Benefits of Soft Motorcycle Luggage & How to Make the Most Out of It

Riding your motorcycle across beautiful and picturesque fields covered with dense tufts and reeds is a unique sight on its own. And although traveling by car may be more convenient, nothing beats traveling with your 2-wheeler while breathing in the air that surrounds that beautiful scenery and you being part of it. Of course, this comes at the cost of not having enough space for your luggage, but only if you don’t equip your bike with the right type for your needs. If you are planning to embark on an adventure with your motorcycle, chances are, you will need to take with you more than just a small backpack. For this very reason, in today’s blog post, I’ll talk about the great perks of soft luggage and what it takes to find the type that will benefit you most.

Benefits

• Since there will be times when you will want to travel far and for a longer period of time with your bike, keeping the load as light as possible is of the essence. And this is where soft motorcycle luggage comes in very helpful. Thanks to this great invention, when traveling with soft motorcycle luggage Australia wide you won’t have to add racks to your ride and make it bulkier than it needs to be. What you put in them may be heavy but at least the bags themselves won’t be.
• Lane splitting and filtering are safe as long as you are doing it with caution, however, sometimes luck may not be on your side. This is where soft luggage can make things easier. Unlike hard luggage, which can sometimes be wider than the handlebars, there are smaller chances for you to cause an accident when carrying soft luggage as the material is far better for traveling – in case you come closer than you should with another vehicle – you’ll just rub the surface of the moving car instead of scratching it.
• Most soft luggage bags have extra pockets outside the bag so you have convenient storage space for things like wet clothing, water bottles, rain gear, some oil or maybe a pair of sandals. You can put the things that you use/need the most here as they will be the easiest to access. Also, when you’re not going to be using them, storing soft luggage bags won’t take a lot of space since all you need to do is fold them a couple of times and store them.
• While sometimes there’s no escaping from transporting heavy loads, at least with soft luggage bags you won’t get a fractured bone or a dislocated ankle. Unlike hard luggage, the chances of getting a serious injury from a fall are way smaller and the only problem you’ll have if your leg gets trapped under a bag will be to unstrap it.
• You can use your soft luggage for other purposes as well. For example, if you are setting up a camp, a soft bag could be very useful as a camp mat. Or, you can use one as a backpack even when you are not on the bike. You may think this is absurd but some manufacturers are aware of this and that’s why they put arm straps on them. It’s better to carry a soft bag than an aluminum case when you need to walk for miles in the forest.

Types

• Saddlebags go at the back of your motorcycle, between the back wheel and the exhaust. Because of their location, manufacturers offer saddlebag supports and mounting kits in order to keep them from melting or getting pulled into the wheel. While leather is the most common material for saddlebags, synthetic leather, Cordura; and nylon are also quite popular for this type of motorcycle luggage Australia wide.
• Tail bags usually go together with saddlebags and they are often made from abrasion-resistant textile and synthetic leather. They are easy to attach, as most of them use an adjustable bungee mounting system. This is what makes them versatile as they can be easily turned into a backpack when not on your bike. If you’re planning to buy a tail bag, make sure it matches the saddlebags.
• Tank bags are very easy to install due to the strong metals inside them. Plus, they are mostly used to store devices such as your smartphone or a GPS device and other smaller necessities such as your wallet. They are an inexpensive piece of luggage equipment and are a popular option for day trips as well as sportbike riders.
• Sissy bar bags are basically very large backpacks which will expand your carrying capacity to the maximum and because of that, they are mostly used in a touring configuration. If you are a serious bike traveler and what to pack as much stuff as possible, adding a sissy bar bag to your arsenal will be of great use. This bag usually comes with an additional rounded bag on top.

Tips

• The first rule when it comes to properly packing your stuff in your motorcycle luggage Australia made bags, is to always center the load. What I mean by this is that you should put the heavier stuff in the centre of the bag, otherwise if you put them on the rearward or high up, they can affect your handling. The things that you want to access easily should be on top of the bag and you also want to have a separate bag for the stuff you are going to need in the motel room – if you are planning to stay in one.
• You should forget about your home’s comfort when on the road and only carry the stuff you need. You should avoid overpacking, especially when it comes to clothes. A good rule of thumb is to change into clean clothes every nightly stop and wear them until you can stand it. You can always take the riding clothes to a laundromat, but make sure you have off-bike clothes too.
• When positioning your bags, make sure they are not in the way of you hopping off and on the bike. Also, make sure they’re not blocking your view of the instruments or getting in contact with the exhaust or the chain and planting your feet when stopping. This is mostly for expandable saddlebags which can really sag and scrape in corners.
• When you are finished packing your bike, before you set out on your adventure, make sure to give it a few trial runs and do some braking drills so you know how the load will affect it. This is also a great way to see if the straps will come loose as well as how much will it take for you to get to the foul weather clothing.