Sportbike Luggage, Recommendations | GTAMotorcycle.com

Sportbike Luggage, Recommendations

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85zx600

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Im looking to get some luggage that I can use with my 636 Ninja to do some extended trips, Im looking for a tankbag and tailbags. Does anyone have any recomendations.

Im a little short on coin these days so cost may be an issue.
I definatly don't want something thats going to scuff up my fairings/paint
 
Getting something that doesn't scuff your paint will be a MAJOR challenge. From my experience, you can either go with hard mounts or you go with stuff that can/will scuff your paint. There is nothing I'm aware of that you can put in contact with your paint that will not scratch it. Including magnetic tank bags. They aren't bad but if you do a long trip you will get water and dirt under there and it will scuff.

You may want to look at trying to protect your paint with masking tape (many layers thick) or plastic film.

Good luck. Oh,, and pack light. You really need very little. I go for a week with only what fits in a 40 litre tail bag.
 
85zx600 said:
Im looking to get some luggage that I can use with my 636 Ninja to do some extended trips, Im looking for a tankbag and tailbags. Does anyone have any recomendations.

Im a little short on coin these days so cost may be an issue.
I definatly don't want something thats going to scuff up my fairings/paint
Click to expand...

Cortech sport saddlebags and tailbag and an oxford expandeable tank bag are what I have, you can get a fair amount of gear in that plus the saddlebags/tailbag combo has a thick neoprene base layer to protect paintwork but I think all manufacturers have that too. The saddle bags will work with reasonably high mount pipes and have a thermal barrier at the bottom just in case. Comes with rain covers which are OK just make sure you secure them properly or they go bye-bye pretty fast. If you go with the Oxford tankbag (highly reccomended, it's called lifetime luggage for a reason) check the size first, the larger one doesn't fit on some tanks, I have both (one from last bike) and the smaller one fits fine on my Z750S. They are magnetic and once they are on they won't move about. If you're short on cash look to get them through NewEnough or Ridersdiscount.
 
JC100 did you have any problems with scuffs and wrecking the paint with the cortech bags?

I was originally looking at the cortech system, I was a little turned off that the bags arent waterproff and that I would have to put a damn condom on them everytime it rains lol
 
No real problems but I did check under the bags for dirt before I put them on. You can also get some paint protector film from Princess Auto too if you like to protect it further. Yeah I know what you mean about the waterproofness but to be honest, many of the bags are just water resistant anyway. The covers also stop pring eyes and fingers from exploring when you're away from the bike.
 
I have soft luggage and I put the green painters tape on my fairing where it makes contact with the luggage. I usually put a few layers down because the first piece of tape inevitably gets worn down from the friction.
 
I went with Motopak luggage. I have the Tail bag, saddle bags and the Roll bag.
All are quality items. At a fraction of the price of some of the other gear that it out there.
All the bags are water resistant and will do fine in a minor rain shower, but I was caught last year on
the 401 in a Thunderstorm and the supplied rain covers worked perfectly.
Most of my riding buddies also use the Motopak luggage, and have only good things to say about them.
His name is Ryan, he is from BC. Find him on ebay search Motopak, or buy from his store http://www.redlinemotoparts.com/
Prices are very reasonable.

cheers
 
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If you go with soft saddlebags, definitely put something over your paint as it will scratch and scuff.

Best piece of luggage I have though is my Motopak GT-Roll tailbag. It's so roomy and useful I don't even bother with the saddlebags anymore. Problem with soft saddlebags is that they're a little awkwardly shaped, mine for instance are 60L, same as the tailbag, but I can fit much more in the tailbag vs the saddlebags. I've done multiple week long road trips with just the tailbag and a tankbag.

If you can figure out how to mount a tailbag to your ZX6 (rear grab handles FTW here) I would just skip over the saddlebags
 
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Missed your post, while I was writing mine. I too have all Motopak luggage and the stuff is great for the price. I have had the saddlebag rain covers let in water after an all day ride in pouring rain, and one of the saddlebags and the roll has a tear at a seam, they've seen a fair bit of use though. I'd still recommend them any day

Love my Motopak tankbag as well

canadianshark74 said:
I went with Motopak luggage. I have the Tail bag, saddle bags and the Roll bag.
All are quality items. At a fraction of the price of some of the other gear that it out there.
All the bags are water resistant and will do fine in a minor rain shower, but I was caught last year on
the 401 in a Thunderstorm and the supplied rain covers worked perfectly.
Most of my riding buddies also use the Motopak luggage, and have only good things to say about them.
His name is Ryan, he is from BC. Find him on ebay search Motopak, or buy from his store http://www.redlinemotoparts.com/
Prices are very reasonable.

cheers
Click to expand...
 
Another motopak user here, GT-90 saddle bags and the tail roll. Grabbed them off his ebay store a few years ago for cheaper than the "official" website. For scuffing you can either tape off the area's that may rub, or a friend of mine grabbed a roll or rubberized drawer liner at walmart and lay that down before you put the bags on.

Something like this http://www.amazon.com/Grip-Shelf-Drawer-Liner-Black/dp/B000KFSOFI
 
go find a local tint shop and ask them if they have any scraps of 3M ClearBra. Motorcycle sized pieces are usually too small to be used on a car anyway. Won't discolour, doesn't leave any sticky residue, and will protect your paint. I put some on my tank in lieu of a tank protector because I couldn't find one that I really liked the look of. The shop I went to just gave me a small roll of it, they were going to throw it out anyway.
 
Another cheap and cheerful way to protect your paint is to use electrical tape. It does a great job of protecting, it's easy to replace or to use a couple of layers in a particular spot, and it comes off with no residue.
 
Use whatever you have around the house, and pick up these: http://www.rokstraps.com/

DualSport Plus in Stoney Creek has them. I think they were 10 bucksish? I can personally speak to using them to put my laptop backpack full of crap on the daily commute 60 kms on my ZX6 each way to work twice a week. http://www.dualsportplus.com/straps/rok_straps.html

When my wife and I make trips we pack 2 days worth of crap under it. The nicest thing is that they are easily removable to get at your stuff, or to put it on. Buckle it up, pull, and the elastic portion holds it on TIGHT.

Last time I used them I went to Dual Sport at lunch (20 mins each way), and picked up some Denali driving lights for my buddy. Rode home with them over my laptop bag and was super nervous. Got home, 100% secure still. They adapt to your load from the smallest (a pair of sandals for last week to Dover) to the obsurd (you can put a full pilot's suitcase on the back of my ZX6).

Different sizes are available too.
 
matthew said:
I have soft luggage and I put the green painters tape on my fairing where it makes contact with the luggage. I usually put a few layers down because the first piece of tape inevitably gets worn down from the friction.
Click to expand...

This is the best way to protect your paint from scuffing. Painters tape won't leave any glue or film on your paint so, when you pull it off, it looks just as good as before you put it on. The only thing I add is Duct Tape over the painters tape. The Duct Tape is nice and thick and won't pull away from the painters tape underneath. I found red tape that matches my bike so that I can ride without the bags without pulling the tape off and most people would never know unless they took a close look at the tail.
 
i have the cortech sport tailbag and saddlebags. they're pretty simple to hook up onto teh bike and have plenty of room. the tailbag can even fit my incredibly wide, ancient laptop.
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