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Passenger seat as storage closet

Anyone else out there notice that in the vast majority of photos in the Owner's News of loaded touring bikes, the passenger seat is being used as a storage closet? A large pile of bags is strapped on, often right up to the riders back. Probably not something BWM would condone. No room for a passenger, either. I was told once that the secret to traveling two up is to pare down your stuff. It would appear then, that most BMW travelers must be going by themselves, and not leaving any creature comfort behind. Maybe BMW should skip the passenger seat, and offer a large box instead. Things wouldn't fall off, it would be easier to pack. For "touring motorcycles", storage space seems to be way too scarce for touring. And not only BMWs. I looked in the side cases of a $36,000 Harley the other day and they looked smaller than my RT. I think you can actually carry more gear on a touring bicycle than on most stock motorcycles meant for touring. BMWs have fifty to one- hundred-and-fifty hp available, more than enough to haul plenty of weight. Doesn't it seem that someone, somewhere, could come up with a good system of hauling all that gear that is safer, and more efficient than the current, "passenger seat closet" method that is so popular? Of course maybe they already have. I believe it's called a $2500 trailer.
 
I don't know how people traveling two-up can also camp. That pile on MY passenger seat is a tent/sleeping bag/mattress/kermit chair. Where else ya gonna put that stuff? No camping - no pile. Plenty of space in the saddlebags. I look like a BMW ad.
 
U-bags, and/or strapping on top of side cases does a great job of providing additional storage space without impacting either rider or passenger. I toured 2-up on my '78 RS for years, nothing more formal than saddlebags as a container.
 
Travelling two up and camping can be an ordeal thats for sure, but, with the right planning and gear it can be accomplished. My bride and I use the ultralight backpacking philosiphy. We don't use sleeping bags, we use blankets, we use a small backpackers stove which uses gas containers and we take the minimum amount of clothing with us. Our tent,sleeping pads,change of footwear was packed in dry bags and lashed to the tops of the sidebags. The only drawback I had doing this was the lack of security for your belongings when off the bike.
However........we have recently in the last few years purchased a Bushtec trailer.....which allow us security and extra creature comforts like pillows and camp chairs ........the added room the trailer provides also lets you pick up incidentals on long road trips.
If you are travelling solo.....you should be able to fit all your gear in the side bags and the top box if you have one.

IMG_1242.jpg
 
No need for all that on the seat.

I have recently accomplished the impossible. All my camping gear, clothes and food fit inside the system cases! No top case! Even a chair, sleeping pad and extra tarp to cover the bike at night (hate to sit on the dew). It can be done for $250 in good compact gear. I'd be good for a week and then laundry and resupply.
That being said it works for one person's camping. For two up it would require a top case and a pillion rider who can get along with the few clothes I would take. I posted my efforts elsewhere and my gear choices too. It is crazy to take the amount of stuff I often see lashed to some bikes. Are we camping or bringing the living room and bedroom with us? I do always use a small tank bag for rain suit and other weather gear and would love a replacement for the rear seat on my R1100R that would be no taller than the current seat and enclose a bit of secure storage, like a Corbin smuggler. No such seat replacement seems to exist. BTW the system case has a max. length for inside storage of 18 inches. Chair and tent poles to fit are available!
Camp light, travel lots.
Ralph
 
I am a motorcycle enthusiast, I have been riding since I was twelve and the love for motorcycles had a lot to do with the choice I made for a profession and a "career". I am only saying that to better illustrate the role the motorcycle still plays in my life as a "hobby" and a form of recreation. I could not do this without the involvement of my wife. Fortunately for me, she shares most of that obsession.
As a result, 98% of my rides are two-up.
I have observed a strange trend in the motorcycle community of builders and manufacturers showing single seater models. Just about anything that gets raving reviews regarding styling is a solo bike.
I, of course, have a hard time with that.
Travelling as a couple, we have to adjust. This is one of several reasons why we do not camp.
Also, one of the reasons we occasionally trailer bikes to our destination.
I admit, we had trips where we exceeded the total weight limit of the bike by quite a bit. We had no choice.
 
Not a bad idea but when you think about the need to leave some padding in the seat, not much room is left over for tools etc.
 
A closet and a back rest

I always ride one up. My partner rides her own bike. I pack things on the pillion seat because I can and also because it provides a great back rest on the long rides.
 
3 up

We travel 3 up. Me, wife and dog, with all our gear on the RT. The very large tent is strapped to the right bag, the sleeping bag on top of the topcase. Everything else fits into the luggage that came with the bike.
 

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XXL-Luggage Rack

The easiest way to 'modify' the Beemer pillion seat is with the flatbed rack. The product is available for different RT models. Here shown on www.bmrproducts.com/proddetail.php?prod=005_RTFlatbed
Bob reviewed this product on his 1200RT http://www.bmwra.org/otl/rcurack/. He went so far using a XXL Golf case on it.

r12.jpg

I wanted to replace the top hard case with a bigger dry bag. After endless searches

www.aerostich.com/review/product/list/id/2148/category/94/
www.twistedthrottle.com/sw-motech-alu-rack-topcase-adapter-plate-for-attaching-soft-luggage
www.bestrestproducts.com/p-19-model-t-cargorest.aspx
www.cariboucases.com/Rear-Cargo-Plates
forums.bmwmoa.org/showthread.php?2660-1150RT-rear-luggage-rack

I found a luggage rack on http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=646599 and I'm using it with a GIVI platform on my R1150RT. The pictures show the plate itself and on the bike with a dry bag. The bag is big enough to hold tent, pad, tarp, chair, sleeping bag and other items plus space on the backseat for more. The next longer trip will show it's full function. In the garage it already worked great as a tool work bench : ) https://plus.google.com/photos/100623813858655300914/albums/5839814248197278273
 
Our closet seat.
IMGP4526.jpg
 
Back rest

Here is a picture of my old bike loaded for the trip to the RA Rally in Colorado last year. I use a round bag from Biker's Pal or Biker's Friend, can't remember name, which has a cushion and vented back rest that attaches to the bag with velcro strips. I put the tent and bed pad in that bag and the rest of my stuff in the regular bags. I always have room for the stuff that catches my eye along the way.
 
Although I pack light, and have the expanded lids on my R1100RT, it has always surprised me that BMW, the bike for the long distance rider, does not incorporate decent luggage capacities for its clients. :dunno
 
Some interesting solutions. Having your spouse ride her own bike pretty much solves the problem. BMWs have plenty of storage space for one person camping, and of course you can always use the passenger seat "closet". The problem comes in when she would rather sit behind you on trips, which often makes sense. Less motorcycles to buy, less storage in garage, less insurance, less maintenance, less gas, etc. But that is a different topic to be debated. Trailers, also, work very well. But the large racks that are shown here, which incidentally, are an education for me, seem like just what I was thinking of. I didn't know they existed. They look like you could carry a lot of bulky, but somewhat light stuff on them, easily lash it down, and not arrive at camp and realize your tent slipped off somewhere along the way. Just what most of us need. Does anyone know if any of them can be fitted with a backrest for the passenger? Like the old Reynolds racks often seen on airheads. That would seem to make them perfect.
Strapping stuff to the top of the side cases seems workable. The only problem I see is that they are somewhat curved on top, made of very slippery material, and there are no places to tie into. I would love to see BMW mold some hooks or rings into the sides/bottoms of the cases to allow you to easily tie stuff to them. I can't bring myself to drill holes into the cases and put in "eye" bolts.
 
I'm not a complete minimalist and sometimes do a mix of motel and camping on solo trips so pack to make that easy. Camping gear (tent, mat, seat, cooking gear, etc) segregated in a dry bag on the passenger seat (held by a crisscross of Rokstraps through its handles, there is zero chance of it coming off while riding), clothes and stuff for inside the tent on a liner bag in the topcase, riding gear layers in the clutch side case and tools/maps/bike supplies in the throttle side case. Tank bag set up to charge electrics, run heated gear , carry munchies and water unless its so hot I'm wearing a camelback or even my Veskimo (I like my comfort)....I have extra space for souvenirs and carrying a few cold ones when desired...

My friends Jerry and Barb have the drill down to a fine art for dual travel while camping on the RT- even with the pooch as in his note. They make it look easy and there is no doubt that pooch loves to ride that RT..

But most of my friends who do long camping trips two up use a trailer. I suspect in most cases that choice is driven by the requirements of the female half and to some extent by the simple fact that one can be less organized with more space to haul stuff- allows large tents, bigger chairs, optional comfort items etc..

My SO doesn't camp and when we go dual she rides her R1100S carrying her own gear. I added a few things like a gps, a small electrified tank bag that serves as her purse, etc to it plus a larger screen to make it a better touring fit for her.. Among this years trips is a 2 week one to RA and UNRally that are back to back in the NC mountains (Asheville and Blowing Rock). The helmet bluetooth sets we use work for solo or dual runs...
 
Some interesting solutions. Having your spouse ride her own bike pretty much solves the problem. BMWs have plenty of storage space for one person camping, and of course you can always use the passenger seat "closet". The problem comes in when she would rather sit behind you on trips, which often makes sense. Less motorcycles to buy, less storage in garage, less insurance, less maintenance, less gas, etc. But that is a different topic to be debated. Trailers, also, work very well. But the large racks that are shown here, which incidentally, are an education for me, seem like just what I was thinking of. I didn't know they existed. They look like you could carry a lot of bulky, but somewhat light stuff on them, easily lash it down, and not arrive at camp and realize your tent slipped off somewhere along the way. Just what most of us need. Does anyone know if any of them can be fitted with a backrest for the passenger? Like the old Reynolds racks often seen on airheads. That would seem to make them perfect.
Strapping stuff to the top of the side cases seems workable. The only problem I see is that they are somewhat curved on top, made of very slippery material, and there are no places to tie into. I would love to see BMW mold some hooks or rings into the sides/bottoms of the cases to allow you to easily tie stuff to them. I can't bring myself to drill holes into the cases and put in "eye" bolts.
John check out this bungee buddies thread, if you are not sure about drilling holes into your cases. http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=331903&page=1
 
I prefer to carry most of my weight low on the pax seat. AFterall that seat was designed to carry a whole nuther person. Go buy a fish scale from wal mart and weigh your gear.

on my last bike all of my camping gear clothes and food equaled out to 85 to 90 lbs. About 25 to 30 lbs of that was luggage weight (dual pelican cases and Givi topcase). That's still much less than most passengers you will carry. I don't like riding 2 up personally but other folks enjoy it. I have no problem using the pax seat as a luggage shelf and leaving myself some room in all my bags to carry extra stuff I may findon the road.

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I have a system that I use on my GSA (I built the bag for my R100GSPD and changed the mount to adapt it to the GSA). The bag is attached to a mount that locks into the passenger seat connections (the passenger seat is replaced with the bag and mount). The bag has all my camping gear (tent, stove, sleeping bag and pad, cooking utensils, etc.) that I need to camp and can be removed simply by turning the key to unlock the rear seat latch. If I don't plan to camp, the bag stays home. The bag is waterproof and has a mesh pocket on top for drying wet towels and such while you ride.
 

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