SW-MOTECH PRO Side Carriers for BMW R1200GS LC / Adventure and R1250GS / Adventure

After previously having a very bad experience with Hepco and Becker’s removable side carrier, I purchased the SW Motech set for my 2021 1250GS. On opening the box, I found the carriers very well wrapped and protected with the individual parts organized nicely. The quality and sturdiness of the entire system was first-rate.

Installation went quickly taking just over 2 hours of relaxed work. On completion, the carriers came on and off easily using a very broad and short handled flat head screwdriver.

My only real complaint is that the directions, while logical, either missed or had errors in several of the steps. For those installing on a GS/GSA, they are as follows:

* At the end of step 3, it says to reinstall the exhaust. DON’T! If you do, you won’t have space to tighten the bolts for the right side passenger footrest. Only reinstall the exhaust after you have completed the entire install.
*On step 4, the diagram only shows removing 2 bolts under the passenger seat. As shown in the diagram in step 5, you actually remove all four bolts to install the 4 mounting tabs. I removed and reinstalled one at a time.
*On step 6, there is no indication of what to do with the actual license plate bracket. I found that it fits nicely mounted to the outside of the crossbar.

Finally, some of the torque values were unclear. I’ve listed them below:

Upper exhaust bolt: 19 nm
Exhaust clamp: 10 nm
Passenger footpeg bolts: 23 nm
Crossbar bracket: 8nm
Mounting tab bolts: 19 nm