Another Luggage question for yall. I'm looking for something aesthetically pleasing (if at all possible) and also functional/practical but since I've never used luggage on any bike before I have some questions. Lets be honest, whats the best looking tail bag for a 6 gen? I hear luggage locker?? Also, How does the bike maneuver/feel when using just the hard mounted top case without any other luggage? I ride two up a lot so I like the idea of the tail bag but unsure how the center of gravity would feel if I started loading that puppy up with some weight, probably nothing but worth asking. As always, thank you all for the help.
Shouldn't be a problem since the weight is centered on the bike. It's only when u have an excess amt of wt on one side that could create any issues of balance/handling. If u had saddle bags of some sort and loaded up one side, that could potentially throw the handling off. Since u will be riding two up much of the time, u only have two options; hard saddle bags or a hard tail bag. I have a rear rack on my 6th gen with a good size Cortech bag on it. That might be a cheaper way out as well. There are very few rear racks available for the VFR. I think mine was made by Renntec from England but imported by some obscure .com company. I don't even remember the name of the co. but it was around $149.00. Solid rack with a built in grab rail. Good luck whatever u choose. The absolute best solution would be the Honda hard bags, but pretty expensive as u know. I may end up w some myself at some point, esp. if I start touring a fair amt.
aesthetics are not much when it comes to luggage. bikes with bags just don't look as good IMO. Now, given that, if you just have to pack more, you have to do what you have to do. Here are the 3 modes I ride in when packing: 1. small tank bag and larger tank bag strapped as a tailbag with bungee cargo thing. best for looks but can't carry a lot. 50-150mi 2. larger tank bag and RKA soft bags with or without duffel bag strapped to back seat for extra clothes. looks ok, but non-lockable. 150-300mi 3. Throw on the Givi wingrack and put on the hardbags. Ugly as hell, but lockable and will hold more stuff than you need on a motorcycle trip. 300+miles. Sometimes I mix and match a bit, but usually if I've put the wingrack on, I don't care about the looks and am just looking to haul everything just in case and go for a long ride >300 miles. as far as brands go, the cortech mentioned above look pretty decent but I haven't owned them. The RKA I have are very good quality but not streamlined like the cortech, but prob hold more. For tank bag, well there are a ton to choose from. I got one form sargent that was crap (sargent super I think). I have a joe rocket manta that I have used for years without a bit of trouble but it's very small. And both SLOVFR and Tori (members here) use one called a Rapid Transit (Recon) I think that they love. I have one that SLOVFR gave me that I use as a tail bag.