Outside The Box – Aluminum Panniers by Outback Motortek

We went to Oregon to put the panniers through one final testing phase. It went smoothy. 

Photography: Miguel Santana

Mostly, but not entirely. Although we don’t recommend aluminum boxes for off-road type riding, the decision was made to do so in order to learn how the boxes behaved in rough(er) conditions than the average rider will put them through. 

We learned that having full size armour to protect the lower end of the boxes may be necessary and is also cheaper to replace these plastic parts than to repair the boxes. The version below may need some updating! We also learned that our internal divider walls rattle and shake too much, thus they amplify annoying noises. This feature is discarded for now. 

Our MOLLE panels were also put to use, however we find them too bulky and a bit too sharp, which can result in catching on riders’ boots while swinging their legs over the seat. This feature is not ditched (yet). There are millions of MOLLE fans out there. We need to refine it to better suit our aluminum panniers. 

The boxes we were testing had the originally designed removable lids. There was one crash during this test, but during that single crash the lid disconnected from the box and flew a couple of meters away. We’re moving forward with a design where the lid is attached to the box, by riveted hinges. 

Lastly, we settled on Mosko Moto’s Backcountry pannier mounting system. The only difference is that the speed pin will be lockable without using a traditional padlock as per Mosko Moto’s design. 

We also produced a short film of the testing. This film features no music, just the sound of a Ducati DesertX with HP Corse titanium exhaust. Prep your popcorn and crank up the volume!