Tough products for tough riding.
Outback Motortek has quickly grown to be a reputable, diligent and quality brand in the motorcycle accessory segment of the adventure bike industry. Established in 2014 in Pickering, Ont., the brand has expanded to offer a wide range of crash bars, skid plates, centre stands, luggage racks and more for a plethora of different motorcycles.
I received my set of Outback Motortek X-Frame pannier racks through DualSport Plus, the Canadian distributor of the brand. The pannier rack is offered in two different styles: Standard and X-Frame. The X-Frame has multiple welded tabs acting as tie-down points and an X-bracket that sits in the middle of the racks, allowing you to attach a Rotopax (easy-pack fuel container), tool box, and hard or soft luggage. You can easily remove the X-bracket to save weight with your hard luggage. I was happy I got the X-Frame model, as the X-bracket offers a solid backing for the soft bags. Plus, the mounting points for the luggage were very useful compared to the standard rack, which doesn’t offer any welded tabs on the corners of the rack.
I was surprised when I opened the box and found no instructions to put the rack on. Instead, on the packaging, there was a barcode to scan with a phone to pull up the instructional video. I found this to be quite smart overall, but ended up watching the video on my computer, which was far easier than watching it on my phone. Taking my time, I had the racks on and ready to go in 10 minutes; mounting everything was straightforward and effortless. It’s important to note that there are two installation videos: one for the original rack, and one for the updated version. Make sure you watch the right one.
These very stout racks are made of 18 mm diameter mild steel tubing and weigh 3.6 kg, with the total width of the racks hitting 60 cm. It offers a rigid and stable mounting point for hard and soft luggage. After watching a few of Outback Motortek’s videos, in which they test their crash bars on various brands and types of motorcycles, I have no question in my mind that these are extremely tough brackets. Check out Outback Motortek’s brutal testing videos at outbackmotortek.com.
Prices for the pannier racks vary depending on model of motorcycle but, for reference, the Standard racks for the 790 Adv R retail for $290, while the upgraded X-Frame racks, which I installed on my 790 Adv R, retail for $410.
Outback Motortek still designs its products in Canada and manufactures them in Hungary and the Czech Republic, although the company is looking into moving some manufacturing to Canada. The brand stands by its products with a full warranty on any manufacturer’s defects and has many distributors internationally, making it easy to purchase the racks if needed while on an international trip. For Canada, you can find all Outback Motortek products online and instore through DualSport Plus. Look them up at dualsportplus.com.
