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Oxford Sports Panniers - Kevin Turner looks for a solution to the lack of bungee points on his ZX636 - but isn't quite happy with the solution

No bungee points? Want to tour? Then you need panniers, you do... When I sold my SV to buy a Ninja I was over the moon, right up until the point when I came to attach my existing luggage to it. The ZX636R's main failing in my opinion is the total absence of anywhere to secure bungees, hence my need for some new panniers.

Anyone looking to buy soft luggage heads directly to Oxford (the manufacturer, not the city) almost by definition. Oxford has virtually cornered the market and a quick scan of their website revealed exactly what I was looking for. The Oxford Sports pannier is a big sturdy piece of kit designed for virtually all sports bikes and at a fully expanded 65 litres, is significantly larger than its Humpback equivalent (45 litres).

While the Humpback panniers (which are actually much sportier and should be called the Sports panniers but aren't just to confuse people) have received rave reviews across the board, they just aren't big enough for my needs. I'm sure they're fine for a weekend away, but two weeks camping across Europe demands a fair old bit of kit, and for an extra tenner (the Humpbacks retail at £99.99; the Sports at £109.99) the additional 20 litres of space seemed very good value for money.

But was it?

That's a question I'm still wrestling with. Let's begin on a positive note. The Sports range is stylish and certainly appears to be well made. I was very concerned that with my Ninja being a bit old hat (it's a 2001 A1P model) the panniers would either simply not fit, or would drag on the exhaust causing my possessions to tumble out across Europe in a fiery mess. Thankfully, that didn't happen. The panniers have a special heat resistant underside designed to avert just such a disaster, although the accompanying brochure does stress the panniers should not rest on the exhaust for any length of time.

Fair enough. Despite being heavily loaded the Velcro straps held the panniers a good two or three inches above the can at all times, although I would recommend you keep an eye on them if you hit particularly bumpy ground when, quite understandably, they will tend to sag a little.

Oxford also recommend you tie the panniers in place using attached straps, but not only is this an extremely fiddly exercise which will drive you mad (especially trying to undo them after a long day's ride), but I also found the straps frayed badly when wrapped round my rearsets. I went two weeks without bothering to attach them in this way and got along fine.

The manner in which the Velcro straps attach by looping under and over the rear seat is monumentally frustrating and for the most part, a two man job. Whether a better way of holding these things in place could be developed I don't know, but I can say that without the help of my companions I would gladly have left my luggage behind on a number of occasions rather than endure this maddening ordeal yet again. That said, the Velcro held firm when (finally) in place which is what it's meant to do so maybe I'm just undexterous. (Non dexterous? Indexterous? Antidexterous? Whatever.)

So, despite being a bit fiddly to attach, so far so good. The Sports panniers stayed in place, looked good, and held all my luggage…just. Which is where the first problem arose.

Yes, they did hold all my luggage, but they could have held a damn sight more if I'd have had the courage to expand them to their full 65 litre capacity. But when I tried to do so they drooped so far either side of my bike that I may as well have added casters to them and called them stabilisers. I can't say for sure because I wasn't confident enough to risk it, but I would imagine cornering or riding at anything over 70mph with those things fully expanded would be a disconcerting affair. My mate, who has the same panniers, agreed; they are huge and ungainly when fully unzipped which may explain why the Humpback versions are more popular.

The second problem we both found was that they rapidly lose their shape at the front because of the way the straps attach to the actual pannier. This isn't a big deal, but it stops them sitting flush against the bike and gives the impression they are going to rip away from their moorings - although they didn't so I don't really have grounds for complaint. (Whether or not they will tear with continued use is something I will be keeping a close eye on and will update accordingly should it happen.)

Where I do have grounds for complaint is in the waterproofing. The Sports panniers come with two waterproof covers that fit snugly over the actual luggage thus sealing them from the elements; except they don't. They actually come with two stupidly awkward bags* that you have to struggle with for ages to get over the panniers, then they still let the rain in anyway. I rode for about an hour and a half in what could be described as a moderate shower and by the time I came to change out of my leathers everything that was up against the side, top or bottom of the pannier was at least damp, at worst soaked.

I am prepared to accept that due to the difficulty of getting the water covers over the panniers in the first place I may not have covered them properly, but I maintain that if they are so difficult to attach properly they are fundamentally flawed anyway. Furthermore, I then had to tie them to my bike as I remembered on my last trip watching (admittedly with a degree of amusement) as my mate's rain cover simply blew off in the wind.

And as if that's not enough, the following day I discovered two huge holes in the back of each rain cover where the wind had penetrated and simply torn the stitching apart.

Verdict:

So, would I recommend Oxford's Sports panniers? Begrudgingly yes. They did what they said they'd do (with the exception of keeping my luggage dry) and, once I'd finally attached them, sat nicely and unobtrusively on the bike. They seem well made (except the rain covers) and are big enough to accommodate a two-week camping tour (even though you can't fully extend them). However, the number of caveats in those last two sentences should tell you all you need to know about my overall satisfaction with this product.

* The rain covers I was using had draw-strings to tighten them over the panniers; when Oxford replaced the ones that had ripped they came with an elasticated seam which I have yet to try out. Hopefully this update will make them easier to fit and less likely to blow off at speed.

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