Leather Motorcycle Luggage for Long Trips on a Motorcycle
Posted: Saturday, January 29, 2011
by Gregory Potter
Leather Biker Accessories
Over the past 40 plus years, I have ridden a motorcycle from one state to another and have found that if I had learned earlier in life that acquiring the appropriate gear for my bike would have made the trip a lot easier and more pleasant. I traveled from California to Florida and back several times and every time, all I had was saddle bags as part of my motorcycle gear. The sleeping bag and a small two person tent went on the front handlebars above the headlight and were tied on with rope. My tools, few as they where, where wrapped up in a handkerchief and put in one of the saddle bags along with one or two change of socks and underwear and a couple t-shirts. My leather chaps where rolled up and placed in my leather jacket, which in turn was rolled up and tied to the sissy bar. A pair of pants was usually put in the other saddle bag along with a flash light and some snacks.
First of all, not all bikers are the same. There are bikers that ride only on the weekends and if it's raining or cold outside, forget it. There are bikers that only ride from work and back to save on gas prices. These types of bikers are usually pretty conservative and thus have hard bag material luggage in stalled by the factory that built the bike. They are the few that ride rain or shine and they have heated outerwear and gloves along with a rain suit. I'm not saying anything's wrong with that, it's just not me. There is the type of bikers that nothing bothers them and a simple school backpack is sufficient until the junk they're storing in it gets too heavy, too bulky or just plain isn't big enough to carry all the junk one needs. And then there are the rough, bad ass bikers that ride a motorcycle because they love the wind in their face, the sense of freedom a motorcycle gives them and not all of them are 1%ers. These are the kinds of bikers, The American Biker, that are on the road no matter what. They 'ride to live and live to ride'. They are the heart and soul of what America used to be, before all this 9/11 came along. Oh sure, we got harassed by The Man, but it was more of their job and not just another way to screw with our rights to be Americans.
Saddle bags are one of the first items a biker purchases for his motorcycle if he plans on any long trips at all. A biker can, now days, walk into nearly any bike shop and purchase a set of saddle bags that looks like leather, but upon further inspection, they find that the material is vinyl-polyvinyl chloride (PVC) aka faux or ' fake leather' to keep it simple. Unless the tag states 'Genuine Cowhide or Genuine Buffalo Leather' it most likely is fake leather. Now, some manufactures insist that their product is going to last longer than real leather, but from my experiences, that's a lot of bull. An American biker can pick up a set of saddle bags for anywhere between $50.00-$800.00, depending on leather weight, thickness and brand. You want to measure your motorcycle to figure out what's going to work for you, Many times a small set of bags will look really stupid on a Harley Davidson, but look great on a Honda Rebel. Some guys just want to have a lot of storage space, yet don't want to add hard bags that won't be able to be removed very easily, thus a large set would be the ticket. A good leather smith may be the road to take if you're looking for something that fits your bike and personality perfect, but expect to pay the price. Some saddle bags come with an under-seat pad that the bags zip to, thus allowing you to remove them as you tote them up to you hotel room. Many Hard bags come with liner bags that can be removed and used as suit cases also.
The next subject is going to be that extra luggage needed for that long trip. I have found that the traditional back pack worked for many years until I found a luggage unit that actually straps over the sissy bar with no other bungees or tie downs. It has 3 extra pockets on the outside, allowing for sunglasses, cigarettes, and gloves or just about anything you want to get to with ease. The large inside compartment is about 14"X14"X6", which is a lot of space for one guy. A round, flat bottomed case measures 6" diameter and about 14" long with a flap across the top and hook buckles to attach it to the bag below. At various places on both these bags are 'D' hooks for nearly anything else one need on a trip.
Next is the tool bag, usually places under the headlight on the lower triple tree, but I've seen them in various other places, such as below the neck on the down tubes or attached to the crash bar. The new Harley-Davidson soft tails have a tool box made of steel you can purchase. Personally, I'm not into chrome, so I got it Black-powdered to match my bike. The tool bag is now my windshield bag that houses my sunglasses and night riding glasses. It works for me! Now my sleeping bag along with a small 2 man tent fits snugly on the rear seat and gives me my back support needed on those long trips, unless of course, Momma goes with me, and that's a whole other subject.
Thanks for your time and interest, hope this will come in handy someday when you're planning a cross country trip on a motorcycle. A good thing to remember is: KEEP THE RUBBER SIDE DOWN!
This Article has been viewed 519 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.