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Givi E21 panniers

I picked the Givi E21 panniers because they're about as narrow as you can get, at just 19.6cm wide each. Given that the SM-T is already pretty wide across the tail end, due to the dual high exhausts, it was important to me to avoid panniers that would make the bike too wide for lane-splitting (which is generally legal to do here in Japan). The E21's are narrower, and also lighter, than the aluminum Trax cases KTM sells for the SM-T.

Here's the bike with the E-21s mounted on Givi's PLR750 pannier rack. Total width across the panniers is 93cm, which means they stick out just 2cm more on each side than the rearview mirrors do:

Before I got the E-21's, I was worried that they'd be too small to be useful, but in fact they hold plenty of stuff. Here's my big DSLR camera and lens in one of the cases, with plenty of room to spare. (To cushion the camera when I carry it like this, I just pack some extra clothing around it):

I also like the E-21's because unlike some sidecases, they really look good on the bike:

I thought about getting the ones with silver lids to match the silver of the SM-T, but I went with the all-black unpainted plastic ones since I figured I'd scuff up the lids a lot just by getting on and off the bike. This turned out to be a good prediction; I have no problem swinging a leg over the SM-T without luggage, but it's a little harder when you also have to clear the width of the panniers. I've scuffed up the tops of the E-21's quite a bit already, but the scuff marks just blend right into the unpainted black plastic. On the other hand, my boot left a very visible scuff mark in the silver hinge panel of the Maxia topcase; I'm going to have to protect that area with some tank pad-like material since it'll probably just get more and more scuffed over time. (I can avoid scuffing the various cases if I lean forward when mounting and dismounting and make sure to swing my leg clear, but I don't always remember to do this. And it's harder to do if you're wearing stiff protective gear, like an Aerostich Roadcrafter suit.)

I recommend the Givi E21 panniers for the SM-T. They're the slimmest and lightest you can get. And hey, if you ever need more space for a mega-tour, you can always switch them off for a bigger set of Givi's; any Givi Monokey cases will fit on the PLR750 rack.