Just curious as to other peoples opinions on the subject of luggage, mainly, saddlebags, whether you prefer softbags or hard. after selling my 03' r1150rt BMW which had hard bags, i can say without a doubt i prefer the soft throw over type.... why? as big as my RT bags were they were also a pain in the neck to use ecspecially while still on the bike, you open them up only to have all your stuff fall out, unless it was in a bag liner, which seems redundant, why not just use soft.... they were harder to pack, as as big as they were, they wouldn't actually carry much, the soft bags i just got for the V hold 33 litres each, odd size bulky items fit no problem, extra pockets on the outside for small items, and my thinking is if i drop the bike the bags is more likely to absorb the damage without messing the side of my V up......Your opinions?

I see the upside to the Hard bags as Items are more protected and you can lock them as well as lock them on the bike. I had great bags on my BMW f650-GS, they were lockable and expandable.

I just can't go with the hard bags for the Versys as I am admittedly shallow as far as the look goes. I don't want all the extra tubing all over the bike as I only use my luggage when I go on trips. the rest of the time I ride it back and forth to work and having all that tubing and the wide bags hanging off the bike make it virtually impossible to pull out of the garage between the two cars (as my wife still tries to see just how close she can park to my truck) with all of that on.

I just personally went with the soft bags due to the versatility of being able to take them off and place them back on easily and quickly.

tourmaster makes a great set approx $140. They are a great size and proportional appropriate for the Versys. Reviewed as best functional and quality. These are not the sport bags but the touring bags

anyone tried the nelson rigg bags?

Check here, somebody mentioned the neslon rigg bags

http://forums.kawasakiversys.com/showthread.php?t=448

anyone tried the nelson rigg bags?

I got the Nelson Rigg Silver Streak Sport Tail Bag and it seems to be high quality and pretty big. I like it but the flaps on the bottom of the bag don't overlap the passenger handles very well. I'm going to take the handles off and see how that works.

anyone have the nelson rigg saddlebags?

I feel the same way about luggage. Thats why I went with the sw quick connect. My bike with luggage. Then 90 seconds later.



http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh136/golfmuch/givibags.jpg




http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh136/golfmuch/withoutbrackets.jpg

Now that's the way to go ....

I aggree I have the same set up with the E360 large bags and the E21 small bags. I less that a minute it can look like it doesn't have any bag attachments. SW Mototech quick disconnects.

The SW-Motech racks with hard bags will go-on and come-off easier and quicker than a set of soft bags using bungies and straps.

I used to tour with the cortech tribag system. Which was great, but the hard bags are so much easier, lockable, and waterproof.

I have been well pleased with the givi's. We went out of town this past weekend. I loaded the soft givi bags (that go inside the hard bags) as tight as I could. They went in the hard bags easy. A little squeeze and all of our clothes (Wife and mine) for three days fit nicely.

I have soft bags,a Luggage Locker Tank bag and a Ventura Bike pack system,carries all I need for a trip.Thought about hard bags but didn't want to spend that much cash.The only new stuff for my system is the ventura setup and a ring for the luggage locker.The bags and tank bags I use on my Triumph also

I have the Nelson Riggs sport saddlebags. they are very well made and the rain covers work great. My wife and i used them on a 4 hour ride this past Saturday. She had a little trouble getting on the bike but she said that the bags made the ride more comfortable.

I got the Nelson Rigg Silver Streak Sport Tail Bag and it seems to be high quality and pretty big. I like it but the flaps on the bottom of the bag don't overlap the passenger handles very well. I'm going to take the handles off and see how that works.

anyone have the nelson rigg saddlebags?

Here is some pics of my V with the Nelson Rigg bags (cl850 I think). They work pretty well, though when in rain with the rain covers on water from the rear tire fills up the bottom of the rain covers - not so good. Didn't happen with these bags on my KLR so i am thinking the addition of a hugger may solve this until I can get some hard bags. The quality of these bags is great.

http://i330.photobucket.com/albums/l424/roadkilt1/Bags1.jpg

http://i330.photobucket.com/albums/l424/roadkilt1/Bags2.jpg

http://i330.photobucket.com/albums/l424/roadkilt1/BagsRear.jpg

Cheers,

David

I have the Nelson Riggs sport saddlebags. they are very well made and the rain covers work great. My wife and i used them on a 4 hour ride this past Saturday. She had a little trouble getting on the bike but she said that the bags made the ride more comfortable.

Can you post some pics of that? I would like to see how much they cover up the signal lights. are they the silver streak minis http://www.nelsonrigg.com/pages/Sport-Touring-Products/SSC140-Big.htm or the larger silver streak saddle bags? http://www.nelsonrigg.com/pages/Sport-Touring-Products/SSC150-Big.htm

thanks
andy

golfmuch and TAC650, glad to hear that this rack system is working good for you. I too want luggage for when I'm travelling but not for day to day commuting. I hate the look of all the extra tubing so I would like to use the same setup as you guys have. I have done a quick search online for SW Mototech quick connects but have been unsuccessful. Would you be able to provide me with the part numbers and a link to their website?

It's SW Motech. Twisted throttle is their US distributor.

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productlist/652/

golfmuch and TAC650, glad to hear that this rack system is working good for you. I too want luggage for when I'm travelling but not for day to day commuting. I hate the look of all the extra tubing so I would like to use the same setup as you guys have. I have done a quick search online for SW Mototech quick connects but have been unsuccessful. Would you be able to provide me with the part numbers and a link to their website?


These are the quich release ones you want, KFT.08.603.200, they are very adaptable for different manufacturers hard bags.