Preparation post 1: Which Panniers!?

Luggage! That's a problem for a 3M kms trip with my current set-up of only a topcase!
I'm looking into some aluminum panniers, however find them pretty expensive... also, since I won't be using them much so I wouldn't like to see the mounting frames permanently on the bike.

The full list of panniers I found available were
- Touratech Zega Pro 31litres left / 38 Litres right
- Touratech Zega special for BMW F800GS 41/41 litres
-  BMW adventure cases with matching key locks
- SW-Motech Evo quick lock system (advantage being you can remove the bars)
- with ... Sw-Motech Trax panniers
- Jesse Safari II total 79litres
- Metal Mule unbalanced system (without changing the Muffler): 31 + 38 lts
- Nolan
- Caribou unbreakable cases

Lots of choices, each one with cons and pros.

At the end I chose the BMW for three reasons:

- Fits with current Vario topcase (same mounting system)
- Uses same key as motorcycle - no need for more keys
- Quality: Are actually made by Touratech and have approx same pricing

also, they don´t look like luggage (caribou) and aren´t as pricey as Jesse's

UPDATE July 2010:
- Build quality is EXCELLENT, bike had a fall and these bars saved it from major damage - didn't even bend!

Portugal Lés a Lés

Today I sent out the inscription for the 13th Portugal de Lés a Lés, which translated into English means something like Portugal from Breadth to Width. It's a touristic motorcycle rally that goes through the back roads and lost villages of portugal from North to South. It's not an enduro race as it's for any type of motorcycle and it's normal to see Vespa's, scooters, vintage bikes up to a Honda Blackbird CBR1100XX. The organization has a couple of surprises along the route, like passing a small stream, or going up a gravel route, nothing that any bike can't cope but a lot of fun. The rally is 1000kms long, and joining that with coming back and forth I'll be doing some 3200kms in only one week. 

I'll be going on the '09 BMW F800GS and will be accompanied by my father on our old Honda Transalp from '94. Our biggest concern is if the old bike will make it till the end.  It's never let us down before, but a 17 year old bike with +150000 kms isn't at it's prime!

The map of the complete route is

Expect some preparation posts coming up!