Pannier Air Vents

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El Capitano

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Hi,

I have a 2007 GSA with the BMW supplied alloy top box and panniers which do not have air vents fitted which makes opening them after riding in the Alps, Dolomites, or anywhere uppish a prolonged fight.

Anyone know where I can get a set of vents to fit? Extensive searching this forum and googling hasn’t thrown anything up.

Thanks :thumb2
 
Curious to see if others have had this issue. I've had Alps and Pyrenees trips (Up to 9000 feet) on my GSA with the same panniers and never had an issue.
 
Never been an issue for me either in the Alps etc..... If I did and it was down to difference in air pressure, think I would probably drill a very small hole in the lowest point of the pannier, which would keep the air pressure the same inside and out.
 
When I had my GSA my top box lid jammed shut in the Alps. though a swift kick cured it.

As above drill a hole at the lowest point, if nothing else it helps the water drain out when the panniers and top box leak. I also drilled a couple of holes in the plastic handguard things, to stop water accumulating when it rained at night. Disgraceful for a premium priced product :D
 
Never ever had this issue. (On the panniers, I do not own a top box).

I’d look at the seal, maybe check for any dirt, etc.
 
The man wants to buy some holes for his panniers and top box... I’ve got a box full of various sized holes, ranging in price from £8 for a small hole, up to £16.47 for the largest hole. These aren’t any old holes, they’re Adventure holes. I may have some tactical holes left from the last batch of holes I had made if your interested.
 
If you are struggling to open them when you are up the alps then it's nothing to do with air pressure. As you climb in altitude the ambiant air pressure decreases, so if your boxes are sealed then the pressure in the box will be greater than outside the box. Therefore the box lid should fly open when you release the catch while at altitude.

If you still want a hole to equalise the pressure then you could always take the small bung/foot out of the bottom of the boxes.
 
The man wants to buy some holes for his panniers and top box... I’ve got a box full of various sized holes, ranging in price from £8 for a small hole, up to £16.47 for the largest hole. These aren’t any old holes, they’re Adventure holes. I may have some tactical holes left from the last batch of holes I had made if your interested.

Holy cow! That’s a whole lot of holes, you’ve got there, mister.
 
If you are struggling to open them when you are up the alps then it's nothing to do with air pressure. As you climb in altitude the ambiant air pressure decreases, so if your boxes are sealed then the pressure in the box will be greater than outside the box. Therefore the box lid should fly open when you release the catch while at altitude.

If you still want a hole to equalise the pressure then you could always take the small bung/foot out of the bottom of the boxes.

It has everything to do with air pressure, as the start and much of your second sentence confirms.

The box most prone to the problem was the GSA top box, fixed when BMW started fitting the little air valves.

Indeed the air pressure drops as you rise, so the air (sealed inside the box at the bottom of the pass) expands but is unable to escape, much as a packet of crisps expands on an aeroplane. In essence, the box bulges. The box / lid interface has a reasonably tight seal, the expansion causing the seal to bind tighter, rendering it very difficult to open the box in some circumstances. The box, when it does open, often ‘pops’ in a most satisfying way, much as you’d expect.


Put another way: If it is nothing to do with (a change in) air pressure, what is it then?
 
So it affects the top box only.
I’ve never had that on the panniers, but spoke earlier with a few friends with the same top box issue.

I’ve seen people routing cables for electrical power in the panniers. Same way a little valve of sorts could be applied (to minimise water ingress) I guess?

For the record: I know the alu panniers are not really waterproof, but I never had issues with water coming in from the seals. I expect it to be the same with the top box, especially if it presents this pressure problem :)
 
The man wants to buy some holes for his panniers and top box... I’ve got a box full of various sized holes, ranging in price from £8 for a small hole, up to £16.47 for the largest hole. These aren’t any old holes, they’re Adventure holes. I may have some tactical holes left from the last batch of holes I had made if your interested.

Are the tactical holes black? Tactical has to be black
 
Are the tactical holes black? Tactical has to be black

Better than that, these are camouflaged holes that blend into the surface so you don't know the holes are there, let me have your address and i'll send a couple of holes in the post.
 
The basic problem is that my panniers and top box seal really well, they don’t let in water and I guess the seals are a bit too good. As I climb presumably the pressure inside the boxes manages to leak out but when I descend the outside air pressure doesn’t seem to leak back in!

I’ve seen boxes on later bikes than mine fitted with an air vent so I just wondered if they were available somewhere.

Seems not.

Luckily I have a complete set of holes so I’ll fit some of those.
 
Possibly more problematic with the top box because when most people travel to the top of a mountain they might open the top box to have a drink, snack, take a camera out or to pull out another layer because it's colder up there for a strange reason. Then the top box ends up with a slight vaccume when you then go back down to bottom of said mountain.
Not many so open up their panniers for the same reason.
The ex missus's pannier was very difficult to open once after a mountain pass. I had to use a tent peg to lever the lock apart to open it. Sounded like the noise you get when you open a packet of pringles.
 
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