Touring by motorcycle is a fine art, isn't it? Nah, it's not. It's all about wedging
as much crap into as small of a space as possible. If you call that a fine art,
then you need to hit the stop button on your lowbrow Las Vegas Extremes video
and get a little exposure to the real world.
I use a Ventura pack and a generic backpack on
my bike. Between these two storage units, I can carry everything I need for a
week-long trip (which can be made longer with adequate laundering facilities and
hosts that aren't annoying).
From top left to bottom right:
- This is the bracket that holds on the rack. I could remove it between trips, but it's not entirely trivial so I just leave it on. Anyways, it kind of keeps people guessing: Maybe that's where the anti-cage artillery is mounted...
- Here's the rack attached to the base. It's held on by a couple of locking nuts.
- This particular Ventura pack is the "Rally-Pack" model. The pack slips over the rack and is very secure; it doesn't shift around at all. The bag can face either way: If you have a passenger, you can put the bag on the "baking tray." The only drawback is if you use the baking tray, you have to limit the weight. But if the bag is sitting on the seat, it can be as heavy as the fattest passenger you'll ever carry (that's my view; the Ventura pack people may have another, more legally cautious view of how much weight you can carry even if it's resting on the seat).
- The pack is expandable. Although the highlighted area doesn't look like all that much, it really does make a huge difference in packing space. Thing is, I don't like anything pressing against my back when I ride (unless he's seriously cute), so I prefer to keep the pack in the compact configuration.
- To take full advantage of the baking tray, I strap a backpack onto it. The backpack is held to the Ventura pack by nothing more than three carabiners and doesn't shift at all. The key is to use the shoulder straps like it's being carried on a person.
- Here's a better view of the carabiners. The two in the front are attached to the backpack's shoulder strap and through two plastic rings conveniently located on the Ventura pack. The top carabiner is only for a backup; if the two front carabiners fail for some reason, the backpack will still be attached to the Ventura pack (and hopefully I'll notice the entire flopping catastrophe before it hits the pavement).
- The ass-end view isn't too weird looking. Just a backpack facing backwards. The tail light is not obscured.
- Do you see me smiling? No. This is a picture of my old, miserable technology. I had two side softcases, a strapped-down backpack, and a tank bag. Let me pick this apart slowly: First, I never did like tankbags. They shifted around and got in the way of my gas tank access. And of course, there was the cautions you had to take to avoid scratches. Glad to be rid of that. Second, strapping a backpack down just plain sucked. A cargo net alone doesn't work; a bag of any weight will flop right over. And if you use straps, with enough miles of bumping, vibrations, and wind, the straps will eventually work themselves to new, unappreciated locations and your bag will find it opportune to try to commit suicide. When you see your bag dangling off the tail section, it's a clear cry for help. And finally, those infernal soft cases: a) It's not convenient to put them on and take them off. They have to be snugly tightened down at four different points. b) They'll scratch the paint on your tail piece. I always had to put tape over any points of contact. c) If you're sloppy enough to leave a small gap between the zippers, the wind will eventually catch a zipper and work the case open, thereupon dumping all your personal hygiene products onto the roadway. In my case, it was Highway 33. You want to walk a half mile up and down a road in your Daytona boots looking for your tampons and contact solution while a dog who lives in the only house for miles around barks savagely at you, thus causing the residents to come out to watch you walk up and down Highway 33 in your silly black leather get-up? To this antiquated method of packing, I say "Good riddance!"
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