[Video Transcript]
Saddlemen Express Cruis'n Slant Face Pouch Saddlebags
As the name suggests, saddlebags have been around since before we traded horses for horsepower. When they made the transition to motorcycles, they looked something like this: Saddlemen’s Express Cruis’n Slant Face Pouch Saddlebags. The name is clunky but the bag isn’t. This is a tasteful, streamlined design. No gaudy tassels, no tacky rivets.
Opening it up with these thumb screws and Velcro, we get into the main pocket. I measured the cargo area about 5 inches wide, 9 inches deep and 14.5 inches long – the way I pack, that’s plenty of room for a 3 or 4-day ride. I love these hard panels in here: they make the whole bag semi-rigid. It’s not so loose that it flops in the wind, but it’s not so rigid that it shatters when I drop my bike. Plus there’s just enough give so that if I need to shove something big in here, I can probably make it fit.
Moving to the outside, we get a secondary pouch. Heavy duty Velcro flap, then a zipper, so I like the doubling-up for water resistance. Anything I need easy access to – my phone, wallet, sunglasses – would probably end up in here.
My main criteria when I put this list together was install-ability. If I’m buying a saddlebag online, I don’t want to guess whether it’s going to fit my bike or not.
So I chose the Express Cruis’n bag because Saddlemen makes fitment easy. Big over-the-fender yoke on top, which works on any motorcycle. I can even adjust it forwards or backwards using this extra mounting hole. That’s great, because I want the slant face of this bag to line up perfectly with the exposed suspension coil on my bike. Then there’s this strap underneath, which I can run across to this double-d ring on the other side. I also have two string ties on each end of each saddlebag, for a total of eight. And a quick-release buckle strap on the bottom, which attaches to Saddlemen’s universal saddlebag supports.
Could I mount this bag as is, without ordering the support brackets? Yes. Would I want to? Probably not. Without the supports, it tends to camber in towards the rear wheel. I’ll burn a hole through the bag real fast, and when I call Saddlemen to complain, all they’ll say is “I told you so.”
I should probably mention that this bag is “lockable.” It comes with a dinky padlock, which goes through the thumbscrew here. This looks like something an 8-year-old girl would use to lock her diary. And on that note, an 8-year-old could also break it open with her bare hands. Don’t worry about keeping track of the miniature keys either, because I know for a fact that you can open this lock with a bobby pin.
Saddlemen – thanks for the awesome bag. 200 bucks for the pair and an extra 60 for the supports is a great deal. But you can keep this garbage.
Cortech Super 2.0 Saddlebags
Now, the Saddlemen looks great on a cruiser. But what if I like to go fast?
Cortech thinks they have the answer. Sport motorcycle luggage is this company’s bread and butter, so they’re probably right about that.
This is the Cortech Super 2.0 Saddlebag, and I have it mounted on my 2015 V-Strom 1000 here. It took me all of 3 minutes to get this right. Two Velcro straps across the top, then a strap from bag to bag underneath. Cortech included four of these buckle and loop straps with the bag, so I hooked one around the subframe and buckled it to the front of each saddlebag. Of course the footpeg bracket would have worked as an anchor point too. These top buckles are meant for attaching a Super 2.0 Tail Bag on top, which would be really easy as well. But I don’t have one of those.
So installation is a cinch. And for a 200-dollar pair of saddlebags, I like how much I’m getting. Somewhere between 1680 and 1800-denier fabric all over this guy, so if I drop my sportbike the Super 2.0 will be the least of my worries. The bag is semi-rigid, which you know I love. And we have this heat shield all across the bottom so my muffler doesn’t cook my lunch. On the contact patch, there’s a big non-slip, non-scratch panel as well.
The outer surface has some reflective piping and a zippered pocket. All the way around I have this expansion gusset, so if I pack a bit too much, I can undo this and get an extra few inches to play with. Going into the main compartment here, I was surprised to find more goodies. Two scratch resistant belts, which I can put under the Velcro yoke straps if they have to cross a painted surface. These are also useful if I have a passenger on the back, because they cover up the Velcro that would otherwise stick to my pillion’s pants.
Finally, I get rain shells for each saddlebag, which – wildly enough – come inside their own rain shells. They’re just plastic bags with shock cords around the top, but they work okay. I do worry that I won’t be able to make a tight fit with this strap coming off the bottom. But I just tie the shock cord around the strap, so if the bag flies off in the wind, I won’t actually lose it.
Now, I’m an adventure rider. And the powers that be are trying to convince me that I need something like this. It’s a Givi 46-Litre Trekker case – it’s big, it’s rigid, and it costs almost 800 dollars for a pair.
I’m not sold on this. I’ve been riding with hard cases for a while and honestly, they’re a pain in the ass. The rigid shell makes it difficult to cram things into here and when I’m squeezing through a tight trail or an opening in a fence, there’s no wiggle room. This either fits, or it doesn’t. Worst of all, whenever I drop my bike, some part of the side case or the mounting bracket usually bends or breaks.
Nelson-Rigg Adventure Dry Saddlebags
So, all that to say, soft cases are a better fit for my adventures. The Nelson-Rigg Adventure Dry Saddlebags are only 160 bucks on fortnine.ca right now, and that’s a better fit for my adventure budget too.
There are a million ways to mount this thing as a sidecase, and a few ways to throw it on top of my tank or pillion too. The only thing is I’d definitely want a luggage rack under here to keep it from flopping inwards.
Just like the Cortech, we have a wealth of straps and buckles. Two big Velcro yokes for over top, four buckled straps on the back of each bag. Two female ends on the lower sides, which I can attach to any of the four multipurpose straps that came with the bag. And then there are two D-rings on the front, which I’ve run the compression straps through, but I’d also use these for attaching my tent to the outside.
Opening it up, this is a typical roll-over dry bag. And inside it’s just 27 liters of empty space. Personally, I love this no-frills design. I can stuff my junk in here, seal it off, throw it in the lake, and it’ll come out dry. That’s simple, that’s functional – that’s what I want from my adventure kit.
Givi E21 Monokey Cruiser Side Cases
So, I’ve already picked a great option for cruising, sport riding and adventuring. To close us off, I’d take Givi’s E21 Monokey side case for city and commuter riding.
Of course I couldn’t make this video without giving a nod to the Italian giant. Givi is the king of motorcycle luggage and – sooner or later – I had to pay homage.
But the E21 is well worth the praise. Because it’s so slim, it’s perfect for city riders who need the storage space without the bulk. Of course I’d never split lanes in Canada. But hypothetically … if I did … the E21 would be perfect for sliding through traffic without trading paint.
These guys retail around 200 bucks, which is inexpensive for a pair of hard cases and unheard of for the made-in-Italy Givis. My pocket change is getting me the legendary waterproof, dustproof and theft-proof build quality. I also get the style. I see E21s on every kind of motorcycles and scooter and somehow … it looks perfect on all of them.
Yes, I have to buy a vehicle-specific mounting bracket for the E21. That’s an extra cost, but at least I know the case will fit well. Once I have the bracket installed, it’s super easy to pop on and off. Just turn the key halfway and press this button to open the quick release. I got four of these keys in the box, by the way. Not sure why I’d ever need that many, but there you go.
Opening it up, you have 21 litres of empty space in here. Everything I take to work fits in one of these cases, and the pair can handle my typical grocery run. Of course it can’t take my helmet – even if I just wear a brain bucket. But then again, I’m buying the E21 because it’s so slim, so what do I expect?
And that’s it for my favorite motorcycle luggage! Saddlemen Express for cruising, Cortech Super 2.0 for sport riding, Nelson-Rigg Adventure Dry for adventuring, and Givi’s E21 for commuting. Tourers can have their pick. Are you a cruiser-tourer, sport-tourer, adventure-tourer … you get what I mean.