That's the same method I used. Masking tape on the lid for ease of marking where the holes should be. Sealant to stop leaks and stops the screws vibrating loose.
We have been touring two up for years, and 6 years on the multi. Don't bother with keeping the top box empty for crash helmets, carry a cable lock so you can lock them to the bike. I use one that has loops on either end, and a disc lock. You can feed this through the arms and legs of your riding gear too if you need to. The wife has the bigger pannier and I the smaller one. We then have 2 bags that fit easily in the top box. We pack into one of these bags the clothes for the first day or two. This avoids having to unpack / repack everything every night. We usually travel for 3 days max and then stay 2 or more nights at the same hotel before moving on again. This allows the opportunity to juggle the contents, do washing / drying if necessary. The other bag in the top box has shoes, hair dryer, wash bags, chargers, etc. For shorter trips the waterproofs go in the top box. On longer trips they go in a bags connection xl trail tank bag, along with spare gloves, documents, emergency contacts, maps etc. Small electric tyre pump, puncture repair kit, and tools all live under the seat. By the way, suggest your wife rolls her clothes, they don't crease so much. If your really keen get some compression bags We use the inner pannier bags for short trips up to 5 days, and bin liners for longer trips. Hope that helps
One other thing. Consider getting some Rok straps. These have an elastic section. Really handy for lashing a bag of holiday 'must haves' to the top of a pannier when everything else is rammed (ask me how I know, just make sure bottles go in the top box )
Do Ducati not do the extended pannier lids for a DVT? I know they did for the previous model. I have seen them to fit my Multistrada 1200s
My missus and I have done at least 100 000 kilometers touring over the last 15 years. Including 1600 Kay's in a week 2 up on a 821 Hyperstrada. I must say she did learn to pack better with experience
Not sure on mileage, probably similar to yours or more. About 10k miles a year for the last 16+ years. Yes they do bigger lids. Have you ever tried them on your bike though ? I bought a set when I first got my bike and never used them, as they just stick out way too much. If you really want a laugh try doing a 2 week trip in a caterham, far less luggage space than on the multi. The first trip my wife and I did together was 10 days to Italy on a fireblade with throw over luggage. After that having a comfy seat and hard luggage is like luxury for her
@John W - a lot of good advice in your first posting. Yeap, that what we do. I have a Zena disk lock with an adapter and a wire rope cable which I lock the bike to something solid together with the helmets. I also a have a smaller wire rope lock which I use to lock textile jackets/trousers to the bike. I use pannier and top box liners for all trips. I squeeze a spare of gloves into the gaps where the liners don't fit too close. Unfortunately the space under the 2015+ (DVT) pillion seat is very limited. I put an enhanced tools kit, small electric pump, a small bottle of engine oil and a small bottle of Scott oil (for a chain oilier) in a long packing cube which is Velcro'ed into the space at top of the right hand pannier. We also include a lot of two night stops for the same reason. It also allows you to have a ride out with the panniers and top box empty, so you can go somewhere and change into "normal" clothes, then lock all the bike gear on the bike. Regarding waterproofs, my wife and I have textile suits which waterproof drop liners and have a pouch on the back of the jackets which can sort at least the jacket liner. I use the tank bag for spare gloves, disk / cable locks, visor cleaning kit, spare visor/glasses, documents etc. A few other things we do which may help: I like using overnight ferries, and we try to pack the liners so we can just one pannier liner and the top box liner, and lock the helmets in the top box. For tours more than a couple of weeks, I've booked an apartment with a washing machine / tumbler dryer rather than a hotel, so we could wash everything including jeans etc. which can be difficult to get dry on a two night stop in a hotel. Use "technical / walking" shirts / t-shirts and trousers - as they are lighter, pack easier and dry quicker when washed. Go through what you plan to take and work out what you don't need to take. Remember what you took on the last tour and didn't use
