Luggage: Tank Bags, Hard Saddle Bags, Soft Saddle Bags,
Tank Panniers, Tail Packs, Back Packs, Courier Bags, Dry Bags
If you've read the section on what to take
you may be thinking "How in the world am I going to fit all this stuff on my bike?" Well, if you take
only what I listed in my checklist, which is still a fair amount of stuff, you can
make it all fit very nicely.
In the picture to the right, everything on the checklist is packed on the bike or I'm wearing it and there is room to spare. The secret is in selecting the appropriate stuff to bring, selecting the right luggage, and packing properly.
Brfore you pack your bike you need to decide on the type of luggage you're going to use.
I think that the tank bag is the most useful piece of motorcycle luggage you can have. I almost always have a tank bag mounted on my bike, even for ordinary day to day use. It gives me a place to keep my rain gear and whatever else I need to bring with me on whatever errand I'm running. For reasons I can't even begin to understand, some people just can't stand tank bags. They refuse to mount a tank bag and then whine that they have no place to store anything, even for short day trips. I guess some people just don't have enough trouble in their lives so they have to create some problems to fill the empty space.
A tank bag, as the name implies, is a bag that sits on the gas tank. They are always made of some sort of cloth, usually cordura nylon. Some have internal stiffeners and some don't. On the bottom of the bag there is some sort of foam pad that prevents the bag from scratching the tank. On the top of the bag there is usually some sort of clear plastic map holder. Most tank bags are expandable. By this I mean that you can adjust the volume of the bag to match the amount of stuff that is in the bag. As the volume is increased on expandable bags they get taller--the length and width will stay the same.
There are two types of tank bags and they differ in how they attach to the tank.
Magnetic tank bags have a fairly large base which extends beyond the sides of the bag. There are several very strong rare-earth magnets inside the flaps of the base that extend beyond the sides of the bag. These flaps hang down the side of the tank and the magnets grip the tank. Of course, this sort of system will only work if you have a steel tank--they won't work on plastic or aluminum tanks. There is usually a safety strap on the front of the bag that you attach to the bike. This strap is only intended to prevent the bag from flying off the bike if the magnets come loose.
I've never used a magnetic tank bag. I don't trust that they will actually stay attached to the bike if the bag is fully loaded and you're riding in a strong crosswind. I know several people who have magnetic bags and they swear by them. These people have told me that they have never had a bag come loose. I believe them but I will stick with a bag secured with straps.
One caveat about magnetic tank bags. The magnets used to secure these bags are very strong and can wipe out the contents of a floppy disk or the information on the magnet stripe of your ATM card. Don't let any magnetic storage media near the bag mounting magnets (this includes inside the tank bag) or you may find that any magnetic storage media has been corrupted.
The
other kind of tank bag attaches to the bike with straps. Most manufacturers use three straps but a few use four.
I prefer the four strap mounting as the bag doesn't move around as much in cross winds. This doesn't mean that
a bag with three mounting straps will fall off or something, they won't. It's just that I've found that bags with
three mounting move around a lot more than bags that use four straps, especially in a strong cross wind.
Both three and four strap mounting methods have two straps in the front. The two types differ in the number of straps at the rear--one rear strap for the three point mounting and two rear straps for the four point mounting. The vast majority of strap mount tank bags are of the three strap variety.
Every tank bag I've ever seen recommends the same mounting method for the two front straps. I think that they are all deficient. The manufacturers recommended mounting for the front straps allows the front of the bag to move around. A new tank bag will come with two straps, one for the front and one for the rear. they will also include a rubber tie-piece for the front straps.
What they recommend is that you loop the front strap under the steering neck and then tie
the two ends together above where the frame attaches to the steering neck with the stretchy rubber tie-piece .
This strap arrangement prevents the strap from falling off when you remove the tank bag. Now you can insert the
two male strap buckles into the two female buckles on the tank bag. This mounting will work in that the bag won't
fall off. The strap may rub a bit on the lower tripple-clamp and this is not the best thing in the world but I've
never had one wear through.
The problem with this method of securing the front strap is that the strap is not really anchored and the front of the bag can move from side to side as the strap slides under the frame. This is particularly true in a cross wind.
I have an alernate mounting system that provides a more rigid mount for the front strap. I buy some more 1 inch nylon strap material at my local camping supply store (or Campmor). I use two separate straps and attach each to the frame. This provides two very strong anchor points for the straps and the front of the tank will not move around as much.
The tank bag manufacturers recommend a similar strap mounting arrangement for
the rear straps. I do the eame thing I do with the front straps. I use two separate straps each separately attached
to the frame. This will still work with a three point bag with one rear strap. If you use the thin strap material
you can easily fit two straps into a single Fastex buckle.
Hard bags are, well, hard. They are made of a hard plastic or aluminum and are rigidly mounted to your bike with some sort of metal or plastic brackets. Hard bags have a lot of advantages. They are more secure than soft bags, both from theft and from falling off. They are generally more waterproof than soft luggage although I've seen many hard bags leak in heavy rain.
There are some disadvantages to hard bags. It can be tough to find hard bags that will fit your bike.
Even if you find some, you may not be able to afford it. Hard bags are very expensive. A three-piece set (two saddle
bags and a tail bag) will start at about $650 and go up from there. The bags on my VFR in the picture to the right
are Italian made Givi bags. About 70% of the Givi mounting hardware are standard parts
and are the same on every bike. About 30% of the mounting hardware is specific to the VFR. Givi makes bracket sets
for many different bikes. Other maunfacturers of hard bags are Hepco & Becker
and Krauser. Both of these are made in Germany. If you know of any others please
let me know.
In the picture on the right you can also see that I have mounted a tail trunk. The Givi system incorporates a mounting base for a tail trunk on all the saddle bag mounting systems. Givi also makes a mounting bracket for only tail trunk for some bikes (like the Honda ST1100). Check with Givi to see what's available for your bike.
There are a few bikes that either come with hard luggage or it is available as an accessory from the
manufacturer. Some of these are most Triumphs (the new ones, not the old ones from the 1970's and earlier), all
BMW's, Kawasaki Concours, Honda ST1100, One or two of the Buel's, the ST version of Ducati, and most large touring
bikes like the Goldwing and Electra Glide. The sort of bikes I like to ride generally don't have any factory bags
available.
Soft luggage is made of some sort of cloth like nylon or occasionally leather. Some soft bags have internal stiffeners, usually made of plastic, so that the bag can hold it's shape even when it's not full. Some soft luggage is waterproof but most will leak in a heavy rain--even if you apply some sort of waterproofing spray like CampDry. The Harley in the picture to the right has purpose built motorcycle soft saddle bags with plastic stiffeners.
Soft saddle bags do not come with mounting brackets. They will have two straps running between the two
bags. Somtimes the straps are separable (usually via Velcro) or are always attached to the bags and the two saddle
bags are essentially one unit. These straps run across the passenger portion of the seat and the bags then hang
on the sides of the bike near the rear wheel. There will be a strap on the lower front inside of each bag. This
strap is attached to some part of the bike and will keep the bags from flopping around and flying off the bike.
Some bags will also have a rear strap which usually runs across the rear fender to the other bag. Properly mounted
soft bags will not move too much or come off the bike.
Soft saddle bags have a few problems and there are a few tricks deal with these problems. On a sport bike soft saddle bags will be touching the rear body plastic and if you don't do something they will scratch the plastic. There are a couple things you can do to fix this problem.
You can cover the plastic with some sort of abrasion resistant covering. I use shelf paper. Shelf paper is plasticized paper with a gentle adhesive backing and is available in any hardware store. It is intended to be used is a shelf liner and protector for kitchen cabinets. You can remove the shelf paper after the trip with little or no residue remaining. If there is any adhesive left on the body plastic you can easily get it off with Goo Gone. The flat shelf paper is difficult to attach to the compound curves on most body work withoug getting a lot of creases. Since the saddle bag will cover the paper most of the time this shouldn't be a problem. If you're an anal retentive type you can affix it without creases by either applying the paper in thin strips or cutting one or more V shaped slits in the paper so that it can lie flat on the plastic. I've tried both methods and either can be made to work but not without a lot of effort. I just live with the creases.
Another way to eliminate scratches on the body plastic is to attach a piece of sheepskin to the side of the saddle bag that rubs on the plastic. Buy a cheap synthetic sheep skin automotive seat cover at Target, Wall Mart, or anyplace that sells automotive accessories. Cut out some pieces to match your bags and attach them to the bags. I use rubber cement.
On most sport bikes the rear plastic is not very strong. Saddle bags will tend to press against the plastic and bend it. Sometimes it can press against the plastic with enough force that the plastic can crack. There are a couple things you can do to minimize the side force of the saddle bag. Adjust the straps that lie across the seat so that the bag sits as high as possible. If I can, I like to have the top of each saddle bag above the level of the seat. Not all bags have enough adjustability in the straps to do this. YOu can rig up some sort of a support for the bag's seat straps so that they force the bags farther to the side so that they don not press on the bpastic with as much force. You can also keep the bags as light as possible and keep the heavier items higher in the bags. This makes the bags less stable than if the weight is lower but sometimes you have to compromise.
On sport bikes the muffler is usually mounted fairly high and you have to make sure that there is enough space between the bag and the muffler that the bag does not ever touch the muffler. If the bag touches the muffler for even a few seconds it will melt a hole in the bag and likely put a permanent stain on your nice chrome or stainless muffler. It may also create a hole large enough that the contents of the bag will end up all over the road (often for many miles behind you before you discover that this has happened), or it will start your bag on fire, or both. All these situations are indesirable and can be dangerous. But wait, it can get worse. If you loose enough weight off the right side the unbalance can cause the left bag to move lower and, if you're having a really bad day, the bag can foul the drive chain or jam the rear tire and lock the rear wheel. This is a situation to be avoided at almost all costs.
Of course none of the above things have ever happened to me. I just have a fertile imagination and am hypothesizing that these events could occur. Yeah, right.
A tail pack is similar to a tank bag in form and size. The major difference is that a tail pack will
have the straps (or bungees) come out from the side and attach to the seat. Sometimes the straps will loop under
the seat. I find that tail packs tend to be too small for taking on tour. They are fine for day trips, particularly
if you have a cruiser or dual sport type motorcycle where it's difficult if not impossible to mount a tank bag.
Instead of a Tail Pack, for longer trips I prefer to strap a big dry bag (or duffle bag if you're not concerned
about having a waterproof bag) to the back part of the seat.
There is one variation of the tail pack that I really like a lot. It's made by Ventura in New Zealand. The picture at the top of this page shows my VFR with a Ventura bag system mounted. The Ventura is a modular system with the majority of the parts being generic. Only two brackets are bike specific. The system consists of two L brackets (the bike specific parts), a U bracket, and a variety of bags. The L brackets attach to the rear subframe of the bike and turn up just to the rear of the seat. On different bikes the L brackets attach in different places but they generally run along the rear body plastic. On some bikes you have to remove a bit of plastic to get the brackets to fit but with the side panels mounted you'll never see the modifications. The U bracket (a generic bracket) is shaped like an upside down U and has a small rack on the rear of the bracket. The U bracket is inserted into the upward facing ends of the L brackets.
The bag has a big pocket on the back and it slides over the U bracket and attaches to the
bracket with two short straps using Fastex buckles. The bag has a zipper around the outside edge which allows you
to attach another bag facing to the rear. The bags are made of a waterproof material which does not leak. Water
can find it's way into the bag through the zipper but it's not enough to get too excited about.
The dimensions of all the various parts of the system are such that the bag will sit on the seat. The bracket system does not need to support the weight of the front bag. It does support a portion of the weight of the rear bag if there is one mounted.
There are several sizes of bags. I have a 42 liter bag and a 30 liter bag. Those are the two bags mounted on the VFR (the 42 in front and the 32 at the rear) at the top of this page. The CBR 600 in the picture just above this paragraph has just the 42 liter bag mounted. I really like the Ventura system. It will never come off the bike and is narrow enough that it doesn't make the bike any wider. It also does not seem to be as effected by cross winds as hard bags and a tail trunk.
Tank Panniers are sort of mini saddle bags that stradle the tank rather than the back seat.
You see them most often of dual sport bikes like the KLR 650 pictured to the right. They can also be used on other
types of motorcycles if the tank shape is right and they won't interfere with the faring plastic. For this reason,
tank panniers won't fit on most sport bikes; they always hit the faring plastic. They may fit on standards though.
With tank panniers you will have the same paint abrasion problem that you have with soft saddle bags. The solution
is also the same as outlined above in the section on soft saddle bag mounting.
I don't use tank panniers because my legs are so long that they always hit the bags and make it impossible to sit on the bike withoug my knees sticking out in the wind. It's very uncomfortable and also looks pretty strange. I'm all for entertaining other motorists but I do need to be comfortable when I'm doing it. The only place I know that sells tank Panniers is Aerostich.
Dry Bag Saddle Bags are brand of bag manufactured by Ortlieb in Germany and distributed
through Aerostich. The KLR650 in the picture above has Dry Bag Saddle Bags mounted. These bags are made with a
rubber coated cloth and are the only soft luggage that I know of that is completely waterproof. Aetostich also
caries several other Ortlieb bags in different shapes and sizes made from the same material. They are all completely
waterproof and nearly indestructible.
I don't like backpacks. I know a few people who use them but I think that they are a bad idea. A backpack puts too much weight up too high. I don't want my body encumbered with the extra weight. It limits my mobility and throws off my balance.
The main problem I have with back packs is that I think that they are a safety hazard. A backpack would aggravate any injuries you'd get if you had a crash. Imagine what would happed to your spine if you landed on your back in a crash while wearing a backpack. You would most certainly hyperextend your spine and there is no way anything good could possible result from that.
I much prefer that all my luggage, in whatever form it takes, is firmly attached to the bike. The only thing I want to be attached to me is my normal riding gear, I don't even wear a fanny pack when I ride.
Courier bags are similar to a back pack except that they only have a single strap.
They look like a huge purse and are worn over the shoulder and across the torso with the bag to your rear. Courier
bags have all the same problems as back packs so you'd think that I wouldn't use them either. If I were completely
rational, I wouldn't use a courier bag but I can be just as irrational as the next person so I do use a courier
bag when I commute.
My rationalization is as follows. I have to take a briefcase to work. I might make it fit in the tank bag but I'd rather not try, nor do I want to leave the tank bag on the bike while I'm at work, nor do I want to remove it and bring it into the office. I could strap the briefcase to the passenger seat but that's a lot of straping and unstraping in a short time and I just don't want to deal with it. So, I put my briefcase in a courier bag. I set the shoulder strap on the courier bag so that the bag just touches the seat. That way almost all of the bag's weight is supported by the seat.
From a safety point of view this setup has most of the same problems that I said you'd have with a backpack. My feeble justification is that I'm wearing it for such a short time that the risk is minimal. Of course this thinking completely ignores the fact that I commute through heavily congested urban freeways and arterial streets--precisely the conditions in which I'm most likely to crash. There you have it, using a courier bag is not the dumbest thing I do but at least it's inconsistent with all my other recommendations!
Kayak bags have been around for quite a while. I first saw them years ago at a
local camping supply supply store that sells kayaks. Kayaks have very limited cargo space and these bags were developed
to store stuff in a waterproof container that could be lashed to the deck of the kayak.
These bags are made of a heavy rubber/plastic material laminated on cloth. They are usually cylindrical and open on one end. You put whatever you want inside and then roll the end shut and clip the ends of the fold together with Fastex buckles. Water will not get inside a properly sealed bag and they are so rugged that I've never seen one wear through from the vibration of being mounted on a motorcycle. Kayak bags come in a large variety of sizes and are available any place that sells kayaks or canoes. Aerostich also sells them.
