Saddlebags- On or Off?

[OkieBikerDude]

On my two previous bikes, both K1100 BMW's, I usually took them off after overnight trips to facilitate cleaning. They remained hanging on the garage wall until my next out-of-town overnighter. Also, my logic was that I didn't drive around in my car with empty suitcases in the trunk.

Now that I'm riding an FJR, I find it is more convienant leaving them on the bike to store my helmet, gloves and jacket. the old K bikes had more lockable nooks and cranies than the FJR so there was room for the emergency stuff without using the saddlebags.

As far as styling go, the FJR is miles ahead of the BMW's, both old and new so leaving them on is probably the way to go.

 

[87Doodle]

On all the time

Left side for items its better have and not need than need and not have ( first aid, Frogg Toggs, sweat shirts,socks, tire repair kit)

Right side for whatever i might need for the ride

Top case for anything else i might want/need along the way...

and the tank bag for maps, valuables.

Think it looks better with bags...and

I'm just a average-guy-out on an average bike with saddlebags , a topcase, and a tankbag riding puttin' around with a quiet exhaust and no outstanding unwanted attention attributes...

I'm not really on a 150 mph 11 sec motorcycle going slow because I've picked up a KA band visual ...nope..that's not me pal...

just a fuddy duddy on a bike

 

[colin]

me, bags most always off, unless i'm doing a trip over a week involving camping. If solo, i think I prefer to put the tent in a waterproof bag on the passenger seat.

reason? i can filter here. (legal? sometimes). So the bags sorta slow me down. perhaps because I don't really know how 'big' they are, since I've never gotten used to filtering with them on.

i suppose if i lived somewhere i couldn't filter through traffic (most of the US), I'd probably put them on a bit more. Still go with the top box. It's just useful. not the most aerodynamic thing in the world, but damn useful. Side bags useful too. Well, the left one is annoying if on the side stand, shit falls out. Bit of a minor learning curve with that one. B)

 

[FJRMGM]

99.9% of the time on. The right side bag has all my emergency stuff (raingear, tire inflation, plastic bags, hat, towels, spray cleaner, bike cover, tools) and the left side is for the stuff specific to the reason I'm riding (lunch, work stuff, things I needed to pick up on errands, camera, clothes, etc.). I've probably ridden the bike without the bags less than 5 times in the close to 4 years I've owned it.

+1 except I reverse what is in the left/right bag because the right bag is easier to get to when I am going to work and its on the side stand.

I bought a bike so I could use the hard bags so I do.

 

[fattymoon]

I took 'em off for the wash/wax gig. Well pleased how easily they come off, and just as easy to put back on.Wondering how to adjust just how much the case opens. One opens to a 90 degree angle, which I like. The other drops to about a 120 degree angle, which I don't like. Gotta find a way to adjust...

Still haven't tooled around minus the bags. Maybe this week.

 

[RockiesRider]

Unless I'm going on an overnight trip or longer mine are off.

I use a tank bag for the commute or day trips that holds the needed essentials.

 

[El Toro]

I took mine off for a few hundred miles, and decided that I like the FJR better with the bags on. Its a heavy bike even without the bags. I actually think mine handles a bit better with the bags on . If I want a sportier ride, I take a sportier bike. The bags are part of what makes the FJR such a great utilitarian all around package, even as it maintains a reasonable sense of sport.

 

[uctofeej]

Leave mine on almost always, 'cuz I'm a pack rat, er, uh, I mean I like to be prepared.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Always have the topcase or mounted briefcase on the rear rack. Virtually never have the side bags, especially since catching one on a bus while lane sharing. Ooops.

 

[twistedcricket]

For daily commuting, they are on. For twisty-roads, off.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Bags on all the time

...except for when I'm on a day trip in the twisties and want a little less weight for the suspension to resist.

 

[Foxhuntr]

Bags on almost always. Right side has tire pump, repair kit, extra bungees and net, heavier gloves, bike cover, hat, water bottle, etc. Left side carries my lunch, liner, fleece, etc as required. Tank bag has my sun glasses, windscreen towel and cleaner, maps, tire gauge. I'm always ready to go on a ride!

 

[Bluegrass FJR]

I've never ridden without the bags on either of the two FJRs I've owned.

 

[flying junior]

I've waxed hot and cold, and now I'm at the point I leave them on because I like the way they look. They're generally empty except when I'm on the road. When I'm camping, I get my pad, sleeping bag and cot in one bag, food, stove, etc. in the other, then I put my other stuff in the givi 46,. Not camping, I leave the givi bag empty exept for misc bike stuff.

 

[DaveFJR]

Bags always on. Carry my briefcase & lunch in them. Hard bags are the main reason why I got a FJR instead of another sportbike.

Funny, in Europe naked bikes running Givi sidecases I often see with only one on (the left.) I figure it must be for a narrower profile. Wouldn't work on a fully faired bike and it looks odd. Of course, in Italy you see a car with one or two scooters running side by side in every lane.

 

[petey]

Never use the bags unless I stay over night. B)

 

[BobbyBlue]

They come off ?! Yeah...right...and I suppose next you'll tell me there's a tool kit under the seat...what a maroon.

( 90% on actually....makes the man not look so hard at my "Beemer" ) Plus I use 'em as giant sliders as was previously mentioned. Good poll.

Blessings,

Bobby

 

[SacramentoMike]

I've got all 3, use them pretty much all the time. Don't want to wish I had my tools, first aid kid, bottled water, rain gear, emergency warm shirt, etc., etc., etc. and not have them. And even with all that crap in them, there's still plenty of room in the likely event I think of something I need from the store, or the slightly less likely event I find a couple of money bags that fell out of a Brink's truck by the side of the road. Bike rides just fine all dressed up and it's my main vehicle nowadays. Can't think why I'd leave anything home (and a tank bag could just walk off "all by itself" too damn easy.)

 

[Big-D]

I'll keep my saddlebags on. If I wanted a bike without them, I would have bought a different bike!

 

[rockhead]

I leave 'em on. I don't see a downside, and I can always stop for some BBQ takeout or some bagels to bring home if I see a good place.

As for the trunks, they look practical, but fugly, IMHO. My son says that any bike that has one is a "geezercycle". I'll probably get one, but I need to come to terms with the idea (and with my gray hairs) first.