Looking along a long straight road amidst lush green farmland

Home Ren's Biking Blog

Bits Of Wood

Blog Date - 03 April 2013

This...dear reader...is what the bits of wood are for that have appeared on the sides of my engine...

fazer 600 with bright yellow bags either side of the engine
I can see a development call coming from Touratech anytime now...

There is a tale behind this, let me explain. First off the gf and I are planning to spend 3 weeks in Europe, travelling around and camping. We have on previous occasions undertaken to go away camping for up to a week, but never before 3 weeks. By the time the bike is loaded up with just one week's clothing, camping gear, sleeping bags and other equipment my long suffering motorcycles both past and present are buckling under the load. I am fearful that 3 weeks equipment may be too much.

I read one excellent piece of advice recently regarding travelling by motorcycle.  Lay everything you are taking out on the floor. Remove half of it, you won't need it. Replace this by doubling the amount of money you believe the trip will cost, you will need that for sure. It's true, I've been away with items I've transported hundreds, nay thousands of miles for no other reason than "I might need it". In a perfect world I'd take a spare bike, tent, sleeping bag, stove and everything else, plus extra spares, well you know, just in case.

Never-the-less I am tired of stacking a tent, ground rolls, clothing and luggage high on the top box until it's almost higher than the top of the gf's head. I am trying to move "stuff" lower.  The ideal place for luggage is regrettably where the engine is, as that is a centre of gravity. So closer to the engine is better. Ideally the heaviest stuff would be beside the engine, items like the tools and stove. The tools now have a tool tube ender the left hand saddle bag and I DO NOT want to put a petrol filled pressurised stove next to a hot engine. Damn.

The bulkiest items are the sleeping bags. Unfortunately they are not very heavy but they do take up a lot of space. This will free up space in the saddle bags. By moving the sleeping bags to the side of the motor I have effectively created about an extra 60 litres of space. I'm sure it won't be enough but it's a great start.

So far I have tested this system to the legal speed limit. I would test higher but this would be illegal.  Suffice to say that they make no difference to the ride whatsoever which is a success. They don't move about or flap around and provide a tiny bit of wind protection for my legs. With the bright yellow bags they make the bike look massive from the front increasing road presence. The only downside is just how bloody ridiculous they look. I'll get used to it, not sure if the rest of Europe is ready for for this just yet.

fazer with bags mounted to the side of the motor
Ho yessss. This will be all the rage soon, you'll be seeing them come as standard on a BMW GS1200 near you!

Reader's Comments

said :-
Ridiculous? i got jerry cans on my 125 and your worried about looks :)
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
John said :-
Very nice re.n. You could even strap some white leds to
the front of the bags for extra lighting.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Jerry cans on a 125 FANTASTIC!! I have considered the jerry can option, but I didn't have any lying around...
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Neil Hesford said :-
If you put soft stuff in that won't damage you can head for the arctic snow they'll double up as the snow stabilizers you were looking at inventing.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed said :-
Neil - yep I reckon ya right. There's nothing wrong with a bit of padding on the side of the bike. I may be the first to ride to the north pole.
01/01/2000 00:00:00 UTC

Post Your Comment Posts/Links Rules

Name

Comment

Add a RELEVANT link (not required)

Upload an image (not required) -

No uploaded image
Real Person Number
Please enter the above number below




Home Ren's Biking Blog

Admin -- -- Service Records Ren's Nerding Blog
KeyperWriter
IO