Dilemma time. Looking for luggage solution for the bike (Fazer) - has no rack fitted at present - want to be able to carry enough stuff around for a couple of nights away (1 person) - no camping kit. Am thinking tank bag or tail pack bungee'd to the seat - what's your preference and why? Want good waterproof capabilities. Won't be carrying a pillion. Is it good to find one that doubles as a rucksack? If going for the tailpack, is it better to get a rack (say a Givi) and strap the tailpack to it or is it OK (obviously cheaper) just to strap to the seat? cheers -- jeremy ['75 RD250A ] | ['02 Fazer 600 in blue] _______________________________________ jeremy at hireserve dot com
Courier bag. Carries as much as a large top box, is waterproof, has a seat belt webbed strap that can be lengthened so it plops on the seat behind you - Stable up to 100mph or can be put over your shoulder and hang down for 150mph+ madness. Probably not everyone's choice tbh but easy, cheap and convenient for round trips of up to about 350 miles.
So are you suggesting that the additional 100 miles might just be too much for the luggage solution of your choice? -- jeremy ['75 RD250A ] | ['02 Fazer 600 in blue] _______________________________________ jeremy at hireserve dot com
That's not what I'm suggesting at all. I was going to take one to Chimay but after a lengthy consultation with folk that had been before, it was decided it'd be a PITA because I'd have to take it with me everywhere. I mean, apart from passport, cash and credit cards WTF *do* you need to take?
Change of clothes etc - stuff that would fit in a rucksack but I don't really want to ride around wearing one. I guess anything that's left on the bike during a coffee break etc is vulnerable to theft? So presume something that's easy to detach and take with you (or bolted down and locked) is the *ideal*. There is a wide choice out there so really looking for practical experience ta -- jeremy ['75 RD250A ] | ['02 Fazer 600 in blue] _______________________________________ jeremy at hireserve dot com
Andy Bonwick wrote Oddly enough I find completely the reverse when I use a tank bag. Although, it has to be said, that I have not yet had a ride with a fully extended tank bag and me new Yerrat in which I look so cool. More than I have space for usually.
Andy Bonwick wrote You are being a bit unfair on the bindit. I am sure I could get that up to beyond moderate buffeting speeds if I wanted.
Well, I thought it facetious at best but decided to take it at face value. For anything less than a weekend, I don't see the point. It's a wear what I'm wearing sort of thing. I can always get a shower somewhere or go jump in the lake ;o) That's why I was going to take the courier bag. On the face of it, ideal and if properly positioned won't be a problem for travelling. I just didn't fancy lugging it round with me everywhere once we got there. I've got experience of top boxes and bags, that's it, and tbh, I'd use a topbox over a bag any day[1] [1] Light dawns - Pip's kindly offered to molish a rack to the back of the ratfighter. A Givi box could easily be fixed to that.
Jeremy emerged from their own little world to say Not the cheapest solution but the one that suits me. I invested in a GIVI Monorack and 46 litre topbox [1] The Monorack has been fitted to 2 bikes since I purchased it in 1996[0]. I like it as I can leave my gear relatively securely; carry books etc to/from Uni as it is 100% waterproof and get enough clothes in for up to a week away. Of course, you have to tolerate the looks and the slight adverse effect to handling caused by extra weight high above the centre of gravity, especially in windy conditions. [0] TDM850 & the BMW, I never fitted it to the intermediate CBR6 [1] originally had a 38 litre box but someone on here advertised the larger one which is much better as it takes 2 helmets. -- BMW R1150GS
I think that was an earlier design of the tailpack though, and they've altered it since? The version I've got not only has the bungees but some straps to go underneath the seat too. I'll still use a cargo net though, just for that added piece of mind. -- Lesley CBR600FW SBS#11 (with oak-leaf cluster) BOTAFOT#101A UKRMHRC#12 BONY#54P BOB#18 Real burds don't take hormones, they rage naturally
Whinging Courier says... I have a spare Givi mounting plate kicking around here somewhere. You're welcome to it if someone can make you the bars to fix it to the frame.
At one time, there was a frenzied attack on tailpacks around here. Something to do with a fella called Ash... Google? -- Paul. CBR1100XX SuperBlackbird BOTAFOT #4 BOTAFOF #30 MRO #24
What do you mean, the bars to fix it to the frame? I've got a plastic mounting plate here, the one with the crosshatching in the middle, is that it? I did have a bag of assorted nuts, bolts and cone shaped washers for it somewhere but FK where they are, I've always bungeed it to the back. Now I think about it, I don't know how I'm going to get the bungees to stretch enough if I'm going to employ that method unless some sort of cube shaped frame is made and welded on the back. <shrugs> Maybe I should come over when the weather's a bit more friendly towards welding bits on and not so cold.
I used to use a magnetic tank bag lots. Ideal for a weekend - provided you don't get carried away. An expandable bag gives you a lot of carrying capacity in an emergency, but it'll be a lot more stable if it isn't expanded. On a bike with any sort of fairing a tank bag should be fairly waterproof, although some are better than others and very few will cope entirely with *very* heavy/prolonged rain. The same would go for a small tail-pack, which is sheltered by your body. A fairing or screen also helps with stability - to a point. Most tank bags will have a map pocket, which is extremely useful. They often have small outside pockets for change, cigarettes etc, which you may find useful. If you get a tank bag make sure it has some sort of carrying straps, so you can wear it as a rucksack or a satchel. Also ensure that this can be done *with* the base, and that there's something to stop the base flapping around.
Paul Carmichael says... They are fine if they are strapped on in the manner that the manufacturers intended. They are no more dangerous than strapping anything else to the back of a bike with bungees. It just requires someone with a modicum of common sense to do it properly.
Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Lozzo That's UKRM fucked then... -- Wicked Uncle Nigel - Manufacturer of the "Champion-105" range of rearsets WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41 ZZR1100, Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner", Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
You getting it fixed permanently, or de mountable? -- Cheers! Fr Jack 96 Tiger. FRJACKUKRM AT GMAIL DOT COM skype: fr.jack (without the dot)
My (second) Oxford Sport tailpack has been my prime carrier of shite or the last four years with out a problem and that included a 50 mile each way commute (including a road with an "advisory" speed limit). Its predecessor even remained attached to the bike when I took out Bambi, though I will admit to it being fucked after that incident.
