What are my options for luggage?

[jhh]

So my V11 is finally breaking me in, and I think it's about time I take it on an extended road trip or camping. The backpack and the small tank bag are always useful, but what about hard luggage? In particular, I'd like a pair of side bags. I tend to dislike top bags for aesthetic purposes, and soft bags provide no protection for my precious scotch (the one true indispensable camping necessity) if I drop the bike. Really, I love the smell of a good single malt, but not when it's permeating the remains of my luggage and their contents.

 

I looked at the Givi site and they don't seem to list the V11.

[Diesel]

I had Hepco-becker 30 liter bags on my 1st LeMans.

I liked them......Got them from MG cycle I think.

 

I think the new owener has 40L bags on it.

 

 

A pic with the 30L bags

 

[rocker59]

Hepco + Becker for me, too. Got my racks from Eurotech and the bags off Ebay...

 

[joe camarda]

Hi JHH. I think that someone, maybe you, should mount these Givi cases on their Guzzi. The bags are relatively new and there is no specific application for the Guzzi, so you would have modify the Givi brackets or fabricate them. On the up-side, the brackets should allow a tight fit as they seem to be shaped to flow nicely around the V11 tailpiece. The shape of the bags themselves also seem to blend nicely with the V11's (IMHO).

 

I thought about attempting this myself, but....but I didnt. Anyway, see here:

 

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/2807/69/

 

Another option (and I think an easier one) would be the HB Journey bags. These are factory options for Buells and are nicely made.

 

Here ya are:

 

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/636/335/

 

As always, I'm glad to encourage others to attempt what I'm too faint hearted to attempt myself

[Skeeve]

Hi JHH. I think that someone, maybe you, should mount these Givi cases on their Guzzi. The bags are relatively new and there is no specific application for the Guzzi, so you would have modify the Givi brackets or fabricate them. On the up-side, the brackets should allow a tight fit as they seem to be shaped to flow nicely around the V11 tailpiece. The shape of the bags themselves also seem to blend nicely with the V11's (IMHO).

 

I thought about attempting this myself, but....but I didnt. Anyway, see here:

 

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/2807/69/

 

Another option (and I think an easier one) would be the HB Journey bags. These are factory options for Buells and are nicely made.

 

Here ya are:

 

http://www.twistedthrottle.com/trade/productview/636/335/

 

As always, I'm glad to encourage others to attempt what I'm too faint hearted to attempt myself

 

You know, I find it kind of strange the fixation with "saddlebags that can hold a full-face helmet" the moto-press seems to have. It's not like you'll be packing your helmet in the bags; you'll be wearing it! Nor do the vast majority of touring riders get to go jetting off on junkets to model introductions in exotic locales like S. Africa or Spain, & even if they did, there'd be no guarantee that the rental/promo bike you'd be riding on arrival would even have the correct type of mounts to fit your brand of luggage!

 

So I suppose what I'm driving at is why on earth would anyone pay for moto-luggage that sticks out a mile from the side of your bike, making lane-splitting virtually impossible & ruining the already execrable aerodynamics of a motorcycle? It just doesn't make any sense. If you need that much capacity, break down & get a top box; sidebags shouldn't stick out any wider than the handlebars do...

[rocker59]

Skeeve,

 

Some of us want to / need to haul stuff.

 

Around town and for short trips, I use a topbox only.

 

However, I ride my Nero Corsa on long trips fairly frequently. If I'm gonna be travelling for more than a few days for more than a few hundred miles, I like having lots of luggage capacity.

 

Different people ride thier bikes differently. I know there are lots of Guzzisti here and over at WG that only ride to work, or only ride on short Sunday rides. Those people don't "need" hard luggage. Personally, I like having the lockable hard bags on my bike. I use it mainly for "touring" duty and recently have been riding lots of 2-up with it.

 

I've never understood the helmet in the luggage fixation, either. Usually, if I have my bags on my bike, I don't have room for a helmet in a bag because of other "stuff". On my old Triumph Sprint Executive, however, I left the bags on the bike all the time because of how integrated they were. It was nice, when riding around town, to be able to throw a helmet into a bag when leaving the bike for a while. Although I liked that feature, I don't miss it on my H+B equipped Guzzi...

 

Solo 4,500 two week trip:

 

Two-up 700 mile camping weekend:

 

Yeah, it's a little wide, but lane-splitting isn't legal or acceptable anywhere within 1500 miles of where I live...

[Guest frankdugo]

you got to get yer'self a metal flask.