Luggage 5th gen

Hi all, another newbie question, hopfully giving a chance for fresh recommendations?
I'm planning a week tour with my good lady on the back. We like the idea of soft panniers that we can haul off into our room no problem each day ideally without any racking to fit. Anybody have any recommendations for the 5th gen?

 

I found a set of soft luggage that I used with my 5 Gen that was relatively inexpensive but I'm not home now to provide you with the name of them. That being said, the closest brand I can say has similar offerings, in design and cost (although a little more $), is SW-Motech ( https://sw-motech.com/en/ ). They are a Germany company I believe and can be found on quite a few moto specific resellers.

P.S. If I can find the luggage brand I bought by searching the web, I'll post it right away but if not, I'll be back home on Friday and can get the name off of the luggage. Something tells me though that the deal I had was a close out special and that the maker stopped selling luggage. Hoping it's not the latter...

 

Hi Rio. The Cortech bags and tail bag work well as a set for a tour. I also have Ogio bags that I like.
Good luck!

 

Try XL-Moto - they do a waterproof pair of soft panniers that are £50, and a tank bag that works better on top of the tail unit, and doubles as a rucksack, And they seem to have a sale on right now, too.

https://www.xlmoto.co.uk/xlmoto-h2o-waterproof-2-pack-saddle-bags#?p

 

Back before I switched to hard luggage, I went through several soft bags. The ones that I liked the most and were the most water resistant were the Firstgear Silverstone bags. There was an entire line of them; saddlebags and tanks/tail bags of various sizes. If I were to go back down to soft luggage, that's the first set I would look for personally.

Found one on ebay just now: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Firstgear-...203637?hash=item4444645ab5:g:OwUAAOSw8oFdHhZZ

That's not me nor do I know the seller. I only post the URL as a reference.

All that being said, I whole heartily recommend hard luggage if you plan on doing regular touring. If nothing else, a hard topcase.

 

My girlfriend and I are also doing a week-long euro tour next month and before settling on hard luggage, were in a similar predicament to yourself. However, if my 2 pence is worth anything, I would suggest, as others have, that you re-consider hard luggage. for a few reasons.
- Soft luggage is not always waterproof and in the likely event of being caught in the rain (In the UK more than Europe), potentially your belongings could become damp which isn't ideal after a long days riding.
- As the title suggests, soft luggage is exactly that and not rigid and therefore, is likely to move around on the bike which could cause rubbing on the paint of the bike or wear to the bags. Of course, you can install some frames to combat this but its worth keeping in mind. If you also have a high-mount exhaust, it's likely to cause issues with soft luggage more than hard.
- Soft luggage is much more accessible to thieves and a quick slash with a sharp blade could open some of the pockets for them to gain access. Although not letting the bike out of your site is the obvious answer to this, certain circumstances may mean it is and it only takes a few seconds for thieves to act.
- Hard cases, particularly top boxes, can come with backrests which is better for the pillion. They also provide a stable platform for you to add smaller soft bags on top of (should it not be overweight)

For the reasons above, we opted for hard luggage with internal bags so we have the security of outer casings and ease of inner bags to take into a hotel. That being said, everyone is different so go with whatever works best for you and the places you intend to go. Enjoy your trip!

 

Now that I’m home I was able to look up the brand I bought, it’s ‘MotoCentric’.

 

I have a pair of Givi EA101.
Takes less than a minute to put on or remove, looks pretty good and no flapping about at speed.
And hey are cheap.

 

Having just returned from the Classic TT, I'd suggest soft panniers may be the better option if your bike is to be crammed three-abreast with other bikes on a ferry at any time! Not only do they compress to some extent when they really have to, they're not going to be scratched by the pannier-brackets of the bike alongside if there's one too close (..and let's face it, during ferry crossings they're all too close!). They actually offer a degree of protection to your bike in situations when hard cases could be a liability.

 

Where are you headed on tour? I like hard luggage from a safety point of view when the bike is out of sight and also because they are weather proof, I use Givi E360 panniers and a V46 top box all keyed alike with a small tank bag for valuables that I carry with me at all times, back seat is for a tent sometimes but not a big fan of camping, getting too bloody old!!

 

We're doing northern Europe so from getting off at the eurotunnel in Calais, we'll be heading through France and then on to Luxembourg, Germany, Netherlands and Belgium. Approx 1700miles in 7days so although not a huge tour to some people, im sure it will be enough for us. It seems that we have the same luggage setup so hopefully if my other half doesn't pack the kitchen sink as usual, we should have enough space.

 

Nice one, enjoy your trip and ride safe.

 

Hi everyone, it's been really interesting reading your advice and preferences, what a great community. In the end I followed wiggo's tip and got the xl moto pair for a bargain 50 quid. I think the hard luggage advice is spot on but I guess my logic here is a trial to see if my missus takes to the touring game.

 

Good luck with the straps! If you need any clues, just yell.