Motorcycle Tour Luggage combos.

Here are some of the luggage set-ups I've run for the light tour riding I like to do. In the 21 months that I've had the V-Strom, I've done three multi-day rides and a couple of long distance rides where I used the bike for work travel to another city. The California Central Coast is a great place to explore. It is remote enough that you aren't fighting through big urban areas to get into the great roads, but populated enough to have support should you need it.

For my first trip after getting the bike, I started with this simple set-up. A JC Whitney Garage Pro large top case for 42 liters of lockable storage. A Dowco Fastrax soft saddle bag set also from JC Whitney gave me another 34 liters or so of extra storage. The tank bag is a Dowco Rally Pack and a very simple, cheap unit that is pretty big for the price. I used this for a solo 600 mile, three day camping trip.

For the first work related ride, I had to go up the coast for a field training exercise and decided to take the bike so that I could make a trip out of it on the way home. I had a new Garage Pro Glossy top box from JC Whitney in the medium 31 liter size and added in my 3-day pack for extra storage since I had to take a set of uniforms that took a lot of space. Here I stayed in barracks so while I didn't have to pack camping and cooking gear like the set-up above, I did have to take sleeping gear and a change of clothes for PT which all added up to needing the extra storage.

For a 3 day group ride around San Diego with some friends, we stayed in hotels for the overnight sections so aside from my riding gear I only needed underwear and some clothes for walking around town after the ride. I was able to get away with just the 3-day pack strapped to the 'Strom's rear shelf.

This past June I did a four day, 900 mile solo trip from Ventura to Monterey and back. Here is my bike outside of the Mazda Laguna Seca track and how it was set-up for the trip. I did the hotel thing this time as well so I was able to pack very light again and the large top box covered my needs for the trip with the tank bag for snacks and my map. The reason I have the large and medium boxes was because the key broke off in the large box lock. I couldn't fix it and I had a 20% off coupon for JC Whitney (the down side of shopping there is a polluted junk mail box full of useless offers) so I picked up the medium. I was able to fix the large box with a new lock cylinder and use it for this trip.

When I had to go to San Diego for a three week class, I needed to pack heavy. I needed some kitchen supplies, extra uniforms, lots of regular clothes, extra shoes etc. It was easy to just add an old sports duffle bag across the passenger seat and lash it to the saddle bags. I could definitely feel some of the added mass, but I was still able to do some land splitting on I-5 when I inevitably hit L.A. traffic on my way home.

Here are some bags I have not tried yet. I got the Chase Harper saddlebags from a friend that quit riding. The are very light and are about 36 liters total. They are stiff, but still a soft bag. I think they'd be great on a small displacement bike like a Yamaha R3 or Ninja 300. The tail bag is a Nelson-Rigg Expandable Sport tail bag from another friend that transferred overseas. I like that it can be mounted in seconds with its bungee style straps. It is 33 liters, but can expand to 42 with the side pockets. I don't know how nice that really is because the side pockets are tall and thin. This is a good choice for someone that only occasionally uses their tail bag/box.

I also have a Sedici tank bag from another friend. It is a simple 18 liter unit with map pocket. The magnets are not a strong as the Dowco bag, but it is stiffer and holds its shape better.

As you can see with a small investment (about $160 total not counting the freebies) I have bike luggage that I can transform V-Strom from plain jane to full on light sport tourer in 30 minutes with a few simple tools. I can pack for almost any length and style of trip. Look around and you could find bargain luggage too. Get out and ride!

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