selected a 'record mode'... who knew there was more than one?... with no recordings as a result. This is short grab from the Plumridge Lakes track west of the Connie Sue Hwy. All going well, it'll take most riders about 2 hours to complete. The panniers took a hammering from all the shrubs but came thru pretty much unscathed.

Thinking of registering the title Alley Cat Productions to show I've got grand (delusional) plans... watch out Digger!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4_YMHqotPo

[Bozo]

Shane

Great short video...you feel like you are riding the track with you.

Interesting rotation of the left mirror...took me back to the backstreets of Italy where you fold your mirrors in before attempting to squeeze through.

Bozo

[Digger]

Great video Shane...at 1.17, I cringed when I heard the panniers impact with something. Made me bloody nervous waiting for the discovery that something was damaged.

[jls]

Shane
What's the name of your flash looking panniers ,mine got trashed on the CSue lucky enough to pick up Lucky Phils ponies but these Kevlar impregnated jobbies look interesting

[_Wilks]

Thanks for the 'likes' gents. I aim to lift my game though.

Jamie - bad luck about your panniers mate.
Mine are Mosko Moto - http://mosko-moto.myshopify.com/
Day 2 photo


When I got home (not bad considering the abuse they copped)


The only damage - one torn velcro tidy. The bottom strap shows the velcro tidy doing its job.

[bill9117]

Maybe the aluminium panniers are the way to go. At least they don't get ripped apart by the bush

[_Wilks]

Not such a good idea Bill although Jamie might be thinking that.

You should have seen the dents on one of groups F800GSA alum pannieres. Not pretty. Looked like someone had taken to it with a hammer. Wished I'd taken a photo. He tried to stay in the LHS rut all the way to limit the damage to one pannier only.

If hard cases are a must, I reckon the chinese Pelican-style knockoffs at Bunnings would be sufficiently durable... and cheap to replace.

[GSDisciple]

When I first joined the club I was thinking about metal panniers until a few stalwarts let me know that they are very efficient at snapping your leg if you have an off and get your leg between a pannier and the ground.


JP

[bill9117]

When I first joined the club I was thinking about metal panniers until a few stalwarts let me know that they are very efficient at snapping your leg if you have an off and get your leg between a pannier and the ground.


JP

Yep have experienced this when Ken Butler took me for my first dirt ride on my GSA up a steep washed out rutted goat track up the back of Pickering Brook which I subsequently had a big off on , due to mainly my lack of experience and overly confident expectations of what my new GSA was capable of .
I think the hard pannier actually stopped the weight of the bike only breaking my fibula and not my complete leg when the bike ended up on top of my leg.

Bill

[jls]

Shane
Looks like a baptism of fire for the new pannier set up
How do the Mosko,s compare to the s/p Gascoyne,s in size etc they look a bit smaller than the Gascoynes
Btw soft panniers for me offer a bit of movement and give in situations as opposed to the more rigid hard panniers that can snap off ,not to mention the stories of broken legs

[Digger]

I can tell you a story about unforgiving hard panniers. It was after this major 'off' that i decided to go 'soft'.

[_Wilks]

Shane
Looks like a baptism of fire for the new pannier set up
How do the Mosko,s compare to the s/p Gascoyne,s in size etc they look a bit smaller than the Gascoynes
Btw soft panniers for me offer a bit of movement and give in situations as opposed to the more rigid hard panniers that can snap off ,not to mention the stories of broken legs

The main pocket is slightly smaller but overall carrying capacity is slightly larger. Based on the rolled down measurements on the SP website, the SP Gascoyne comes in at 37.5ltrs. The Mosko Backcountry 35's are, surprise surprise, 35 litres.

The winning differences for me with Mosko's vs SP/Andy Straps are:
- their 'slide on & lock' mount system (no straps required - over the seat or around the pannier frame). Both panniers can be removed in about 15 seconds total... and replaced in the same time.
- water resistant if you don't use the supplied pvc insert bag... or waterproof if you do.
- tough (proven to my satisfaction)
- built in rear pocket (standard) holds 2x 1 litre water bottles (not one bottle like the SP's)
- extra storage pouch (optional extra) fits using Molle system... I bought the large version which has the same capacity as the rear pocket
- their quick access 'beavertail' system comes in handy for storing non bulky gear outside the pannier which you don't want in the main pocket. eg empty fuel bladders, wet weather gear, rubbish (if flattened) etc

Yes, they cost twice as much than the SP's (plus post) but after owning a set of Andy's and SP's (either are OK if canvas suits your needs/budget), the Mosko mounting system and being waterproof won me over. Plus it was a birthday present from my long suffering bride so I had no say in the matter.