Since I bought my new ’07 FJR in April last year, I’ve racked up about 18,000 km, most of it on long trips. I typically spend about 4 or 5 nights camping for every night I spend in a motel so I travel with a full set of camping gear plus food, water, clothes and a laptop. This pretty much stretches my luggage capacity to the limit. I also like to use a small tank bag that doesn’t get in the way when riding and that I can quickly detach and take with me when I go into a store etc.
So I was trying to think of a way to add a bit of extra carrying capacity without stacking higher or hanging anything farther off the back end of the bike. Since I do a bit of self-powered cycling (less and less since I bought the FJR) and I’m familiar with the gear, I came up with the idea of using a bicycle frame bag to create some additional space. Here’s what my rig looks like in traveling mode:
I have a frame bag on each side with a total capacity of about 12 litres. In the frame bags I carry mostly stuff that is needed for the bike itself, such as; a mickey of engine oil, a plywood disk I throw down on soft ground to set the kickstand on, a fuel bottle, clean and dirty rags, microfibre cloths and a can of Sprayway to clean the windscreen, visor and headlights.
(By the way, both the Cortech Tail Bag and the MotoFizz Bag are excellent pieces of luggage. The MotoFizz, made in Japan, is very cleverly designed with lots of great features.)
You can make up a set of frame bags for about C$45 (US$37) including the cost of the bag and the bungie cords. Here is a close-up showing the attachment points:
The bags sit below the seat and behind the rider’s calf so they are completely out of the way when riding. They also have the advantage of carrying the extra weight low-down and in toward the centre of the bike which I like.
So I was trying to think of a way to add a bit of extra carrying capacity without stacking higher or hanging anything farther off the back end of the bike. Since I do a bit of self-powered cycling (less and less since I bought the FJR) and I’m familiar with the gear, I came up with the idea of using a bicycle frame bag to create some additional space. Here’s what my rig looks like in traveling mode:
I have a frame bag on each side with a total capacity of about 12 litres. In the frame bags I carry mostly stuff that is needed for the bike itself, such as; a mickey of engine oil, a plywood disk I throw down on soft ground to set the kickstand on, a fuel bottle, clean and dirty rags, microfibre cloths and a can of Sprayway to clean the windscreen, visor and headlights.
(By the way, both the Cortech Tail Bag and the MotoFizz Bag are excellent pieces of luggage. The MotoFizz, made in Japan, is very cleverly designed with lots of great features.)
You can make up a set of frame bags for about C$45 (US$37) including the cost of the bag and the bungie cords. Here is a close-up showing the attachment points:
The bags sit below the seat and behind the rider’s calf so they are completely out of the way when riding. They also have the advantage of carrying the extra weight low-down and in toward the centre of the bike which I like.
