Luggage Reviews
Velomacchi 40L Speedway Backpack Hands-On Review
The Speedway & I Are Becoming Fast Friends Wearing a backpack while riding a motorcycle is a huge killjoy for me. It throws off balance, restricts movement and makes me sweat where normally I wouldn’t. I hate it and avoid it at all costs. That is until I met the Velomacchi Speedway. First Impressions When …
SHAD SH36 for the BMW S1000XR
SHAD 3P Mounting System and the SH36 Side Cases on the BMW S1000XR The webBikeWorld SHAD SH36 review was published in 2014. The SH36 side cases were new at that time and were fitted to the Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS (Blog), the webBikeWorld Project Bike that year. Since then, SHAD has introduced the SH36 mounting kit for the BMW …
Motorcycle Luggage Reviews
Pack Your Bags Because We’ve Reviewed Hundreds of Motorcycle Luggage & Backpack Products That are Perfect For Your Next Ride Quality motorcycle luggage can make all the difference if you use your bike all the time. As always when we review luggage we really put it through the ringer, spending weeks at a time with …
SHAD Motorcycle Luggage Installation
SHAD Motorcycle Luggage As identified in Part 1 of the SHAD motorcycle top case review, four complete top case kits along with a Top Master rack kit yielded a multiple mounting options on a variety of motorcycles. Of the four planned installations, three have been completed. The last will be completed before the truck, trailer and motorcycle …
Bags-Connection Daypack II Tank Bag – Part 2: Installation
Installing the Bags-Connection Daypack II Tank Bag Daypack II Installation: What’s Included This article illustrates a typical installation of the Bags-Connection Quick-Lock system and tank bag. Remember that every motorcycle may be different and you should follow the instructions provided by Bags-Connection. The information here is for illustrative purposes only. The Daypack tank bag shown …
Motorcycle Tail Bag
Motorcycle Tail Bag Oxford Sport Tail Bag The Oxford Sport Tail Bag, or Tail Pack, provides an additional 42 liters of carrying capacity (vs. 28 liters for the Humpback version) and can be fitted to a variety of motorcycle seats (see caveats below). The Sport Tail Bag is rectangular in shape, at 350mm (14″) wide …
Motorcycle Saddlebags
Motorcycle Saddlebags Oxford Sport Saddlebags – Panniers Let’s see — so far we have 36 liters of space in the Compact Tank Bag and 42 liters in the Sport Tail Bag. That should be enough to get you back and forth to work in good shape, but how about another 55 liters worth of storage …
Oxford Compact Tank Bag
Oxford Compact Tank Bag The Oxford Compact Tank Bag is nicely proportioned and should fit many different fuel tank shapes. It measures about 280mm (~11″) across and about 450mm (~13″) long prior to stuffing it to its 36 liter capacity. It sits only about 140mm (~5.5″) high when not expanded, which is relatively unobtrusive and …
Kawasaki Versys Luggage and Accessories
Outfitting the Versys The Kawasaki Versys Story Part 1: Kawasaki Versys Introduction and Review Part 2: Luggage and Accessories Part 3: Windscreen Part 4: Accessories for the Versys Part 5: New Tires for the Versys Part 6: Oxford HotGrips on the Versys Gear: Zeta Handguards and XC Deflector Kit Gear: FAMSA 260 Tank Bag & Pannier Set Versys Specs: Kawasaki Versys Info and Specs …
Roadgear MultiTasker Briefcase
Roadgear MultiTasker Briefcase Commuting to work or school on a motorcycle or scooter sounds like a lot of fun, but reality often leavens the thrill. There aren’t many places with a perfect dry and sunny climate that encourages carefree two-wheel commuting. Most of us have to consider things like the type of outerwear that will …
Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS Tank Bag
Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS Tank Bag Review and Installation The Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS tank bag accessory is a high-quality (and expensive) piece of luggage. It may be worth the cost though, because the bag fits the bike perfectly and it mounts on a ring lock on top of the fuel filler, so there’s nothing …
The Suzuki GW250 Tank Bag
Suzuki GW250 Tank Bag Review and Photos The Suzuki GW250 tank bag is an excellent piece of luggage. It’s very nicely made and as you’d expect, it’s a perfect match for the curvy GW250 fuel tank. The bag has a rubberized bottom and fully 6 large 60 mm diameter magnets, which grip tightly to the …
Happy Trails Panniers Review
Super-Solid Hard Bags Happy Trails makes several different types of panniers and the Imnaha version is the smallest and lightest. The Imnaha bags are probably too small for true long-distance adventure touring, but they’re rugged and waterproof and their light weight is barely noticed on the DR650. The mounting rack system makes it all work, …
Eclipse Luggage
Eclipse motorcycle luggage has been made in the U.S.A. for just about as long as I’ve been riding motorcycles. The company was started in 1973, and it was in the spring of that year, if I recall correctly, that I purchased my first bike, a 1968 Bultaco Metralla (of all things). Back in those days, …
Motorcycle Touring Bag
Motorcycle Touring Bag One of the benefits of soft vs. hard luggage for motorcycles is the ability to use the soft stuff for multiple purposes. Let’s face it, you’d look pretty dorky carrying a Jesse aluminum pannier into a Vegas hotel. But most of the recent crop of motorcycle soft luggage not only looks cool, …
Motorcycle Touring Luggage
Motorcycle Touring Luggage Believe it or not, there was a time in the not-too-distant past when humans were able to survive without air conditioning or cruise control in their automobiles. But those accessories that were once considered luxuries proved to be so useful that they quickly became essential features of modern life. It’s the …
The FAMSA Tank Bag on Tour
The FAMSA 246 tank bag system consists of a base plate and two separate bag modules that can be used individually or zipped together to create one large tank bag system. The larger of the two modules has an expanding mid section that allows you to roughly double its capacity by undoing a zip that runs all …
FAMSA 246 Motorcycle Tank Bag
FAMSA Model 246 I remember the first time I saw a tank bag on a motorcycle. It was back in the early ’70’s, and European motorcycles were as rare as hen’s teeth in my neck of the woods. But there it was — a BMW, flat handlebars, cruising right down Main Street, and what was that thing …
Chicane Canyon EX Tank Bag
Motorcycle tank bags are available in all different shapes and sizes, with prices that will fit just about any budget. From tiny bags that can perch on top of the smallest fuel tanks, to condominium-sized Haulmeisters like the Famsa Model 246, soft saddlebags and even over-the-shoulder messenger bags, there are plenty of storage options. Perhaps Chicane USA …
Wolfman Tank Bag
The Wolfman Explorer Tank Bag Have you ever purchased a piece of gear that looked great on the shelf or in the catalog, only to find that it seemed to have been designed by someone who had never seen a motorcycle? The Wolfman Explorer tank bag neatly disposes of such nonsense with smart features and …
Timbuk2 Messenger Bag
Messenger bags were originally used to rush important documents back and forth by bicycle messengers in big cities like New York and London. In the beginning, they were known as courier bags. They were, and still are, dumpy looking things that get the tar beat out of them by their banzai owners. Somehow, the bike messenger …
Motorcycle Tank Bag Padding
Tank bags are great for carrying just about anything you’ll need on a short or long motorcycle trip. There are many different styles and sizes available to fit a variety of needs. But one thing they all have in common is their notorious ability to scratch the paint on a motorcycle’s fuel tank or tail …
Ogio Tail Bag Review
Act Fast On This Ogio/Dainese Tail Bag The Ogio tail bag is a versatile, medium-sized storage option for your motorcycle. It should fit on a wide variety of motorcycle passenger seats. It has adjustable quick-release loop straps, which make it easy to mount securely, perhaps with some ROK Straps (review). Three compartments, with the main one …
SHAD SH58X Review
A Clever Expandable Top Case The new SHAD SH58X has a very clever trick. It’s the first hard case top box that can be expanded to a total of 3 different capacities. I don’t think there are any other hard top cases that can do this? At any rate, SHAD has a patent on the …
Kriega R25 R35 Backpack Review
The Kriega R25 and R35 Motorcycle Backpacks The Kriega R25 and R35 make a convincing argument for wearing a backpack on a motorcycle. The design moves the weight from the shoulders and places it on the chest and back. Freedom of movement is also a benefit of Kriega’s design, as both backpacks allow movement of …
Hepco & Becker Royster C-Bow Review
Waterproof Luggage With A Unique Mounting System The Hepco & Becker Royster C-Bow side cases straddle the line between hard cases and soft bags. The semi-rigid design offers light weight while still being strong enough to maintain the shape. Capacity is a bit limited but is in line with the intended use for commuters and …
Touratech Waterproof Moto Tank Bag Review
Wet Is Bad; Dry Is Good The Touratech Waterproof Moto Tank Bag system is also made by Ortlieb in Germany for Touratech. It is a direct-fit solution for wide range of motorcycles, but a workaround or compromise for others. With a universal-approach tank harness, the 18L Moto Tank Bag has a removable clear map case …
RKA Luggage Review
Made in the U.S.A. Luggage Combo: The RKA Shiloh Road Tank Bag and the RKA Starr II Seat Bag RKA Luggage has been made in the U.S.A. since the early 1980’s. The company now offers a huge line of tank bags, seat bags, saddlebags, bag liners and more. Each luggage piece also comes in a …
SW-Motech Quick-Lock EVO Daypack
The Convoluted Tale of A Tank Bag for Two Kawasakis Here’s a photo-heavy update on the surprisingly useful SW-Motech Quick-Lock EVO Daypack we first reviewed in 2014. All of the features and details on fitting and installing the Daypack were covered in that review. Also, more details on the SW-Motech Quick-Lock system can be found in the Suzuki …
ROK Straps Review
The Modern, Safer and More Secure Replacement for the Bungee A ROK Strap is an intelligent solution to thedangers of bungee cords. Suffice it to say that bungee cords are dangerous — and a leading cause of eye injuries. If you don’t want to believe that, then at least believe that bungee cords just don’t …
SHAD Top Master Mounting Kit
Installing the BMW Luggage Rack and the SHAD “Top Master” Top Case Mounting Kit on a BMW S1000XR The BMW S1000XR is now gone, but there are still some stories to be told. One important subject is the BMW Luggage Carrier (Grid). It didn’t get installed at the factory on this early production S1000XR due …
Touratech Waterproof Moto Saddle Bags Review
Touratech Waterproof “Moto” Saddle Bags by Ortlieb The Touratech Moto Waterproof Saddle Bags are made by Ortlieb for Touratech. As I noted in the first part of this series — theTouratech Adventure Dry Bag review — not all “waterproof” motorcycle luggage really is. And some aren’t very good no matter the list price or features touted. …
Touratech Adventure Dry Bag Review
Touratech and Ortlieb Partner for Waterproof Motorcycle Luggage There is no shortage of waterproof dry bags for motorcyclists. But not all of them are truly waterproof and some aren’t very good, no matter the list price. Fortunately, the Touratech Waterproof Adventure Dry Bag is both waterproof and good. Actually, “great” is the better word to …
SHAD SH39 Review
A Color-Coordinated Mid-Size Top Case The new SHAD SH39 is a mid-sized top case with a maximized size-to-capacity ratio. Looks can be deceiving and the SH39 holds a lot of gear. Example: it easily swallows a full-face size XL helmet with room to spare. Its aerodynamic shape helps smooth air flow and it’s barely noticeable …
SHAD Zulupack Waterproof Bags Review
Dry is Good: SHAD Zulupack Waterproof Luggage The SHAD Zulupack name is well known by those who enjoy the outdoors, particularly in wet environments. And SHAD has done a good thing in tailoring and marketing the line worldwide. With twelve bags in the current Zulupack lineup, there is — or should be — something for …
motoPOCKET Motorcycle Luggage Review
motoPOCKET Accessory Luggage Bags The motoPOCKET line of textile soft bags are lightweight and have simple and effective mounting solutions. Extremely versatile and just plain useful, they seem to blend into whatever piece of luggage they are being used with — a testament to their versatility and durability. No matter if travelling near or far, …
SHAD SH36 Side Case Review
SHAD SH36 Side Cases for the Yamaha FZ09, Honda NC700, Honda CTX700 and the 2014 Suzuki V-Strom 1000 ABS The new SHAD SH36 side cases (aka panniers, bags) are very easy to install. They also have a more modern, angular look than the stock Suzuki bags. The price difference from OEM luggage is also dramatic. …
SW-Motech EVO Daypack Tank Bag Review
SW-Motech Bags-Connection Quick Lock EVO Daypack Tank Bag A small tank bag that uses the Quick Lock EVO second generation mounting system. The EVO locking system uses a special ring that mounts on the fuel filler and different sized tank bags can be fitted. It keeps the tank bag off the paint, while making it …
SHAD Zulupack SW05 Review
The SHAD Zulupack SW05 Waterproof Pack The SHAD Zulupack SW05 is a small waterproof bag that can be used to carry a camera, wallet and more. The SW05 is the smallest of the many new Zulupack waterproof bags now being offered by SHAD. The bags feature vinyl-coated fabric and sealed seams and the roll-down top …
Motorcycle Handlebar Bag
Motorcycle Handlebar Bag for the BMW GS and BMW Scooters This small handlebar bag is designed to fit the crossbar on the handlebars of some dual-sport bikes. It also makes a handy bag for the BMW C-Series scooters. The bags are made in the U.S.A. (Virginia) by Kathy’s Journey Designs (info in summary table below). …
