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DIY: Hitchcocks Pannier Racks & Bags for my Royal Enfield Bullet 350

18th September 2024, 16:25 by Kanad Kalasur

As far as I know, Hitchcocks has made similar racks for all the J series bikes as well as the UCE 350s & 500s. One needs to be careful to order the right one though.

BHPian Viju recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

As with most motorcycles, there is no place to store anything substantial on the new Bullet 350. As my intended purpose for this motorcycle is light touring as well as small grocery trips, I had been looking around for a decent luggage carrying solution even while the bike was in transit from India.

With the first gen Classic 350s / 500s, Royal Enfield used to supply pannier racks and waxed canvas soft luggage in multiple shades as a genuine accessory. For reasons best known to them, RE decided not to make something like this available for the J series bikes.

Due to the high demand from the global rider community, Hitchcocks decided to offer aftermarket parts which are basically a copy of the original RE stuff. There are plenty of similar items available on eBay as well, but getting the right fit can be a hit or miss.

Finally, this Summer, Hitchcocks designed and offered these made-in-house pannier racks just in time for the delivery of my Bullet. I ordered the pannier racks as well as a pair of canvas bags in black (they have olive green and tan options as well, but I did not think they would suit my bike). They also have a few leather bags which fit these pannier racks very well, but I wanted something easier to maintain even if it got a bit dirty or wet due to daily usage.

Hitchcocks Pannier Racks & Waxed Canvas Pannier Bags

Likes:

Excellent usability, even in the rains
Looks durable (I will update here after using them for a year)
Suits the aesthetics of the Bullet (subjective, but I love the WWII look)
Holds the shape perfectly although they are soft luggage
Powder coating and welding of the pannier racks are of a high order
Specially designed for the Bullet and the Classic Reborn
The pannier bags can be mounted and dismounted in a couple of minutes
Clears the pillion foot-rests well enough so that there is no inconvenience to carrying a pillion
Made in the UK

Dislikes:

Fitment of the racks is not beginner friendly
The clamp that fixes the rack to the mudguard stay is not well-designed
There is no padding to prevent the stay from taking the paint clean off the mudguard stay (I expected better from Hitchcocks as these are expensive)
Made from mild steel tubing and not stainless steel
"Enfield Cycle Co. Redditch" writing is cringe in my opinion. Thankfully it is not too obvious.

Tools required:

Torque wrench (0 - 50 N-m)
Ring + open ended spanners x 4 (12 - 17mm)
Ratchet + short extension
Sockets x 3 (12mm, 14mm, 17mm)

Tools I ended up using

PPF to avoid scratches to the mudguard stays

Fitting time: 75 minutes (this is how long it took for me, but if you know exactly what you're doing, it could be done in 30 ~ 45 minutes I believe)

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