Having had Givi panniers on my VFR750F I've now got the same heaps of crap on my new(er) ZZR1200. The trouble is that Givi seem to have a reputation for being wonderful but I think they're rubbish. My problems with them are mostly to do with their everyday usability, i.e. ergonomics I suppose. They're OK[ish] from the looks point of view and they're quite robust. My complaints are:- The 'Monokey' system, why Givi advertise this I really cannot understand. Why is it an advantage to the user that there is only a single lock/catch which opens the pannier and attaches it to the bike? It would be much more convenient if the lock to fix the box on the bike was separate from the lock which closes the pannier. The pannier closing catch is a masterpiece of inconvenience. It can *only* be opened or closed with the key, it can't be latched closed without the key. It's under the carrying handle so it's difficult to get at. It needs two hands to open and close the pannier, this is a real pain if you have something in your hand that you want to put in the pannier. The lock itself is cheap and nasty, it's not remotely secure. Locking the panniers is really rather pointless so why not offer a way to latch them without locking? The stays which hold the lid when you open it are useless, they're made of nylon and stretch (if they don't break, which most of mine have) so don't hold the lid horizontal at all. The Kawasaki 'own make' panniers on my old 1000GTR were much more practical. They had separate latches for holding the pannier onto the bike and for closing the panniers. The latches would latch without locking so you could chuck something in the pannier, close it and go home without needing the keys. I seem to remember the stays were little metal straps too but I'm not sure about that. I sent an E-Mail to Givi outlining the above problems with the panniers on my VFR but they didn't even deign to reply. Do any of the other makes of pannier avoid these problems with Givis?
