OK, so you finally pulled the trigger on that fly-and-ride motorcycle trip of a lifetime, and it’s time to get packed. Sure, a good-sized suitcase will do the trick, but with 50-pound checked bag weight limits in the unfriendly skies, it can be tricky to fit your riding gear, unmentionables and other clothing in the typical Samsonite. There’s generally too much space or not enough, and no suitably shaped spot for your full-face helmet.

If motojournalists agree on anything, it’s the utility of the Ogio 9800 Roller Bag for such occasions, or even just driving to a track day or other riding event. If, for example, you had the misfortune to be on the same flight as a bunch of us on the way to a riding press intro, at baggage claim there’s a good chance your suitcase would be buried under an avalanche of Ogio 9800s, endlessly going ’round and ’round the carousel until we eventually come down from the bar.

When you lose patience and begin hucking 9800s to get to your bag, you will notice that the attractive one tested here, designed exclusively for Fly Racing, opens like a clamshell with a sturdy, padlockable double zipper on three sides and has grab handles all around. The base, which Ogio calls its Structural Load Equalizing Deck (SLED), is thick, hard plastic with integrated ribs for strength and to help it slide over stairs, truck tailgates, etc.

The SLED also supports the bag’s oversized heavy-duty wheels, which have extra clearance and in-line sealed bearings for easy maneuverability and smooth rolling. You may even be tempted to try popping out the telescoping handle or unbuckling the adjustable compression/reinforcement straps, but I don’t recommend it since at this point a bunch of tired, liquored-up journalists are probably standing nearby wondering why you’re manhandling their luggage.

With a few exceptions, though, we tend to be a friendly lot, so one of us would probably demonstrate the other fine points of the Fly Racing 9800 by Ogio, such as its large main compartment with adjustable divider, which fastens into position with hook-and-loop. The divider creates a nice separate space for your helmet at one end of the bag, and Ogio has padded the entire thing – sides, lid and divider – with integrated foam for protection from drops, bumps and malevolent baggage handlers.

In 25 years of hauling a 9800 around the world I have never suffered helmet damage while in the bag (rimshot!). Opposite the helmet compartment there’s another large one for your boots, pants, jacket, rainsuit, back protector, etc. And an overseas tour’s worth of clothing fits into the separate dual-zippered compartment in the 9800 lid, which has both exterior and interior zippered stash pockets for maps, magazines, spare glasses, an economy-sized bottle of ibuprofen and a stack of “Get Out of Jail Free” cards from the board game Monopoly, which are almost always good for a laugh in tense situations.

The Fly Racing 9800 Roller Bag by Ogio retails for $279.95 and officially measures 34 x 16.5 x 15.25 inches fully loaded, which does slightly exceed the 62-inch maximum linear checked bag dimension on most airlines. But it really depends upon how full it is and where you measure. I’ve only had it tagged oversize once, by a small airline in Greece, which apparently had 1/4-scale conveyor belts designed by nymphs. Weight is 14 pounds empty and capacity is 7,500 cubic inches, more than enough for all of your gear, with some room leftover for souvenirs to placate your spouse upon returning home. 

For more information, see your dealer or visit flyracing.com.

Source: RiderMagazine.com

As long as a bike has adequate luggage, I tend to use tank bags only for items I need quick access to – wallet, phone, sunglasses, water, perhaps a warmer/cooler pair of gloves – and for such a job, the 5-liter Nelson-Rigg Journey Highway Cruiser Magnetic Tank Bag (let’s just call it the Journey) is perfect.

Despite being marketed as a “cruiser” bag, complete with faux leather panels and a Harley-esque orange interior, the Journey is small enough to be at home on any bike with a metal tank, including our Royal Enfield Continental GT tester and my own ’85 Honda Nighthawk.

That bright orange interior is useful for finding items inside, especially when it’s dark, and there are inner storage nets at the front, on the bottom and on the underside of the lid that are great for keys, credit cards or cash. The clear map pocket on top is touchscreen-friendly and the zippers open and close smoothly and easily with gloves on.

Four strong magnets provide a secure grip and the flaps are designed in a way that helps the Journey mold to a variety of tank shapes and sizes. The underside is a non-slip, rubber-like material and I noticed no scuffing or marking on our Indian Scout’s red tank after a long, dusty weekend ride.

A wedge expansion zipper adds about two inches to the bag’s height at the front for an additional two liters of space, and a rain cover is included. There are no straps, but the Journey does have a large handle at the front and a smaller loop at the back that make it easy to carry around off the bike.

I like that the lid hinges at the rear of the bag, so my stuff doesn’t come tumbling out on a sloped tank. It also makes it easy to run my phone’s charging cable out to the USB port; on most bikes it’s located somewhere on or near the instrument panel. Overall the Journey, which retails for $79.95, is a well-built, thoughtfully designed tank bag that will look good and function well on a variety of motorcycles.

For more information, see your dealer or visit nelsonrigg.com.

Source: RiderMagazine.com

Despite possessing a fair amount of motorcycle touring experience, I’ve never been particularly good at packing light. It’s not entirely an obsession with bringing lots of creature comforts–I also wear size 13 shoes, one pair of which can wipe out a small saddlebag if I have to bring more than the boots on my feet.

When I do need more space I usually break out some soft luggage. The easiest type of bag to add to any luggage ensemble or use on its own is the good ol’ seat bag or tail bag. Important features to look for include a simple but safe and reliable mounting system; the ability to expand when you need to bring back more than you left with; and at least a little bit of style to complement your bike. Fly Racing’s 20.5-liter Tail Bag offers all of this and more at an affordable price, including a red-lined interior that makes finding stuff inside easier, and internal stiffeners with flaps that flip up to support it when the bag is expanded to its full 27-liter capacity.

At 15 inches long, 9 inches wide and 8.5 inches high unexpanded, the Fly Racing Tail Bag is intended to be mounted lengthwise on a passenger seat/luggage rack, and its unique but simple mounting system makes it easy to do so if you have the space. Instead of bungees or straps with quick-release buckles, there are four nylon web straps with loops at one end and swivel clips at the other, with a simple strap retainer in between that is used to adjust the length. It takes a bit of fiddling to get them all properly adjusted and the bag clipped to the bike, but once you do it’s not going anywhere. And you don’t have to undo the straps to remove the bag and take it with you, because it unzips from its base.

The strap clips snap onto plastic loops on the bottom corners of the base, which have flaps underneath to keep them from scratching paint. Four additional loops can be used to strap stuff to the top of the bag, and there’s a key keeper inside. Two zippered pockets on the sides of the bag and organizer pockets inside the lid are great for small items, and the piping and logos on the black bag are reflective. In addition to the sewn-on carry handle the bag comes with a shoulder strap and a rain cover. Unexpanded the bag holds my big ol’ tennis shoes, toilet kit, first aid kit, MotoPump, flat kit and tire irons, and I can cram in a jacket liner by expanding it.

The zippers for the base and lid seem on the light-duty side for this application, but I haven’t had any problems with them so far, and Fly Racing offers a 2-year warranty for workmanship and materials. At an MSRP of $89.95 the Fly Racing Tail Bag is economical in addition to versatile, capacious and secure. Also available are Saddle Bags ($119.95) with similar features that integrate with the Tail Bag  as well as several nice tank bags.

For more information, see your dealer or visit flyracing.com.

Source: RiderMagazine.com

Just as smartphones and multi-tools pack different functions into a single device, Nelson-Rigg’s Waterproof Hurricane Backpack/Tail Pack plays two roles equally well. Available in 40-liter ($139.95) and 20-liter ($119.95) sizes, the Hurricane is made of waterproof, UV-resistant vinyl-coated polyester tarpaulin fabric–tough, thick material that weighs 24 ounces per square yard.

It has an enormous opening at the top that, for the 40L version I tested, swallows a full-face helmet, and seals shut with a roll-down, dry-bag closure secured with three quick-release buckles. A closable purge valve makes it easy to squeeze out excess air when closing the bag, and inside there’s a sleeve pocket, but it’s too small for my 10-inch-wide neoprene laptop case.

Rather than chintzy, afterthought backpack straps, the Hurricane has large, padded, adjustable shoulder straps, adjustable chest and waist straps and a padded, breathable back panel–the same features you’d find on a trail-worthy backpack. And there’s no shortage of places to stash or attach stuff.

The backpack straps have outer strips of webbing for attaching a GPS locator, a multi-tool pouch or other quick-grab items, and there are clips on each strap for securing a hydration tube. On both sides are drawstring mesh pouches large enough to hold quart-size water or fuel bottles and long strips of reflective MOLLE (MOdular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment) webbing.

On the front is a pocket large enough to hold a 2-liter hydration bladder, and woven over the outside of the pocket is adjustable, reflective bungee netting. Last but not least, there’s a removable, reversible outer sleeve with a sealable, clear-plastic document pouch on one side and a small zippered pocket and a three-strip panel of MOLLE webbing on the other.

Included are two straps with looped ends and adjustable, quick-release buckles for attaching the Hurricane to a passenger seat/rear rack, but I found the straps to be too short to be of much use (e.g., they’re not long enough to attach to passenger footpeg brackets) and too difficult to tighten. Instead, I used my universal attachment method of choice: Rok Straps, which can be made very tight and secure since one end is made of thick bungee.

I’ve used the Hurricane as an everyday backpack, as a tail bag on a multi-day tour and even as a dry bag on a kayaking trip, and it has been comfortable to wear on my back, versatile enough to carry all sorts of gear and easy to open, close and secure. If you want one bag that can do almost anything, the Hurricane is worth checking out. 

For more information, see your dealer or visit nelsonrigg.com.

Source: RiderMagazine.com