Givi E41 and pillion comfort

[Seigi]

So I'm looking to buy a rack and some E41's in preparation for Europe tour come summer, and I was wondering what the pillion comfort is like for the E41's and what are my alternatives if it's bad. My girlfriend is 5'4", ideally we need luggage which will be able to hold enough 'stuff' to tour around Europe for 20+days (We haven't actually set an amount of days, just that we'd return home when we feel we've done enough).

Now, I originally looked at the E360's, but decided I liked the aesthetics of the E41's better, as well as the top-loading ability which I could imagine is handy, with the current OEM top box that would make 130litres worth of storage, plenty enough for camping gear, clothes etc. for the trip.

Anyway, more to the point, what is the pillion comfort like on the E41's, and if it is poor what could we do to combat this?

Thanks,
Seigi.

Edit: I've been looking at the V35's cos they seem to have more legroom, but I don't really understand the V35 Tech's, the ones with the white reflector. Does that reflector actually reflect white or does some magic make it reflect red? I thought you could only have red reflectors facing backwards...

[Seigi]

Really, no one knows? Poo. I think we're going to play it safe and go for the V35's, looking at pictures they look more pillion friendly.

[noose7]

Hi,

I had the E41s on my k2 vee and my glee, my wife is 5'2 and while riding has not had a problem, just the usuall getting on and off with them fitted like quite a few panniers also the position of the top box is key for the ladyships comfort.

Hope this helps

[Stobie]

If you're sure you want givi, why not go ahead and fit the racks.

When the weather gets a bit better I'll be happy to bring my bike (Glee) out of hibernation, put my E41's on and meet up with you somewhere (Alston / Hartside ???) so you can try them.

But.........  judging by the extended weather forecast I'm thinking March (health problems limit my riding temperatures).

Stobie

[Seigi]

Thanks for that offer Stobie, but the V35 rack and E41 racks are different, besides I'd intended to buy the racks and panniers together as it works out cheaper buying them from a store in the EU than from the UK.

I've decided to go with the V35's, this site was very useful in making my decision:

http://www.DL650.org/comparo-valises.html

[Stobie]

Yep, bought mine as a job lot from Italy and saved quite a bit over UK prices - sorry, forgot about the different racks for V35 cases.

Stobie