Touring and Luggage Options, What do you use?

[tricolore]

With the trip to P.I coming up thought I would seek some input from you lot relating to luggage. I don't have a rear rack, nor do I particularly want one if I can help it. Wondering what I might need given I never have done a extended tour.
I have a Tank Bag and a reasonably sized back pack. Do you guys reckon that will be enough?

[mattyvas]

My thoughts on luggage after a couple of tours and more coming this year are get everything you can on the bike and not on you.
It is tiring enough spending 500+ klms on the bike in a day, carrying gear on your back for a 5-7 day tour would be extra weight you don't need to have on you.

I have a Ventura rack that came with my bike, i have just out it back on as you can see from the other thread. You can try a tank bag and tail bag but having used a tail bag they tend to flop around a lot which can make them unpredictable.

2c's added.

[vossy]

A ventura rack/ bag system is probably your best bet, even though you say you don't want to go down that path.

Otherwise I'm sure Betty will chime in with his cool little system he has for his monster.


has anyone seen a monster with a trailer in tow?

Hey, just another option to think (or not) about

[Betty]

Otherwise I'm sure Betty will chime in with his cool little system he has for his monster.

I have a cool system

Best bet ... Ventura ... but I s'pose it depends on how much you want to carry. I couldn't get it to work with my exhaust system so looked at an alternative and had the Boss carry everything for me.

When we did Turismo I used a whole heap of Kriega luggage ... and the virgins of course. I had one bag strapped to the tail (a strap on for the virgins it would seem), one on the tank and one each side of the trellis in front of my knees plus a Kriega backpack. The trellis option may not be viable for the 4 valvers ... but I didn't have fridge fans wizzing around there getting in the way.

For me it worked OK but it was a pain in the proverbial getting some of the bags on and off because you end up with so many straps (Ventura is simple by comparison) ... but in handling terms I think it worked because the weight was so evenly distributed.

For me the backpack wasn't a problem although it is designed for the purpose and I tried to keep the heavy items elsewhere ... the only time I noticed it was there was when I ran into something walking around.

Jukie on the other hand had the Ventura rack with two bloody big bags full or stuff for me ... she felt it took the edge off the power delivery of the mighty 620 and I suspect that the huge amount of weight out the back may have actually saved her life

[tricolore]

I will be travelling with my dad who has a H.D that resembles the Battlestar Galacticar (sorry if I offend Star Wars fans and spelled it incorrectly  ) He has offered to carry stuff and tow his trailer if need be but I would prefer to be self sufficient. I have looked at the tail mounted bags, which in principal seems good but as pointed out I am unsure of how well they actually function.

having used a tail bag they tend to flop around a lot which can make them unpredictable.

Are there better brands or fastening systems that work better than others?

[Mr.S2R]

I always run on the philosophy of travel light, travel fast.  I am not one for packing.  I am not fond of the look of the gear rack on the back of a monster.  That being said I bought a Givi tail bag similar to this:
http://www.giviusa.com/soft-luggages/Tail-bags/T439
I did a couple of trial runs and noticed that at speed with the bag fully expanded it was a little top heavy - nothing a good tie down didnt fix!  I didnt have the seat cowl on either as I didnt want the bag scratching it.

The bag kept all my clothes and toiletries etc for the MotoGP weekend.  Didnt bother with towels, blankets etc as that was in the house we were staying at.  I had my Ducati backpack for items that I may have needed on the trip - which was dri rider overalls - which I basically wore the whole time as it was so frigging cold and wet, except on race day when the sunshine came out, but I digress.

I think next time I think I will go tank bag instead of tail.  Gives you something to rest on and if you dont quite have the flexibility the tail bag gets in the way when you throw the leg over!

[J5]

i have learnt from the past

never ever ever use a backpack over long distance

a tank bag works well on the monster, shite on a VFR400

anything more then a ventura rack

i did 2 weeks to qld with a tank bag , have a good think about what you actually need to take with you

[monstermick58]

I agree with J5, backpacks should only be used light and over short distances. The best way to carry your gear (and Betty eluded to it) is to get someone else to carry it, the last Turismo I went on we had a car tag along and all the gear that you dont immediately need got put into it.

Andy Strapz makes a nifty tail bag, should be worth a look, also I like tank bags, they are so useful to keep everything from puncture repair kits to handy wipes and a packet of lollies, there are lots to choose from, I have a small Oxford one, its ok but I have had better in the past.

You have opened a minefield of options, so all I can say is good luck, oh, top price does not mean top product.






                                   Mmick

[craigo]

Loaded Up S2R by craigeaux, on Flickr

DP tank bag and a ventura non-rack based tail bag worked great for me. 6 days or something worth of stuff and I still had room to spare.

Lemme know if you want to borrow any of it for PI. It doesn't get used anywhere near as much as is should.

[Mr.S2R]

nice setup craigo!

[goldFiSh]

Betty, do you have a pic of that setup?

How long did you guys go away for? Probably better off to ship it via TNT!

Anyway, agree with other comments here... Not a fan of backpacks, mostly Ive used tail packs and tank bags. Don't like the tank bad as I have one that's kind of square and it interferes with riding style (read my gut) when we get to the twistes.

I'm trying a givi top box for the upcoming trip. Waterproof and locking. I see the issue might be is that it sits high and far back, so it might just piss me off.

Travel as light as you can. I've done the pi thing twice and last time was with a small tail pack and some attioional items (wets etc) using a bungee to hold it to the tail pack. If you are only going to the races, you don't need much else than a minimal clothes. Keep up the "rough and ready" hiker image, don't shave, minimal showering, and don't bring too many non biker clothe options. Oh, and definitely pack thongs for cursing around the track at the supers!

[Betty]

Unfortunately black luggage on a black bike with a black frame doesn't photograph very well (not to mention my lack of skill).

This photo is when I was trying different placements. I ended up with only the big bag on the back (the photo shows the big one with a small one on top) and the smaller bag on the tank (it needs a bra) which is not shown + small bags on each side of the frame although you can only see one



This one shows what I went with (tank bag open as it was carrying the camera):

[Betty]

How long did you guys go away for? Probably better off to ship it via TNT!

Oh, we were away for a bit over two weeks ... mostly only one night in each place. So not really much opportunity to pre-send ... although we did use the post to send back our fancy dress costumes once we had fullfilled obligations.

[goldFiSh]

I was imagining larger bags... were the ones on the trellis worth it?

[tricolore]

Loaded Up S2R by craigeaux, on Flickr

DP tank bag and a ventura non-rack based tail bag worked great for me. 6 days or something worth of stuff and I still had room to spare.

Lemme know if you want to borrow any of it for PI. It doesn't get used anywhere near as much as is should.

Mate thats very generous, I may take you up on the ventura seat bag. I am going to do a test run with my tank bag and see how I go.

I agree with J5, backpacks should only be used light and over short distances.






                                   Mmick

Advice noted, the back pack is out!