Product Reviews

Happy Trails BMW F850 SU Rack is just what you are looking for.  Happy Trails BMW F850 SU Rack & Top Plate Happy Trails has the BMW F750 & F850 has the SU Rack with the Point1 pressed insert design which adds to the ease and functionality you've come to expect from our pannier systems. Details HERE.   The SU Rack should be a thirty minute install!   The design of the SU Rack is a symmetrical design.  The total width of the racks is 23”. Continue reading →

Happy Trails has the KTM790 luggage options you need. The KTM790 SU Rack has the Happy Trails Point1 pressed insert design which adds to the ease and functionality you've come to expect from our pannier systems. Details HERE.   The SU Rack should be a fifteen to  thirty minute install!   The design of the SU Rack is an asymmetrical design. The total width of the racks is 22” therefore the offset is about 2 3/16”. Weight: 11-12 lbs with hardware Finish: black powder coat paint only Using the Happy Trails Clif Cut Pannier design we decrease the offset to  1 1/2” which leaves 11/16” difference, so the offset is really not that noticeable of an offset with the panniers on the bike. The Teton Panniers come in three widths, 71/2”, 9” and 10 1/2”. Continue reading →

Customers have had a lot of questions on the capability of carrying extra fuel on the Honda Africa Twin. A long time customer, Billy Ray, stopped at Happy Trails and showed us his "Honda Africa Twin One Gallon Rotopax". Billy Ray had used the the Inner Tool Plate mount on the Happy Trails SU rack to mount his one gallon Rotopax container. The Happy Trails SU Rack for the Africa Twin design uses a plate welded into the left side SU Rack to mount the Inner Tool Tray. Using the Rotopax Standard Mount and the Rotopax One Gallon Fuel Pack the combination worked very well to pack the extra fuel. The Pannier Kit that was used on the African Twin was the Teton 7 1/2" Clif Cut  with the Powder Coat Black option. The Teton 7 1/2 Clif Cut has 7 1/2" Lid with a 6" body, so this combination gives you a 36" width of the panniers with a total capacity of 52 liters.  One of the recent comments we received on the installation of the Africa Twin Pannier kit was; "this was the easiest installation I have on any bike so far." Continue reading →

We received an email from a customer telling us the Happy Trails PD Nerf Engine Guards for his 2017 Suzuki DL650 XT were interfering with stock mud guard on the engine. "I got my Happy Trails PD Nerf Engine Guards for my 2017 Suzuki DL650 XT and they  didn't fit over the plastic engine mud guard. So like all inventive people I made...

Happy Trails Product is proud to announce Kawasaki Versys 300 SU Rack Luggage Rack. With Kawasaki’s introduction of the Versys 300 in 2017 it left some wondering what the bike would be like. We keep hearing “entry level”, “low price” and “beginner” terms tossed around describing the Versys 296cc parallel twin. Don Canet in a Cycle World article had a comment that stuck with me. “ Kawasaki has delivered a bike that’s destined to become a top-seller in its line.” It has been proven to me over and over that a Dual Sport bike (current term Adventure Bike) does not have to bust the bank to be meet your needs. As a matter of fact my motto is “don’t out ride your deductible”. Bottom line is you want something that will perform on the weekend and take you on a multi day trip also. In my opinion the KLR has set the benchmark that ALL of the Dual Sport Bikes are judged by. Will the Versys 300 replace the KLR? No way, they each meet a need and I have been assured the only thing left after WWIII will be cockroaches and the KLR. Continue reading →

       How are Happy Trails SL Rack and SU Rack different? The SL Rack is designed to carry soft luggage, while the SU Rack can carry soft or hard luggage of any kind. In construction the SU Rack differs in that the loop tubing is 3/4" square steel as opposed to 5/8" round. But even more important every...

Happy Trails manufacturers panniers at our shop in Boise Idaho. We have five families of panniers and various Top Boxes. We also make custom aluminum panniers and boxes as well as some custom aluminum tanks. The five families of panniers are: Teton 15" H x 18" L - Width options: 7.5" 33 liters, 9" 39 liters and 10.5" 45 liters Cascade 18"H x 18"L x 7.5" width and 38.5 liters. Denali: 20"H x 18"L x 7.5" width and 47 liters Imnaha 12"H x 15"L x 5" width and 13.8 liters Owyhee: 21.5-31.5L - 14" H x 16" L - Width options: 6" 21.5 liters, 7.5" 27 liters and 9" 31.5 liters Note: A 3/4" lip makes the opening on all boxes 1-1/2" smaller than box measurement. This lip provides a watertight seal and the strongest in the industry pannier. All of the Happy Trails Panniers have a Canyon Cut on them. See description below. The Teton Panniers have two other options, Clif Cut and Exhaust Cut. The Clif-cut (shown below) is a term describing a 1.5" - 45 degree cut-out on the inside (tire side) of the pannier. It is designed for bikes with wide protruding exhaust  to create a more symmetrical weight distribution when panniers are mounted and loaded. For bikes with asymmetrical racks it keeps the load on the exhaust side box as close as possible to the center of the bike. This also allows for a wider lid opening.  For bikes with symmetrical racks the Clif Cut option can also be used on both sides. The Exhaust Cut  is a term describing a 1.5" - 90 degree cut-out on the inside (tire side) of the pannier. This option is used on BMW Oilheads. Continue reading →

Who builds an adjustable centerstand for an Adventure Bike? Better yet is to ask the question "Why you would want one.?" That was the question we asked ourselves at Happy Trails quite a few years ago. The bike we were looking at was the Kawasaki KLR650. The KLR has two models since 1987; the “A” Model from 1987 to 2007 and the “E” Model from 2008 to 2017. We soon found through our R & D that the same centerstand did not fit the both models of the KLR, it was close but just would not work out. You can see in the picture above the built in adjustability. Continue reading →

By Ed Hiatt (Click on any photo for a larger image) The  perennial question do I ride with hard or soft luggage! This year I decided to try something a little different. On this trip my camping spot would be a bed in the home of a good friend. Without the need to pack for camping this might be a good time to test Happy Trails' new Sahara Soft Luggage Side Bags. Tim hooked me up with Mojave bags and the new Soft Luggage Rack to match. This was a big step for me—I've been using and selling hard luggage almost as long as I've been riding Dual Sport. Every year as we head into fall I start planning my October trip to Jarbidge NV, a small mining town on the Nevada - Idaho border. It has a neat history and some really great prime rib on Friday and Saturday nights. Continue reading →

  Nothing is worse than getting stranded with a battery failure 20 miles from nowhere. Yet there are many reasons for possible battery failure. The battery might be weak to start with. Or maybe you find yourself in conditions you didn’t expect (like snow and 20° weather when you started out at 80°!) then the cold forces a failure. Dropping your bike can can mean a worn down battery as you try to clear a wet bike or get the bike started after flooding.   We love the ODYSSEY® battery for worry-free adventure touring, and we’ve fabricated a perfect Odyssey fit for both the KLR650A 87-07 and the KLR650E 08+. Continue reading →