New soft luggage

[bigntall]

So I have been running various forms of soft luggage on my bikes since 2007 for dualsport riding here in SEA. First bit of kit I used was Dirt Bagz saddle bags on a KLX250 in '07.

Downsides of these is they required racks and flapped about like a galloping bloodhounds ears.

Next up was the GiantLoop Coyotes. Started with these in 2009 when they became available. The first version was made from Cordura and bolted onto the bike. Since I don't want my luggage left on the bike if overnighting in guest houses I used some old Voile straps I had from backcountry skiing to fasten them on.

The first version was a pain to use but thankfully stayed on the bike and didn't flap about like my Dirt Bagz. Downside was they used small zippers about 8 inches long to access the bag. This made loading lage items like sleeping bags, hammocks and bags of clothes awkward to load into the bag.

Over the years I upgraded to improved versions on the Coyote when they became available. When they came out with a model made from thicker truckers tarp and with a large zipper going along the whole rear perimeter I upgraded to that model.

This model was bomber. This was a worthwhile upgrade as the zipper access was a tremendous benefit in terms ease of loading. I road for a few years with this model and was duly impressed and thought this the bee's knees in terms of carrying gear. i could load it up for a month long slog or pack a bit smaller for less than a week jaunts and it packed both loads with no issues.

Issues i would have liked addressed was the section of bag between the lower strap and the rear fender clips when loaded with gear would flop up and nail me in the hamstrings on occasion going through deep washouts etc at speed. Since I'm a short arse my size may have been a contributing factor in that when standing and absorbing big hits I'm not all that far off the seat

. Something that annoyed me more was water. Now I know the Coyotes are not waterproof and pack my gear accordingly. However on crossing such as these...………..

The bag bottoms would fill with about 4 inches of water. i always thought water would get in but then drain out. For some reason the Coyote's would not drain and at the end of the day i would have four inches of water in the bottom of the bag. I'm guessing the water got by the zipper but the waterproof truckers tarp material would keep it in. This was not an issue during rains and only happened on these long water crossings but every long, deep water crossing I would end up carrying a liter or two of extra water

.

While mostly pleased with the Coyotes ruggedness and performance it was the water ingress that had me entertain the idea of a completely waterproof carrying system about 5 years ago. When Kriega announced their Overlander 30 bags as a waterproof carrying system for Enduro bikes my ears perked up. I had concerns and questions of the bags and anyone interested can search my queries in the Kriega vendor thread. Micheal the distributor is most helpful with questions as are other Kriega users. Vendor thread here: Kriega USA Luggage Q&A

I ended up purchasing them and finally got them mounted up and put some time on them for a gear shakedown.

I'll continue this post another day. Time for Loy Krathong!!

 

[merantau]

Thanks for the report. Informative, interesting. I rigged up my own system for my KLX150 which does the job for me. I made a "sissy bar" which bolts to the frame. I attach a 40 litre back pack with bungy straps. On the back of the sissy bar I've bolted a 75cm length 0f 20cm diameter pvc storm water pipe to carry spares. One end is glued shut, the other is secured by a couple of solid self tapping screws which I can open with my Leatherman tool - which btw is a great piece of gear. So all up I have 64 litres of storage. It's working for me so far. I can easily bungy tie a tent above the pvc pipe too.
Waterproof? To a point. My clothes inside the pack are in waterproof bags but I haven't got a waterproof cover for the pack as a whole.
I've also got a couple of small cyclists bags which I could bungy tie behind me and hang each side of the seat at a pinch. But with a small bike I think it's better to limit the the amount of gear I carry. Longest trip I've done is 3 weeks.
Only problem for me of course is possibility of theft. So to slow any thief down I thread a steel cable combination lock through the pack straps so that it would take some time to remove the gear. That's something I have to wear when I unload at the end of the day though!

Btw, that's one hell of a water crossing! I'd be interested to know more about it. What precautions did you have to take to safeguard your bike?

 

[bsacbob]

Good info there Justin, i had the same problem with my GL bag hold water after river crossings, decided to make holes in the bottom to let the water out, not an issue since all my stuff inside are in waterproof sacks anyway.

I am sure the last picture was for demonstration purposes only, but i see a perfectly good raft there to be used

 

[bigntall]

Thanks for the report. Informative, interesting. I rigged up my own system for my KLX150 which does the job for me. I made a "sissy bar" which bolts to the frame. I attach a 40 litre back pack with bungy straps. On the back of the sissy bar I've bolted a 75cm length 0f 20cm diameter pvc storm water pipe to carry spares. One end is glued shut, the other is secured by a couple of solid self tapping screws which I can open with my Leatherman tool - which btw is a great piece of gear. So all up I have 64 litres of storage. It's working for me so far. I can easily bungy tie a tent above the pvc pipe too.
Waterproof? To a point. My clothes inside the pack are in waterproof bags but I haven't got a waterproof cover for the pack as a whole.
I've also got a couple of small cyclists bags which I could bungy tie behind me and hang each side of the seat at a pinch. But with a small bike I think it's better to limit the the amount of gear I carry. Longest trip I've done is 3 weeks.
Only problem for me of course is possibility of theft. So to slow any thief down I thread a steel cable combination lock through the pack straps so that it would take some time to remove the gear. That's something I have to wear when I unload at the end of the day though!View attachment 66424
Btw, that's one hell of a water crossing! I'd be interested to know more about it. What precautions did you have to take to safeguard your bike?

I love the crafted idea of your backpack. Yours is probably the easiest luggage to transport into a guest house haha. Another good thing is your tool storage also takes a step to make it harder for someone to steal your tools n spares when kept in the bolted down PVC pipe. Nice idea.

I've seen other people take smaller backpacks, say 20 liters and utilized the backpacking staps resewn together so they can throw the bags over the rear of the seat. That method also allows the luggage to be kept lower on the bike for a lower center of gravity.

Great job.

In the pic above I had bailed out on another river crossing earlier that day taking a ferry, I thought quit being a wuss and charge this one!! Well I charged gracefully halfway across until the bike drowned. Doh!!

I ended up pushing the bike back to shore and draining and refilling with new oil and all the other work associated with reviving a drowned bike takes. I sheepishly bordered the ferry and went across on it like everyone else......haha.

Best of luck with your rides.

 

[bigntall]

Good info there Justin, i had the same problem with my GL bag hold water after river crossings, decided to make holes in the bottom to let the water out, not an issue since all my stuff inside are in waterproof sacks anyway.

I am sure the last picture was for demonstration purposes only, but i see a perfectly good raft there to be used

Yea like you , since that design bag leaks I packed all vital stuff in waterproof bags. I must say the bags work remarkably well I just went looking for a better system.

I tried the Kriega Overlander 30 bags.

However after two weeks of usage they failed miserably for me. I"m not going to go into detail why they failed as the original intention of this thread was to show some new soft luggage I put together. However if anybody is interest in how they failed ask away.

I sent the Kriegas back to the manufacturer and went back to the horseshoe style bag with an Altrider Hemishpere. This bag was designed by the original Giantloop Coyote designer whom had left the company. He redesigned the shap a tiny bit, added a roll top to enter the bag and make it 100% waterproof. He also added a holster the bag shoves into that on the exterior has a pocket on each sideleg for which to shove things.

I utilize the rear pockets for all my tools/tire repair and even my shoes. They're Chaco sandals so don't get wet really and dry in minutes.

This bag was the pinnace for me in all the bags I've used. Absolutely no failures, bomber, and 100% waterproof. Used these for the last 3 years with no issues.

They even proved 100% waterproof even when playing submarine captain on deep river crossings.

My favorite soft luggage I've used so far.

 

[bigntall]

Up to this point I had used two rectangular shaped bags and two horseshoe shape bags. My conclusion after a few years was that the traditional saddlebag shape was much easier to pack efficiently and utilize all the available space. Whereas the Horseshoe shaped bags with their complex curves and sausage style circumference made it more of a challenge.

I was bored over hot season so the mind started wandering...…...uh oh. I started thinking ideally what I would like in luggage. My next set of luggage I wanted to be 40L, waterproof, rackless, and saddlebag shaped. unfortunately no manufacture makes what I liked. Mosko Moto came out with their interpretation of it.

The only downside of this luggage for me is that a huge proportion of the luggage is kept above the seat. I'm a short ass so like to keep my luggage below the seat as much as possible so do not need to swing my leg over a 38" KTM seat as well as luggage that sits a foot above it.

The side legs of the Mosk Moto R40 are noticeably smaller than the Altrider legs.

A friend of mine purchased the bags so put them next to my Altrider hemisphere on a trip.

They are not as wide nor as thick. Apparently they only hold 7 liters per side when kept below seat height. Not ideal for what I want snce I'm looking for close to 20 liters below the seat.

They were the only manufacture offering anything along the lines of what I wanted. As I'm a stubborn boy according to all my Ex's I started thinking of coming up with my own solution. I scoured the internet looking for options of what I could utilize to make what I wanted. Onward through the fog.

 

[merantau]

I love the crafted idea of your backpack. Yours is probably the easiest luggage to transport into a guest house haha. Another good thing is your tool storage also takes a step to make it harder for someone to steal your tools n spares when kept in the bolted down PVC pipe. Nice idea.

I've seen other people take smaller backpacks, say 20 liters and utilized the backpacking staps resewn together so they can throw the bags over the rear of the seat. That method also allows the luggage to be kept lower on the bike for a lower center of gravity.

Great job.

In the pic above I had bailed out on another river crossing earlier that day taking a ferry, I thought quit being a wuss and charge this one!! Well I charged gracefully halfway across until the bike drowned. Doh!!

I ended up pushing the bike back to shore and draining and refilling with new oil and all the other work associated with reviving a drowned bike takes. I sheepishly bordered the ferry and went across on it like everyone else......haha.

Best of luck with your rides.

Hello Justin
Thanks for the heads up re. that river crossing. It had me stumped trying to work out how you could tackle water so deep!
You sure tackle some pretty heavy duty challenges. I take my hat off to you. I don't get to see much water or mud where I am as we have a long dry season and I return to Australia in the wet. I see a lot of loose rock and sand but that's it.
Your post gave me an idea how I could further thief proof my gear. I'll sew some 5cm wide loops of heavy duty material onto my pack and then thread my cable lock through them. At the mo any would be thief only has to undo the various straps which would not take long. But then again a thief with a knife would just slash the pack open I guess! It's like window and door alarms on a house. If they want to get in they'll take the tin or tiles off the roof!
Same with hard luggage. Friends lost some valuable camera equipment in East Timor in 2016 at a music festival. Determined thieves jemmied open boxes. If you can't afford to lose it, don't leave it on the bike.
Best of luck in your travels. If you ever think about a trip to Indonesia keep in touch.