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There's Just Not Enough Luggage Space
Blog Date - 14 June 2011
It's silly, I know. I just want my bike...any bike...to do everything. I want it to be as fast as an R1, as comfortable as an armchair, have as much room as a van and use as much fuel as an Innova. Right now I'm wrestling with luggage.
When the gf and myself went to France this year, the bike was great. Great as in great to ride and great to be out and about on. What wasn't so great was the lack of space to put things. I just wish there was more space to take things like luxuries rather than bare essentials for the whole holiday, then when where on holiday have space to stow, securely, all the kit we wear when we're riding.
The Fazer, under the typical touring load.
As you can see, my poor little Fazer already can carry quite a load. First off there's the top box, that lives on the bike all the time. I always carry a security chain and like to pop to the shops and have somewhere to put my purchases. Then there's the tank back. That is magnetic and carries all the valuables where I can keep an eye on them. The bag on the top box usually has my clothes in it and the saddle bags have all the gf's essentials and clothing in. With this little lot onboard the bike still rides fine but I do need to be careful when filtering.
For myself, I've got enough for my essentials like clothes, netbook, camera and a few other items like tools and emergency spares. The gf on the other hand would love to have more space for all those feminine luxuries above and beyond the everyday essentials. She's not stupid or a spoilt diva, she'd just like some room for those things that make life that little more special and comfortable.
The above load is typical when we have a real roof over our head. Imagine the difficulty then if we wish to go camping! Along with the above load there's an additional tent, 2 sleeping bags, ground rolls or airbad and possibly cooking gear like a stove and pan. Simply put, when camping is afoot the bike can barely stand on it own, thats before the gf and I get on.
So that's the issue when we're actually travelling somewhere. Space. Then there's the issue when we are at our destination. If we're staying at a guesthouse then most of the stuff can be left safely in the digs, all we need is ourselves, our riding gear and maybe a few butties and a drink.. The butties and drinks can go into the top box just fine. No problem...?
No, not until we get to where we'd like to go. It could be a museum, a beach, a beauty spot we'd like to walk around or a town we'd like to spend time in. It may even be something as simple as a pub we'd like to have a cool relaxing drink in. Where can we put all this riding gear we wear? Unlike some silly bikers we ALWAYS wear full safety gear, that's 2 helmets, 2 bike jackets, 2 pairs of bike pants, 2 back protectors and 2 pairs of stout boots. That little lot does not fit into any top box I've ever seen.
We could o course just leave it with the bike. Hmmmm, if you ride you'll know that there's probably 400 to 500 quids worth of bike gear we wear...each! You wouldn't leave £1000 on the seat in cash unattended, so we're not going to leave almost a grands worth of bike gear sat on the bike while we take a stroll. We could take it with us, but then how would we carry it. We could wear it, on a cold day we do, but on a warm day it's a hot and sweaty affair walking even a few yards. No, it just does not work.
Is there a solution to both of these problems? Not that I can see right now. There are a few possibilities. The first and most obvious is to get a bigger touring bike. When in France we looked on jealously when Gold-Wing riders pulled up, removed their gear and stowed it in the spacious and various boxes around the bike. But if I'm going to get a Gold-Wing we may as well get a car? That's a bit harsh, but a 'Wing uses as much fuel as a car and I could not afford a full-dresser Goldie anyhows.
I've already got the top box which provides a touch of security. I could of course get a full 3-box kit. There are some boxes on the market that will take a helmet and maybe have enough space to store the rest of the bike gear. They're not secure like the boot of a car but they do at least keep valuables out of sight which provides a little comfort. This is one option I'm looking into, but for all the racks and 3 decent sized boxes I can expect to pay around the £500 mark.
Then there's one last option that very few ever consider, a trailer. Yes, a trailer. This could be a secure trailer with proper locks and all that. It does not need to be massive, on days out it needs to be big enough for all our riding gear and then when travelling it could provide that extra bit of space for the gf to take those extra luxuries that make a girls life so much more pleasant. The downside is I don't know how it would affect the bike's handling and how difficult it would be to fit a towball.
The story continues...
Reader's Comments
Peter Hawker said :-
Check your insurance re, towing a trailer.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Insurance....very good point Peter. I bet the insurance brokers don't get asked for many trailer policies on Fazer 600's
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
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