Let's talk storage


lizardsbba

lizardsbba

Member
Alright guys I haven't made a post on here in a while now, but I guess that means I've been loving my FZ and haven't found anything I needed to change. Until now that is, and I'm looking at storage. I started out with a magnetic tank bag but that ended up putting a small crack in the paint on my tank. I've since moved to a Givi XS307 Tank lock bag and love it. It's a tad small with a 15L capacity, pretty sure my mag bag was a 24L. But it works, I can fit all of the things I'll need for a day of work and can still squeeze my 13" MacBook in there.

However I'm looking at making a several day to week long trek on the bike here in the next couple of weeks so I need to expand my storage. I normally use a bungee net with the two handles on the rear to tie things down and that works fine. But for this I think I may want to move onto either a top case or some saddlebags. Now I'm not looking to break the bank here, I don't have a spare $4-600 laying around to throw at some hard cases.

And this is where I come to you guys for advice. I've been browsing the forums and stumbled across a few threads with some suggestions. I'll list what I've found and my opinions.

- Ogio Saddlebags for $139 - the reviews on these seem to pretty positive, a few mixed ones here and there that's normal. But I did see a couple speaking to the quality of the materials fading after only a few weeks. I don't have any other Ogio products so I don't know where they stand for quality.

- Cortech Super 2.0 for $159.99 - The reviews seem to be fairly positive on these as well, but it seems like the zippers may be questionable. I believe this as I have a pair of cortech boots and the zipper blew apart on one of them the first time I put them on. And they've begun separating in a few areas after 1 season.

- Givi EA101 Saddlebags for $143 - I haven't been able to find too much on these as far as reviews but with how my tank bag has been fairing I'd be much more inclined to go with these over the Ogio, and definitely over the Cortech's.

- SW-Motech Blaze Sport for the XJ6 for $371.95 - Honestly I don't even know if these will fit our bike, they aren't listed for the fz so I'm doubtful. But I do like the fact that they have a solid mount for the bottom of the cases to keep them out of the tire. I'm not really sure if they justify a $200 premium over the other options as it seems like that's the only extra feature.


That's what I've gathered so far, all of the top cases I've seen from Givi and SW-Motech require you to buy the brackets separate from the cases and that kicks them into the $500+ range, if anyone knows some better options please feel free to chime in. I'm open to saddlebag suggestions or opinions as well, I'm new to market of luggage and only have experience with my two tank bags. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated :D

Oh also if anyone knows if any of these or specific saddlebags will or will not fit with the stock handles installed on the rear? I don't want to have to remove them as I use them all the time.
 
D

dart1963

Super Moderator
Elite Member
I had no issues with my Cortech bags as far as zippers or durability (I did not like having to add the covers for being rain proof, plenty of options out there now that are dry bags)... ran for a few years before upgrading to hard luggage. My biggest issue, wasn't even the rain covers, but more so in not being able to walk away and lock my stuff in it.

Others have had good luck with Nelson Rigg gear as well...

Nelson Rigg Adventure Dry Saddlebags - RevZilla
 
lizardsbba

lizardsbba

Member
Thanks for your guys' input, that ammo can idea is pretty badass. If I had a welder I'd definitely look into something like that. Unfortunately with the timeline I'm looking at I needed something pre-made and ready to fit. I ended up ordering a set of Givi EA101 bags, and the SW-Motech Blaze Sport system. I love my tank bag from Givi and have heard great things about their quality.

I had considered going with a set of hard cases, after seeing some Motech racks for ~$300. But the cases were almost $500 a piece so that idea went out the window.

I'm gonna see how the Givi's fit first, make sure they can't contact the tire and that the handles in the rear don't interfere with how they'll sit. If I can't get them to work properly then I'll move onto the Motech's. I'll post up my findings and pictures of each bag system towards the weekend.
 
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geolemon

New Member
I suppose "too late now" but thought I'd chime in.

My first bike was an '09 KLR-650, had a huge rack on the back I could bungee things down to, I had a handlebar bag to stash my sunglasses, gloves, and a retractable lock, and I had a set of Nelson Riggs soft bags that I could drape over and clip on in under 30 seconds. Since it was an adventure bike with Givi crash bars on the front, the bag support bars didn't look bad on the bike.

Fast forward to this month. I just bought an '09 FZ6R that's like new. For over a year I'd been thinking about getting a sportier road bike, but I had two hangups -
  • I liked the comfort of my KLR
  • I liked the storage that let me commute and use it for short trips I'd otherwise need to get in my car for

I thought about a set of bags - but this bike looks cool. I don't want a set of bag support bars ruining that, personally.

After way too much deliberating over everything out there, I ended up with this SW-MOTECH EVO Cargobag Tail Bag:
SW-MOTECH EVO Cargobag Tail Bag - RevZilla
I've only had it for a week or two now but here's my thoughts so far:

Pros:
  • Fits like it was built for our tapered, wide rear seat.
  • Straps on quickly
  • Decent amount of storage plus exterior bungees (disclaimer: I haven't used those yet)
  • Price is cheaper than a set of soft bags and supports.
  • Bag quality is top notch.

Cons:
  • It doesn't hold as much as my old Nelson Riggs bags (those were HUGE)
  • Price is still more than some budget options out there.
  • Areas on bag I thought were grey accents are more of a -grey-green, which doesn't exactly compliment my blue bike.

I also bought a cheap magnetic tank bag to hold my glasses/gloves/lock and like that it's got a spot for my phone to use Google Maps if I want - but the OP has me nervous about scratching or cracking my paint now. I like that this one looks - are there any tanklock (or similar) options that don't look like a lunchbox balancing on the tank?
 
lizardsbba

lizardsbba

Member
I actually really like that tail bag, I was also considering the Kriega bags when I was looking at tail bags. The only reason I didn't go with a tail bag right now and went with panniers is because I have a short inseam, 28". And having a lot strapped down on top of my rear seat makes it really difficult for me to swing my leg over the bike.

I figured this way with the side cases I should have plenty of storage and if I end up needing more I can still strap things down on top of the rear seat. As far as the magnetic bag with the paint, just be careful when attaching the magnets. Don't let them slap down on the tank, be very gentle with them and you should be fine. I love my tank lock bag and wouldn't imagine going back to a magnetic, but they are significantly more expensive and mine did drop the storage space quite a bit.
 
lizardsbba

lizardsbba

Member
Alright so I received both the Givi and SW side bags tonight. Here's my opinions on both.

Quality - Right off the bat, the Givi bags appear to be of better quality. They just seem better made and they have reflective piping sewn around the sides and it definitely stands out. They just feel like a more thought out bag. The SW's are definitely no slouch they feel like great bags. But they aren't as well thought out or draw the eye as much. Which could be a good thing depending on your perspective.

Fitment - This is where the Givi's fall short, I cannot for the life of me find something solid to attach the 2 bungee cords they included to the frame to keep them from swinging into the tire when loaded. The instructions included with them are downright awful, they don't suggest at all how to keep them stable and even suggest mounting them with their metal bracket designed for their hard cases. I've tried changing the height and tension on the top straps dozens of times trying to find a position that works the best, now granted I could be having issues with this due to me keeping the rear brackets but the whole reason I'm going with side cases is for cost and convenience. I strap stuff down to the back seat all the time as needed and don't want to remove those brackets. All in all it looks like these may be out as I cannot keep the bottoms of the bags from possibly touching the tire. Which is unfortunate as they were a great price.

The SW's on the other hand excel in this category. The brackets they include are very well thought out and built solid. The brackets for the lower pipes install attached to the rear foot peg. Once initially installed they quickly clip in or out in seconds. And provide solid support locations for the bottoms of the bags. It takes no more than 5-10 seconds to install these bags on the bike. My only complaint is that I cannot get the upper strap under my seat. It may be my Corbin seat is that different from the factory rear or that these just weren't designed to be installed like that. In which case this would be a moot point. The instructions included with these are much clearer, detailing each step necessary to install them well.

Security - This is where I'm concerned, the Givi's I can get installed with the straps under my seat but I can't comfortably attach these in a way that will keep them out of the range of my rear tire, so at this point these bags a complete no go. The SW's on the other hand fit great, my only complaint being that I can't get the strap installed under the seat so it would only take someone seconds to walk up, unclip the two clips that attach them to frame and just walk away with them. What's the best way to lock soft bags to your bike? If there's really any?

Sizing - I was considering the Givi EA100 side bags for the increase size, my god am I glad I didn't. Those things would have been huge hanging off the FZ. The SW's are comparably to the 101's, I think I'lll be able to squeeze almost as much in the SW's. Obviously slightly less but I'll take that tradeoff for the fitment.

Durability - The Givi tank bag I have I've only had for one season so I can't attest too much to their durability, but it has held up fantastically so far and shows almost no wear. I do not own any SW products however so I can't personally attest to how well these will, but judging by looks and feel they seem to be very well made.


First pics will be the Givi's, followed by the SW's

This shows the first position I tried, I tightened the tops as much as I could to keep the bottoms out of the way of the tire.



And this one is loosened so they drop to about the range that the SW's mounted at.



This is how the strap ran under the seat.



And once I had the bungee cords installed in the best way I could find, this is how the right bag reacted to being loaded with weight.




This show however, shows how well the SW's mount to the bike.





The only problem here with the SW's is, well for one cost (they're 3 times the cost of the Givi's), and the fact that the strap runs on top of the rear seat. If anyone here has some solid suggestions on how to lock these bags to the bike so someone can't just walk away with them when I'm grabbing a bite or something on the road??

My issues with the Givi's are that I can't seem to find a solid fit that I'm comfortable with in keeping them out of the tire. Again if anyone has suggestions I'm all ears.
 
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geolemon

New Member
It isn't possible to run the velcro straps under the seat?
If it's a little too wide, maybe trim it where the latch goes?

Or perhaps cut the velcro straps and fabricate a custom way to attach (or velcro) to the structure under the seat?
 

lizardsbba

lizardsbba

Member
I'm sure you probably could, but for what these costed I didn't want to cut them up at all to make them fit. After doing some more digging I found out I could get a pair of Gigi quick release sidecase brackets and a pair e22n hardcases for only ~$60 more than I paid for these soft cases. So I got the Motechs boxed back up to head out. Still debating buying the luggage though.
 
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