Got some soft panniers for the wife's bike.
She opted for Mosko Moto Backcountry 35s. They're semi-rigid soft panniers that are rack mounted.
We had a few options for racks, Mosko recommends Outback Motortek which is actually a local Okanagan company. They make very good racks and crash bars, but they are permanently mounted.
I've got the SW Motech Pro Carrier pannier racks on my GS, which I really like because they're removable for when we do day rides, so we went with that on Neda's Norden as well.
Although it's not a direct fit with the Backcountry 35s, you can drill some holes in the rack to install the mounting HW. This is what Mosko recommends:
Unfortunately, this puts the mounting bracket pretty high up, which is not ideal if you want to run a drybag on the passenger seat:
Mounting bracket too high. No bueno
So I drilled a couple of other holes that set the mounting bracket lower and further forward.
Green are the stock holes, red are the new drilled holes
This puts the mounting bracket in a much better position, IMO
Now the top of the pannier bag sits flush with the passenger seat and you can place a dry bag across the seat and over the panniers. Also, the bags seemed more centred with the rear axle as well:
A quick release pull allows the pannier to be removed very easily so you can drag it into your tent or motel room
The Backcountry panniers are capable of holding 2x5L drybags mounted on the rear. You can also store extra engine oil or 4x1L MSR fuel cans as well. 4L gives a good 21% additional fuel capacity over the stock 19L tank, which is a good ratio:
Overall 80L of storage on the panniers + auxiliary pockets (AUXPOX)
And the best part, the racks are removable with 4 quarter-turn quick-release screws for a stock look when we're doing day-rides on the trails:
All ready for some hard core touring next season!