Luggage Help?

[jasperboy]

Spent the morning at the local bike & accesories store trying to find a medium size travel bag for my 06 Nomad. Just a pleather style to sit on my Cobra rack. All the ones I liked didn't fit, and the few that did fit were either HUGE or fugly. Seems our enourmous passenger backrest and extra thick backrest pad make the regular straps too small. I don't want to bungee cord the thing on, and none of the adds or description in the J&P book or others discuss the mounting. What are others using, and can I see picks?

[dogdoc]

Most all of the T-bag line will fit our Nomads fine. Other brands will too Im guessing.

[macmac]

Thxs Doc... I searched the link. http://www.t-bags.com/

Thar's no way i can do the hard packs at these prices add to that the rack.

I plan to make my own rack, and maybe buy some sort of pack.

The local army navy has 2 sets of a leather like pack. One set is $99.99, and the other is $109.99.

The lesser one is still pretty big, and is a 2 piece set, the top being a round cylinder that can be taken off.

The costlier is a 4 piece set, that one large box or the mid size can be mounted alone, and then the larger box can have zipped on side boxes.

Both have pack pack straps so you can wear the whole thing.

These are not very pretty, but...... there pretty cheap.

These folks have a fair collection to see.....
http://www.jpcycles.com/

This is a pic of the one I can get local for $99.99
https://www.mcstands.com/browse.asp

3rd item down, same exact thing..

Not real pretty huh ::) The nice thing is you can use either piece alone, or both, and can grab it off and wear it..

It will hold a small tent, 2 small sleeping bags, and all the rain gear any two people can use.

I have Willie & Max saddle bags on my old 81' yammi triple and they are as good today as when I bought them in 99'. I used them as coolers loading in ice and cold brews many times too!

This is the same stuff, semi hard supported, won't cave in empty, and functional.

[macmac]

jasperboy, On my 1500 I had a simple back pack, a day pack I guess. The same idea works on a 1600 too.

I pulled off the backrest pad and made a nylon webbing strap sewwing a loop, by turning the material back on itself.

On the pack I did the same thing twice, so one strap wa above the one mounted under the padding, and the other strap was below.

Then all i did was drop 2 tent stakes common to most any tent thru all 3 loops. Just make it snug, and that pack ain't goin no where, and with the pack off, no one see's the loop trapped under the back rest pad.

[rhunt4]

I have used a back pack a lot and even with a trunk the backpack still works good.

[jasperboy]

All good ideas. I'm just trying to find something functional that doesn't look to...pardon the phrase...hillbilly. Found this one at a local dealer http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...Bike-Pack.aspx and was actually able to try it on a 1600 Nomad they had in stock. Seemed to fit fine. Just trying to get the best looking, best fitting bag that $125 will buy.

[macmac]

jasperboy, You got to see it touch it and look at it on a Nomad?

With or with out studs? I don't like the studs myself much, but that pack isn't the baragin the ones I can get local are.

Do the side poclets zip off? If they do I can get that pack with the 2 side pockets, and the top box that looks just like the lower one but smaller for $109.99.

I can get another one almost the same with a round top pack for $99.99.

I showed one in the link I provided above and there is another on that same page similar, but the one I see in the store has 2 squared boxes one on the other, instead of the round pack.

Either or can be used alone, meaning on the set up with zipper side pockets you can use the big square bottom with or with out the zippered on side pockets, and or just the top box.

The 99.99 one can be used as the lower box and or the round roll pack alone.

So if you like and feel free to ask around here I can get the set, and send it on where the shipping still will be less than the price mcusa has for one bag..

In study on that pic I bet the side pockets do unzip.

That is a set that should come with another box inside, but a little smaller. Inside the smaller box is one side pocket, and on top the way I saw it is the other side pocket... $109.99....

The store has 2 sets like that and I might buy the other set...

There is no way that is American made either as I know it was made in Pakistan...

I can only get these with the studs....

Both sets are lined inside with some gray fuzzy stuff, and I think each set contains a rain bag you can put on when it might rain..

I don't really care for the looks, but it is better than nothing, and it beats a grand for a hard tour pack... Another plus is you can wear it just like any other back pack.

Another plus is you have lots more room for stuff than any hard pack......

Think it over because I am going that way soon for parts on a Jeep I am hired out to work on...


The place is called Army Depot in Conway NH USA... They do have a web site, but I doubt these items made it there.

[jasperboy]

Mac, Thanks for all you efforts! You've got more time vested in this project than I do! Like I said I was able to pyhsically touch and feel the River Road Bag I posted the link for, and actually put it on a 1600 Nomad. Over all a nice bag, I think for the price it will suit me. I only plan on using it for overnight trips, and we only take a few of those per year. The side and front pockets are all attached solidly, and they close with velcro. The top barrel bag is extra, but i'm not looking for anything that large and bulky. I almost bought it, but they weren't coming off the $129.95 list price so I decided to shop. I ended up finding the standard bag (no studs) that matches the look of my bike (no studs or conchos on mine) and got it for my target price of under $100. Actually total price deliverd was $88.00. I was also able to find some positive review on www.cruisercustomizing.com that indicate that the bag has held up well, and even been used on some other 1600 Nomads. I'll post some pics and a review upon my return from 5 day 4 night trip to Gettysburg PA for bike week. I'm confident that between the hard bags and this I'll have room to bring back souveniers.

[radco]

My 2 cents T Bag.. has adjustable mounting strap for the back rest.. Holds a ton,, I have the expandable one and VERY HAPPY :)

[macmac]

jasperboy, I will like to see the pics.. When I first looked at the sets in the local store I thought a tad high, then found the secong pice inside the 99.99 set and 3 pieces more inside the 109.99 set, and both had rain bags to add on in rain.

All of these have cheap conchos and studs, and I am not totally sold on any of them myself.. But I might bite the bullet.

If I do the conchos are coming off, and I will make my own in sterling, which for me is a cake walk. I make some thing called Trade Silver and sell it to other historical re-enactors anyway.

Search it some time... I have no site myself so you will see others workings not mine. I have a few pieces now long gone in my photobucket, but nothing like all of what I have made.

The studs would go away too..

The good part is I know you can load that bag with ice and let it leak all over the place, and no harm will come for it.

Engine oil won't touch that stuff like it eats real leather, so all you ever need to do is toss it in a brook if you get too many bugs guts sun baked on

In 04 after being on since 99 my set of Willies and Max did blow a seam. I was just over stuffin them some that say, ice beers, bacon, eggs and tent a sleepin bag and more of my junk, with who knows what in the bottoms of the bags in the first place!

A little saddle stitchin' fixed that, and with most ot the stuff still in the bags!

The Nomad is a classy lookin bike if you ask me, and I bet if you ask anyone here. I like it better than Harley.

So these kinds of bags don't quite match up as I see it, but then I ain't made of money, which is nearly worthless now anyway.

The bags will do good service though, and if it is a temp thing, then who cares...

A problem for me is I don't yet have a rack of any kind and I am not going to buy one at these prices!

That isn't a big deal since i don't mind black and I can cut steel and weld. I have been holding out for a hard bag and would paint it, but the dammned prices for a fiberglass box are thru the roof.

I can even make a mold and build the glass, but I don't want the bother. If I was gonna do that I could paddle the box down some river..

[jasperboy]

I agree Mac, a tour pack would be my ultimate choice, but between $175 for the wompus rack, the $400-500 for a decent shape tour pack and backrest, plus paint, and it is to rich for my blood. Considered the Matzu (sic) version, but was concerned about the longevity. Settled for the best looking, cheapest bag I could find, so we'll see if I made a good chioce.

For what its worth with set up worked well for me. Its just a regular duffle bag with quality velcro straps stitched on. You can have someone sew on four of them and loop them through the luggage rack or around the backrest supports. This particular bag didn't look too getto IMO. Between this bag and the saddle bags it held all our stuff for a 3 day two night trip.

[dkdixie]

I recently purchased an inexpensive expendable CTB-450 Nelson-Rigg bag for 102.00 shipped.

While it is not perfect for Nomad's with the big backrest, I found it really works quite well strapped to grab rails and backrest support.
For other mounting applications strap extensions, if needed, are available for 9.95 shipped .

[wiz]

I have a Nelson-Rigg RTB500 that is fairly large, holds lots of stuff, comes with a rain cover and built in bungee hooks. It works well for the long trips, attached to the Cobra rack. It is made for sportbikes, but works for me.

[macmac]

Originally Posted by wolfman

For what its worth with set up worked well for me. Its just a regular duffle bag with quality velcro straps stitched on. You can have someone sew on four of them and loop them through the luggage rack or around the backrest supports. This particular bag didn't look too getto IMO. Between this bag and the saddle bags it held all our stuff for a 3 day two night trip.

I use that exact same bag, other than "JEEP" is embroidered on it, and I markered that to be black on my Liberty Bike. A 1981 850 triple yammi. I hand sewwed velco to the bottom to fit the rack...

This way it looks just like it is sitting there strapless!