Luggage: Let's see how you take it all with you.

[Rossco]

We all know one of the downsides of a motorcycle is that you can't always carry everything that you could in say a car of truck.

However, thanks to modern luggage setups from companies like Givi and SW-Motech, you can carry quite a lot.

Or if you prefer to travel light, there are smaller options, like compact tail and tank bags.

And if the funds are tight, you can always get creative.

Me, I've always been a fan of going on trips with my bike. Even when I had my old shadow. Each summer I go up to my parents beach house in coastal Maine for two weeks. So I have to bring a few things.




Here, I'm using a Rapid Transit Recon 19 tank bag, some Fieldsheer cruiser saddlebags, and a Kuryakyn Grantour bag.

The next summer I had my Bandit. Having only owned it for a few weeks, I didn't have time to mount a permanent setup. So I found some Nelson-rigg soft saddlebags on closeout, strapped a duffle bag on the back with a cargo net, and affixed my trusty tank-bag.

It looked a bit Jed Clampett-y, but it did the job.

I would recommend that ^ setup for people that only need to carry stuff on bikes for road-trips. But since, I use my bikes for hauling all kinds of crap, I needed a more substantial setup. So I splurged on a set up givi bags and bracket.

The price was a bit steep for the whole kit. But I've found it to be worth it. It's so nice to have waterproof luggage that is (somewhat) secure. Even though these cases (E21's) are the smallest ones that Givi makes, I rarely find myself needing more space.

So, now that I've bored you all to death, lets see your luggage setup!

 

[Spectre]

919: SW-Motech quick detach racks mounting either these E21s:

Or these Givi knockoffs:

I just got the unobtanium Hondaline luggage racks for the 700, so it will probably soon have the E21/Knockoffs when the 919 isn't using them (via adapters I shall construct) or, if I can get a really good set, the original Hondaline bags as pictured below on someone else's bike:

 

[KaJuN]

Here's my Triumph all loaded up on my Scotland tour a few months ago:



If I do get to do my Euro tour next year I'll add another hard case to sit on top because the two cases plus the tank bag really only covered me for that week-long trip.

 

[Crazyjeeper]

I have a full SW-Motech Trax setup on my tenere.

Depending on where I'm going or how far I'm going I run some combination of the cases. I only run all 3 for trips.

For getting offroad, I like just the top case

The side cases do look a lot better though

When I did my beartooth pass trip, I loaded up all 3 and put a wolfman tailbag/duffel on it as well.

And with me in my spacesuit on it.

I also run a Wolfman explorer lite tankbag all of the time, but it is getting a little small when I've got all of the stuff I like to have with me so I'm probably going to upgrade it to a much larger one in the spring.

 

[argatoga]

Yeah I'm cheap.

 

[DanRoM]

Side cases and a top case. I plan to add a tank bag if I ever do a trip for a week or longer.

 

[47]

What are you guys, women? How much space do you need?

I have Givi side cases, Kappa (essentially a Givi with another name) top case and a Held Tank bag, but I rarely use that since I got the side cases.

I've had the Top case for 3 years now, and got the side cases last year, just before our Italy trip. 5-6 days, me and the wife fit all our stuff.
Although we do have to pack light. We went to Romania with only the tank bag and the top case for 5 days!

Next year we have a bigger trip planned to Macedonia/Greece, so We'll probably load up as much as we can.

I got the side cases primarily to feel more secure, cause I can lock them up and not worry. The top case is on the bike 95% of the time, the side cases I use for travel
or even smaller trips, so I can put my gear someshere and not drag it around with me.

Phe pic in my sig is from Italy. Oh yes, the net on the tank helps sometimes too.
I'll post some pics when I get the chance.

 

[Joker19583]

You could do it like this:


[not my bike, not my photo, not my beer]

 

[DaHitch]

This is how I got my stuff to the Ringmeet, I know not this "traveling light" of which you speak.
I'm planning on getting some cases later though, the Givi Trekker series would look really awesome on this.

 

[Rossco]

This is how I got my stuff to the Ringmeet, I know not this "traveling light" of which you speak.
I'm planning on getting some cases later though, the Givi Trekker series would look really awesome on this.

As much as I like the Givi Trekker series of luggage, I really can't justify the price. If I had an adventure bike like yours, I'd probably go with a pelican case setup like this.

In other news, I might be buying some larger bags for my bike in the near future. Now that my girlfriend has expressed interest in going on trips with me on the bike, I realize that I'm gonna need some more space. So I'm thinking about getting some Givi E45 cases and maybe a topcase.

 

[DaHitch]

As much as I like the Givi Trekker series of luggage, I really can't justify the price. If I had an adventure bike like yours, I'd probably go with a pelican case setup like this.

If I take a quick look at the price and add the price of the brackets & shipping to Europe it's not going to be all that much cheaper than buying the 3 Givi cases I'd like locally. Also, the Givi cases are bigger. I'm planning on taking the 33 & 46l side cases and a 52l top case. Those 3 cases + all mounting hardware would come to just over ?1000. Just as a comparison, the Triumph setup, also 2 side cases & 1 top case, comes in at ?1500. :/
Which is why I pretty much chose to get the Arrows exhaust instead and buy the cases later.

 

[KaJuN]

As much as I like the Givi Trekker series of luggage, I really can't justify the price. If I had an adventure bike like yours, I'd probably go with a pelican case setup like this.

In other news, I might be buying some larger bags for my bike in the near future. Now that my girlfriend has expressed interest in going on trips with me on the bike, I realize that I'm gonna need some more space. So I'm thinking about getting some Givi E45 cases and maybe a topcase.

Those are the same Givis I have for the Triumph and they have served me well. My favorite feature is that they're easy to carry into and out of hotel rooms on long tours. The biggest downside is that it's about impossible taking anything out of them without first taking them off the bike and laying them flat on the ground, unless you want everything else in the case to fall out when you're trying to pull out your baby wipes to clean off your visor on the side of the road.

 

[DaHitch]

The biggest downside is that it's about impossible taking anything out of them without first taking them off the bike and laying them flat on the ground.

Which is why I want the Trekker cases.

And not only do they look good, the kind of look like the Triumph ones, so it's a win-win.

 

[tigger]

Yeah I'm cheap.

This. I can live a couple weeks out of a backpack fairly comfortably. Wish I would've messed around with ammo can bags for my KZ550 though. Would've been a fitting look on that bike and been practical for work.

 

[Kiki]

What's luggage?

 

[GRtak]

My kind of woman!

 

[Blind_Io]

My kind of woman!

Don't worry, she is going to get plenty of her own luggage for birthdays and holidays for the next while. My VFR will be a sherpa for the more glamorous Ducati no more!

 

[Kiki]

Oh yeah?! Well... well... I'll just stick to being a sprint rider.

 

[GRtak]

Well, luggage is fine as long as it does not turn into baggage.

 

[Kiki]

Hah, well, as for the baggage, you can check out the NSFW section, but hey, what's wrong with a little bit of cray-cray. (Yes, you have permission to shoot me for writing that out... I prefer a clean 7.62x54 to go out in glorrry*. ) *cue Russian accent

And to not derail the thread anymore, I'll detail my pathetic excuses for luggage.

On my old SV, I ran a set of universal saddle bags coupled with a bungee cord to strap over the pillion seat. Bungee cords are awesome since you can strap anything underneath them. Towels, bathing suits... Vietnamese take out.

The saddle bags looked like this:





For longer trips, I'd have saddle bags, my backpack, and my Cortech magnetic tank bag.



Currently, on the Duc, I can't use the magnetic tank bag, so for Xmas last year, Santa Blind gave me a tail bag that's actually been quite handy. It zips off, so you can take your belongings with you. It's something like this pic (not my bike):



Like I said, I have yet to do a long touring trip since I'm mostly a sprint rider. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! :lol