Luggage

[collingsbob]

I have at least 3 months until my R1300GS arrives…3 months of researching and agonizing over which luggage & lighting products to buy.
So - what’s the percentage of GS owners that choose hard luggage over soft?

 

[CaptCF]

Going hard (varios) on my R1300GS even though I have a set of Mosko Moto BC35s and extra wedges off my AT so could easily fit those if I wanted to buy racks for the 1300. Reasoning - not planning on any "real" off road with the 1300 and have some longish trips planned where being able to lock my gear and helmet up will be helpful. Will be my first set of hard luggage having used Wolfman, Mosko and Kriega for years.

 

[52184]

Both! I have hard luggage on my GS but almost always have a soft bag tied on as well, just to have some collapsible storage. Lockable hard bags are comforting when traveling and can be useful for stashing riding gear while off the bike doing touristy type things.

But if you’re going to use your GS for real off roading, like BDRs, then I’d go hard topcase and soft side bags. If you go with hard panniers and decide later on that you want soft bags for off-roading, the racks can be used to mount soft bags as well.

And regardless of how you plan to use the bike, know that off-roaders often don’t count MultiVarios as hard luggage…more like a “yard sale” looking for a place to happen. That plastic just doesn’t bend and yield like soft bags or aluminum cases will.

Enjoy the new GS!

Best,
DeVern

 

[tsconver]

Depends on what you are doing. Touring then hard, adventure / offroad riding then soft.

 

[collingsbob]

Depends on what you are doing. Touring then hard, adventure / offroad riding then soft.

Touring & 99.9% pavement, I like the idea & look of the SW-Motech Pro carriers..

 

[kbasa]

I want my stuff safely secured. Hard bags for decades now after a decade with Chase Harper soft bags.

Bag liners FTW.

 

[PGlaves]

I want my stuff safely secured. Hard bags for decades now after a decade with Chase Harper soft bags.

Bag liners FTW.

I am curious. "Safely secured" from what? Falling out? Getting crushed? Getting wet? Getting stolen? What?

 

[skibum69]

So far have only ever run soft luggage on my KTM's but my Beemers have hard cases. Difference between on road and offroad.

 

[kbasa]

I am curious. "Safely secured" from what? Falling out? Getting crushed? Getting wet? Getting stolen? What?

Getting swiped, mostly. I also hated taking wet, muddy bags into the tent or hotel room, too. Hard bags support bag liners, which we’ve always used. The wet yucky bags stay outside and the bag liners come with us.

Unlike most folks, when we tour we visit cities, too, so I like to be able to leave my stuff and know it’ll be there when I get back. We usually stay outside the city, so bags will empty for a day tour and we can secure our gear while we’re downtown. The RT top case holds two helmets, gear in the side bags, so it’s all secured.

I was also an urban commuter for decades that parked on the street in Boston, then San Francisco. I carried my suit coat, shoes and briefcase in my saddlebags. Soft bags would have been gone by lunch in either city.

Plus, you can’t put stickers on soft bags.

 

[skibum69]

Plus, you can’t put stickers on soft bags.

Depends on the soft bags. Those with a shiny fabric will take them no problem such as my Ortlieb bags.

 

[lee]

Getting swiped, mostly. I also hated taking wet, muddy bags into the tent or hotel room, too. Hard bags support bag liners, which we’ve always used. The wet yucky bags stay outside and the bag liners come with us.

Unlike most folks, when we tour we visit cities, too, so I like to be able to leave my stuff and know it’ll be there when I get back. We usually stay outside the city, so bags will empty for a day tour and we can secure our gear while we’re downtown. The RT top case holds two helmets, gear in the side bags, so it’s all secured.

All good points. We have always used hard bags with liners.
When we do day rides on trips it's nice to have the saddle bags to put our coats in when off the bike.
Non GS riders here.

 

[kbasa]

All good points. We have always used hard bags with liners.
When we do day rides on trips it's nice to have the saddle bags to put our coats in when off the bike.
Non GS riders here.

This is me clicking "like" on your post.

 

[PGlaves]

Getting swiped, mostly. I also hated taking wet, muddy bags into the tent or hotel room, too. Hard bags support bag liners, which we’ve always used. The wet yucky bags stay outside and the bag liners come with us.

Unlike most folks, when we tour we visit cities, too, so I like to be able to leave my stuff and know it’ll be there when I get back. We usually stay outside the city, so bags will empty for a day tour and we can secure our gear while we’re downtown. The RT top case holds two helmets, gear in the side bags, so it’s all secured.

I was also an urban commuter for decades that parked on the street in Boston, then San Francisco. I carried my suit coat, shoes and briefcase in my saddlebags. Soft bags would have been gone by lunch in either city.

Plus, you can’t put stickers on soft bags.

Thanks! Makes sense to me.

 

[brownie0486]

I swapped the 3 varios for Lone Rider semi rigid soft bags and a 50L bmw soft top case on the GS. Securing the contents was a problem until Lone Rider adopted a locking mechanism to the brackets and roll tops. Yes, they could still be cut, but I wasn't taking varios to the arctic circle. Good thing I didn't too.

RT=OEM hard bags and top case
RS=Shad hard bags; top case 35L bmw soft case

 

[c10950]

Im a fan of Hard even off road . The security , double as table and chairs , and capacity . My Tiger before I went to BMW .
The Shad cases didnt fair well in Bigbend Tx. The Alum cases heled up for everything I threw at them . The RTP with street tires didnt make it lol

Note when they fall over with hard cases you dont have as far to lift them

 

[kbowman]

My R1200 came pre-configured with Vario side cases. I like them - small size to ride to work, expand for longer trips or shopping, easy to take on and off. For multi-day trips I add a Wolfman waterproof duffle; I don't care for hard top cases. Last summer I had a low-speed low side on wet gravel - the front wheel went into a slime-filled wheel rut. The engine crash bar kept the side case off the road - no damage.

Cheers, Ken

 

[globalrider]

Top case: GiVi top case mount for my 2016 R1200 GSA and GiVi E52 case. Great for multi-day rides and I just didn't want my GSA looking like a HUMMER with that aluminum box.

Side cases: BMW top-loading aluminum cases for longer rides.

On my R1150 GSA that I recently sold, I used the BMW plastic clam-shell cases (didn't want the HUMMER look) and a GiVi E52 top case, but I have to say, I like top-loading side cases much more. I also have a set of Daerr top-loading aluminum side cases on my KLR 650.

 

[fbt80]

Stock side cases on the R1100s are our crash bars... I've used them many times in parking drops...I mean parking lots.

 

[skibum69]

Hard bags offroad there are many stories of people getting their legs caught underneath and often broken which is a large part of what people go soft luggage. Mosko Moto and Turkana both make excellent options for rocks or reckless. I'm considering both brands for my next purchase.
https://moskomoto.com
https://turkanagear.com/en/

 

[c10950]

Hard bags offroad there are many stories of people getting their legs caught underneath and often broken which is a large part of what people go soft luggage. Mosko Moto and Turkana both make excellent options for rocks or reckless. I'm considering both brands for my next purchase.
https://moskomoto.com
https://turkanagear.com/en/

I have 3 broken legs from motorcycles , and none were from hard luggage Motorcycles are known for breaking legs . Either accept that fact or believe it was the hard bag lol