A few people have asked me what luggage I have on my bike, and how suitable it is for touring.
Way back in 2000 when I bought my MZ Skorpion Traveller, it came with a pair of Hepco & Becker 'Junior' 30 litre panniers.
I thought these a bit small so bought a pair of the 40 litre Junior panniers and for my first trip to France on the bike in 2001, I fitted an old Givi rack with home made brackets and an old unbranded glassfibre topbox.
When I returned, I bought a matching H&B Junior 40 litre topbox and welded home made brackets directly to the pannier mounts.
Later, I bought the H&B pannier/rear rack frames for the bike as these mount the pannniers at a better angle and have a more secure topbox rack.
When I sold the Skorpion, I kept the topbox and panniers, fitting an old set for the sale.
I bought my Bonneville and managed to buy a used H&B pannier/topbox frames and continued to use the old panniers and topbox. I have found them totally adequate for touring as they can easily carry any luggage I need. Over the years I've bought the inner bags which makes carrying luggage in and out of hotels easier.
For this year, as I was planning a longer than usual trip, part of which would include camping, I decided to increase my luggage carrying capacity. A H&B Junior 55 litre topbox came up at the right time at the right price, so I bought it. It looks hardly used and was about a third of the price of a new one so I couldn't resist.
Planning on a longer trip, I know I would have to carry spare oil for my Scottoiler chain oiler. I don't like the idea of carrying a bottle of oil that could leak in my 'normal' luggage, so searched for another solution. I had bought a pair of small leather pouches for the Honda that turned out not to be suitable, so decided to use them. These are sold by various sellers on eBay for around £12 – 20 each and listed as 'Universal Waterproof Motorcycle Bag PU Leather' or similar. There are a number of variants – some have buckles, some have clips, some have studs, some are rectangular, some a tapered bottom, etc. If you do a search you'll find something similar. Although the material might be waterproof, (at least for a while), the design means that rainwater will make its way in under the flap. Not a problem in my case, but something to bear in mind.
To fit I used a 25mm 'p–clip' around the crashbar and a couple of lengths of 20 x 2mm flat steel (available from B&Q). These were cut, drilled and filed, then bent into shape by holding them in a vice whilst tapping them with a hammer. The first one was made by eye with the second one copied from it. If anyone is interested, I can measure the brackets and make drawings. I designed them to sit about 25mm away from the engine cases in case the bike falls over and the bracket gets bent against the case scratching the chrome finish. I had some sticky backed neoprene strip which I also fitted to the inner surface 'just in case'. A coat of silver paint and some nuts and bolts and they are done.
The bags were attached at the top with the straps that came with them with a cable tie holding them onto the vertical strip so they don't flap about.
Although they aren't really needed, I'll be using them on my 'Music Trip' to see how they work and whether they need any modification before my 'Retirement Trip' next year. They are the correct size to carry 2 x 500ml bottle of Scottoil plus the filling tube, and should the oil leak, the bags are cheap enough to throw away after I return from the trip. The oil will go in one side and 2 x 500ml alloy water bottles in the other (always handy when riding in the heat of Southern Spain).
I'm not a great fan of tankbags but realise they are handy for things you have to get to quickly – ferry tickets, camera, sunglasses, etc. I bought a genuine Triumph one in a sale, but haven't used it yet. I'll write about it later.
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They look well and may even give you some wind protection in the process. A lot of the “adventure bikes” around here are loaded with an assortment of exterior bags and attachments for goodies like gps and cameras.
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