Mount for Givi Panniers on KLR-650

At the time I write this (May, 2005), Givi makes a mounting plate to put a top case on the KLR-650. However, there is a strange omission in their catalogue -- they don't make a mounting kit (Wingrack or other model) to put Givi bags on as side bags (panniers).

When I was in a local bike dealer, I looked in the catalogue of their importer who supplies Givi. That catalogue did list a Wingrack mounting kit for the KLR-650, with a footnote in fine print saying "requires some modification". An expert at the importer said it was simple -- just shorten a tube and re-drill a hole. I thought it was worth a try, and I've had a Wingrack before and liked it, so ordered the mounting kit and Wingrack.

Don't bother unless you have access to major metalworking equipment. The kit turns out to be the mounting kit for another Kawasaki dual-purpose (a KLE-600, I think). It's "close", and maybe it was almost a perfect match for some earlier version of the KLR, but for my 2004 KLR-650, making this kit work would require:

1. Cutting a piece of the upper rear frame of the bike and replacing it with a pressure-fit piece from the mounting kit. (I wasn't prepared to cut the frame of my bike. But instead of stopping the analysis right there, I also checked how the rest of the parts would fit.)
2. Replacing 3 out of the 4 supplied s-shaped mounting brackets (heavy 1/4" steel brackets with two right-angle bends, and drilled at each end. Each bracket a different length, and 3 of them the wrong length).
3. Cutting the long steel mounting tube for one side and moving a hole.

This was 'way more than I was willing to do for a new bike and with an expensive mounting kit, so I returned it.

The good news is that there are other ways to mount Givi bags as panniers. After some research, I settled on the "SU Rack" from Happy Trails. This high-quality and sturdy piece of gear went on easily and looks like it will serve well. See my installation journal here.