Since I just finalised my DIY motorcycle luggage set up I felt like sharing it with you just in case you might be interested in:
Yes, that's my living room with various funny bits around (my guitar, drums and me doing yoga in order to catch the right angle - captured by my left mirror). I couldn't take outdoor shots at this point so apologies for the not super bright indoor ones:
You can't go any cheaper than those 5 backpacks that have a total cost of a good cocktail.
Absolutely! 16.5*5 gives me more than 82lt of space before I even use my 50lt rear top case. With all that stuff on I still can have a passenger sitting comfy behind me.
Weight distribution is fantastic. Even when I return fully loaded from the grocery the bike in the corners is like "that's all you can do?" provoking me to push it even more. Seriously they have made my car look almost useless.
As a bonus those backpacks (especially the front ones) will keep your bike unscratched in case of a stupid low speed fall. Plus they may also keep the bike at a more convenient angle to pick it up but that depends on what you have put inside them beforehand 馃檪 And obviously, not a drama to replace them if you have to anyway. Did I mention that's also the lightest luggage set you can have? Yes it is.
Well, that's so subjective isn't it? However I personally like how I blended them in with the rest of the bike. I have tried a few ways of mounting them but this one is the most simple and discreet of all. If I saw this on another bike I'd go like "hey, good idea that looks good too!" so that says it all on how they look to me. Each to their own of course.
In the following pictures you will see what carabiners do with a bit of creativity:
| Left rear: | |
|---|---|
| Right rear | |
|---|---|
As you can see the pegs have a hole on their low end so that you can mount after market pannier racks which I found it quite handy you can improvise even if yours doesn't have this feature. Also the "tooth" of the rear handles helped a lot to keep the strap in place but again, creativity and handymanship will get you there even if yours doesn't have one.
Both rear bags have their upper handles connected to the helmet hooks under the saddle via carabiners:
I have already a tank cover on my bike which is also a mount for my super durable tank bag. The only think that I dislike about the latter is that it extends too far on my side that when I stand on the pegs it kinda forces me to stand back and I can't stretch my body on long trips as I would like too. That's the reason I substituted it with this back pack instead and here's how I mounted it:
| Left side | Top center | Right side |
|---|---|---|
As you see above there's a carabiner on each side and for the top center I made a metal rod that goes under the straps locked on the tank cover mounts. In case of fuel refill I just have to unlock the two carabiners and the bag lifts and rotates with the help of that rod easily.
Lastly let's have a look on the front ones:
| Left front | ||
|---|---|---|
| Right front | ||
|---|---|---|
A but hard to recognise what takes place in the top side but there's a "P" shaped hook I have tied on each crash bar that the top handle of the bag goes through to stay in place. The rest is loop with the help of a carabiner on each point.
I hope this post helped you or at least gave you some food for thought. Sorry for the indoors not super bright photos but outdoors was not an option available at the moment.Thanks for reading! 馃檪
