Inexpensive Luggage/ Attaching my Gear

Hi, I'm pretty new to the touring scene and bikes in general. I feel lucky to have found a great deal on an '02 and join the owners of the best bike around, but now I want to take her a little further from home, and I'm not sure quite where to start. So I though I'd troll for wisdom to point me in the right direction.

I've seen the Honda and Givi cases and I'd love to have one one day, but right now they are a little rich for my budget. (Don't see them used too often). Does anyone have any suggestions for how to attach my gear for some mid-lenght tours without breaking the bank? Do I need a rack or something to strap it to or just use the grab handles? Will a cargo net and a duffel do the trick or am I asking for trouble?

Thanks in advance!
RoundtheNextBend

 

Try Coretech.... great bags run ya around $160. the universal kit works great.

 

http://vfrworld.com/forums/gear-accessories/31383-1st-gen-rack-bags.html

Here is what I did to accommodate passenger and Rapid transit tail and saddlebags

 

Thanks!

Thanks guys-
Nice work on that rack Griddle. If I could Id build one for myself.
Dwntwnsac, for the cortech bags, do they just strap accross the seat, or do you need a rack of some sort to keep them away from the wheel?

 

I got a set of second hand givi's from a vfrw member, keep your eyes open and ask in chat and someone might have a old set they are willing to part with or EBAY!. as for duffle and handle bars, been there, lost luggage, thank god the cops wernt watching(its a fairly hefty fine up here, insecure load) if your handy with a welder and a drill, you could make a duffle rack that attaches to where the grab handles bolt on to.

 

The Cortechs have four tie-down straps. The front ones can be wrapped around the aluminum pieces that the hard bags are meant to attach to. The rear ones will need a mounting point; I attached a couple of U-bolts to the rear fender. Aerostich carries some neat little loops that attach to the license plate that would probably work. The babs themselves have adjustable velcro straps across the top to adjust the mounting width. If you snug them up, the bags will hang pretty straight. They will get warm from sitting close to the muffler heat shields, but they won't burn (if you have stock mufflers). After you ride a while, the bags tend to droop a bit, and the velcro straps might need to be tightened a little.

I have a set of the Cortechs with about 40,000 miles on them (between the SV and VFR), and they are still holding up OK. I made up some "guides" for both bikes out of EMT tubing which give then a straight edge to help support them. If I can find the thread, I'll edit this post with the link.

Found it;

http://vfrworld.com/forums/gear-accessories/19273-soft-luggage-support-rack.html

 

All the luggage can be taken off the bike with just a key, which will be handy for camping:



The cases (Pelican and Storm) are waterproof and durable. The whole thing mounts to four points on the rear subframe.

 

You could do it that way, but it's a bit of a hassle, especially when you have to tarp everything. I added a small rack on this bike to support the wide load, but with smaller loads you can just strap to the rear. Strapping to the tank is another good spot.

 

I have the Nelson Rigg Silver Streak series and have been happy with it - granted I have only taken one trip with them. They fit well and carry enough for a couple of days.

 

I have soft bags. they have lasted over 20 years. Easy to throw on and take off. Down side is you have to put rain covers on them and they may still get some wetness. For the lower cost over hard bags they have been a great deal. If I could find a set of hard luggage that wouldn't require an erector set to hang them I'd buy them. I normally only use the green duffel bag for all my camping equip when I'm camping.

 

Realy nice work on the mountings, I have access to a set of old BMW paniers that I could possibly do the same with. One question, do you have a stock tailpipe and if so did it present any major headaches? Thanks

 

Keep eye on New Enough. Often have REAL deals on soft luggage.

Re keepin' stuff dry when using soft luggage.
Don't rely on raincovers. They usually leak and, sooner or later, blow away unless sewn/zipped to bags.
Do consider putting your stuff into plastic bags. Great for keeping stuff dry AND function as organizing tool to make finding things easier.
My $0.02 ................

 

Not sure if that's directed at me, but if it is, I think it's stock aside from the slip-on (two brothers). It did present a couple problems, in that I either needed to keep the cases above or outside of the muffler. Outside would have made it pretty wide, so it pretty much needed to be above it (unless you've got a case with a cutout for a muffler). Although I didn't need to do the same on the left side, I think it would've looked rather odd if the mountings were different on each side (and possibly affected balance). It's a CF slip-on, so having the rack/cases very close to it hasn't been a problem, it stays pretty cool.

The mounting of the side cases accommodates a passenger just fine (obviously the top case doesn't, but that part just bolts on to the side case mounting). I had a passenger sit on the rear while I held the case up to the bike to find a position that kept it above the muffler but didn't interfere with the passenger's seat (leg rests on the case if it's too high), or peg (too far forward and the passenger can only rest their heel on the peg). So it ended up mounted parallel to the muffler/subframe, and further back than initially expected.

I posted some pictures here, but a more detailed thread can be found here: Mounted some Pelican 1520 cases on my '95 VFR - KatRiders.com

EDIT: I should clarify that the mounting rack is above the muffler. The actual cases are outside of the muffler. The rear fairing is pretty wide, so that by the time I added in a little clearance and the thickness of the rack itself, the case was pretty much clear of the muffler.