Hi everyone. Welcome to my blog. Here is my take on motorcycle luggage for touring. No. Not another seemingly non ending debate over hard vs soft. This is my experience from using hard and soft luggage for more than 15k kilometers-over varied terrain, extremes of weather, ease of handling on and off the motorcycle and safety.
What I took for my first tour
I need a large capacity lugguage system, which will accommodate my cloths, tool kit, camera, lenses, tripod and rain wear.
My tours usually last more than a week and a few thousand kilometers. Obviously I need a large capacity lugguage system, which will accommodate my cloths, tool kit, camera, lenses, tripod and rain wear. Therefore, for my first long ride-to Dholavira from Varkala, a total of 4918 kilometers, I went for the Viaterra Claw.
Images courtesy viaterra webpage
If you are interested in this saddle bag, you may have a look here
The claw comes in two capacities-72 liters and the mini 48 liters . Since my ride was more than two weeks, I went for the larger one.
Advantages of this system
- Large capacity
- No additional hardware or saddle stay required.
- Cavernous capacity. Can carry all your equipments, tools, cloths …everything that you need for a loooong tour.
- Water proof and comes with a rain cover.
- Compartment for documents.
- Side pockets- 2x, on either side to carry Jerrycans up to 5 liters in capacity for fuel.
- Shoulder strap to carry the bag.
- Two tough handles to carry the bag. Innovative strap system to fix the bag on the bike.
These went inside and there was still more space.
Cavernous capacity. Can carry all your equipments, tools, cloths …everything that you need for a loooong tour.
- Two one liter bottles of Pro Honda engine oil.
- Tool kit.
- Tire puncture repair kit.
- Laptop and charger.
- Two 5 liter petrol cans on either side in the external pockets.
- Four pairs of trousers.
- Six t shirts. Underweares. One large towel. 750 ml bottle of waterless wash. Microfiber towels x 4. Large power bank and an external hard disk.
- Chargers for my camera batteries and mobile phone.
- One foot pump
Disadvantages
- Will become a bit heavy to carry off the bike to the hotel room and back to the bike.
- If there is no lift in the hotel – once I hade to carry this up to the fourth floor in a holiday home (excellent strength training for my legs. Really enjoyed it), this can be a little bit of annoyance.
- This bag is not rigid. Hanging parts can easily scratch the paint. A few pieces of strategically placed cellophane tapes saved my bike’s paint.
- Cannot lock your bag. No safety. With a sharp object anyone can cut open the bag and steal the contents. Or the straps and the whole bag. Need to keep an eye on the bag always.
- A little difficult to wash off the road grime after your tour.
To its credit, the viaterra claw performed exceptionally well. Full protection to the contents from inclement weather. Spacious enough to carry everything and more you need for a long tour. Tough as nail construction.
Here are images from my own ride
Will I continue use this?
Yes. If I can keep an eye on the bike all the time. Or if I have another rider with me, who can keep an eye on the bag while I need to spare a few minutes away from the bike. However, that rider may be engaged in his own activity precisely at the same time. So…….read about my hard luggage here in part 2 of this page.
BTW I have no affiliation with the manufacturers or dealers/sellers any of the products that I review in my blog. Every product I review here is aquired by paying money from my own pocket. No unboxing reviews or reviews before using a product. Every product will be used by me for at least on one ride covering a minimum of 4000 kilometers.
Happy and safe riding
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