Soft luggage options advantages disadvantages

[the Ferret]

I saw in another thread, Chip Beck requested a thread about my soft luggage.

If you've seen the picture of Ferret and Mrs Ferret in 1977 on our Kawasaki KZ 1000 and the picture of us 35 something years later, and practically every picture of a bike I've ridden over the last 4 decades, you see one thing in common. Some kind of soft luggage. Usually a tank bag and/or a tail pack. Even if the bike comes with hard luggage and a trunk.

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I discovered Eclipse soft luggage in the early 70's.(still in business btw). Eclipse soft luggage and Vetter Fairings could turn nearly any UJM into a half way decent touring bike. There are advantages and disadvantages to soft luggage.

Advantages: light weight, holds a lot, easy to mount, moves from bike to bike, less expensive than hard luggage, any or all can be easily removed once you get to a destination allowing you to ride a lighter bike, you can kick it getting on and off and it won't leave a mark, no ugly brackets left on bike when not using luggage

Disadvantages: not vandal proof, easier to steal, not rain proof. Saddlebags tend to crab in at bottom if heavily loaded, can impede on passenger space.

There were and are a ton of manufacturers of soft luggage..Eclipse, Bagman, Cortech, Tourmaster, Givi, Nelson Riggs, Wolfman, Firstgear, Dowco, to name a few
Tank bags will run from $50 to $200, tail packs from $90 to $200 and saddlebags from probably $ 100 to $250. I tend to buy mine when I find it on sale. Motorcyclegear.com is but one place to find good prices on soft luggage. Google is your friend.

Soft luggage volume is measured in liters. Why I have no idea because one thing I have never hauled on trips is liters. The only thing a liter tells me is that if one holds 20 liters and one holds 30 liters. The 30 liter one holds more.

I normally use two different sets. A small Cortech set for daily riding and day trips.

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And a larger set by Nelson Riggs for multiday out of state trips

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I also have a set of Matching Nelson Rigg saddlebags that I have used on other bikes, but have not used on the CB due to the location of the rear turn signals. When I find a suitable solution to that issue the saddle bags will be used on the CB as well.

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Tank bags have become such a part of my motorcycling I consider them wallets for my bike. I stick everything in my tank bag. Maps, sunglasses, camera, first aid kit, pen and pad, garage door opener, cell phone and more.

The tail trunk collects rain gear, spare gloves, thermos full of hot tea, a place to stuff a sweatshirt, ball cap etc..

Taking a break, then I 'll continue .....

[the Ferret]

Tank bags install with either magnets or straps. The magnets can scratch the paint and I usually put clear vinyl on my tanks where the magnets hit. Tail trunks attach with either straps or elastic cords with hooks. Saddlebags usually have velcro straps that you put either under or over the seat, and straps to anchor them to footpegs and behind seat or turn signals. Sometimes with matching sets the tail trunk and saddlebags snap together. Installation of any/all takes but a few minutes.

Here's a list of what I took on my last 5 day trip which easily fit in my Nelson Rigg tank bag and tail pack

Tank bag:

Microfibre cloth, shield cleaner, bottle of water, 2 types of water enhancer, 6 energy bars, flashlight, camera,cell phone, small camera tripod, spare reading glasses, bottle of aleve

Tail trunk:

Rainsuit, rain gloves, spare riding gloves, spare pants that do double duty by zipping off into shorts, dress shirt, spare C9 riding shirt, spare C 9 riding shorts, 4 pairs of socks, ball cap, gym shoes, swim suit, camera charger, cell phone charger, shaver, 2 bottles of prescription medicine, tooth brush and toothpaste, can of chain lube, factory type rear axle nut wrench and extension and an 8 mm box end wrench wrapped up in a shop towel.

I packed a tire repair kit under the seat incl a tire guage, air pump, and tools with worms

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I wore a full face HJC helmet, tourmaster jacket, pants and boots. C9 shirt and shorts, socks, tourmaster gloves and of course carried my wallet and keys.

Of course with saddlebags you can pack a lot more if you are so inclined. The C9 shirts and shorts I mentioned are easily hand washed in the sink in the motel room and dry out overnight so I don't need to pack as much.

To keep my stuff dry in my soft saddlebags or tail pack, I line the insides with a large garbage bag. Leaving the usually included rain covers in one of the side pouches. However on the tank bag I use the included rain cover, since its easy to reach and use from the seat of the bike, and I don't have to worry about it blowing off.

Some more pics:

My 750 Nighthawk wearing Fieldsheer tank bag and Cortech tail pack.

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I even requested a tank bag on our rental BMW in Europe

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I love the hard luggage on my ST 1300 but I find for most of my travels, soft luggage is indespensible.

[ChipBeck_imp]

That info rocks. Thank you.

Chip

[rboe]

Hard luggage looks better, can protect your bike in a crash and protects gear from hard hits. But you pay for it, soft luggage is cheaper to buy, doesn't scratch when you drag your foot over it by accident and once off the bike usually leave little if any hardware to ruin the lines of the bike.

I feel the same way about tank bags as you. Gotta have one. Just like a wallet; I feel off if I don't have one. I still have my eclipse luggage and tank bag that I bought in 82. Missing some mounting straps though.

If I ever get serious about touring with the Honda I may break down and buy some hard luggage. In the mean time I'll use my kit of soft luggage. I had aluminum panniers on my Quota and I'll tell you, I really miss them. Ugly, look OK on an adventure bike but the CB begs for something classy.

Oh man you have some nice bikes there.

[Guth_imp]

Thanks for all of the info ferret!

[the Ferret]

I thought the set that popgun got, sort of a combo of hard and soft was pretty cool, and they looked really well suited to the CB size wise. The problem with most bolt on hard luggage to me, is if you get bags large enough to hold much they look out of proportion to the bike and look terrible from the rear..really wide. And sometimes in order to preserve the passenger pegs, they mount them really far back. The Givis on a FZ-1 almost look like they are following the bike. I don't want that look when I'm just riding around town or out hitting the curves. If you get hard bags that are small, well, they don't hold much lol.

Built in hard luggage like on the ST, the FJR, the Triumph ST, the Kaw Concours look good imo.

[lagoje_imp]

Just put this on my Rear Carrier. I like the look and I can still swing my leg over without hitting the bag. In AZ you need some place to carry a bottle of water with you.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/554...e-tail-bag

and of course, here are a few Pics... (I need to edit and add from my iPhone first)

[the Ferret]

Thats a nice size bag. Looks good on there IMO.

[HikerToo_imp]

I have a set of these side bags in my basement...waiting for spring.

[ingobohn_imp]

With this soft side bags you need to move the turn signals to the back, right?