Hard or soft luggage?
 

I understand that this will probably be a matter of opinion, but what sort of luggage would you recommend for a trip to S.A.? I can see that the hard stuff is slightly more secure but is it really worth the £200 spent on it? What type of luggage is the best and would I need a jerry can for a trip through Argentina and Chile (I have a 28 litre tank), as this may limit the type of rack I can take. Any suggestions? My bike is a 1990 XT600.

Hi Dave,
think about rain, dust, dirt and theft. And hardbags are the better choice. Packing a hard bag is also much easier than a soft bag....
If you want to drive very remote Andesroads there are legs of 600 kms without fuel... But thats exceptional.
Have a great trip,
Peter

PS; forgot about rivercrossings and dropping the bike. Lots of guys make aluminumboxes themselves for very little money....

[This message has been edited by peter theuwissen (edited 27 July 2000).]

A hugely personal choice. We are 16 months and 45,000 kms into our trip. I've used soft bags all the way, and my mate had Touratech boxes for a few months. Our conclusion: hard boxes are overpriced, add unnecessary weight, encourage you to take more and are far more dangerous in an accident. Ortlieb 18 litre bags are waterproof and sturdy. Get a small lockable back box and/or toolbox mounted to bashplate to store valuables. Travel light!

You can buy hard luggage for only ¨200? Wow - please tell me where! :-)

I have rented bikes over seas with hard bags, and tour here at home in North America with soft bags.

I personally would much rather have hard bags. You can lock them, they are more weather proof, can't be (easily) cut open or snooped through.

One fellow mentions that he thinks hard luggage is more dangerous in a crash. I dunno about that: if anything I think in a low speed spill the bags will help absorb the brunt of the impact, thus protecting the bike itself.

------------------
Bruce Clarke
brclarke@islandnet.com
www.islandnet.com/~brclarke

Hi there,
Its getting interesting... The question soft/hard bags is not only personal but also a matter where are you travelling, AND are you going to camp or use hotels most of the time. Camping in the bush in Australia or in Japan: go for soft bags and travel as light as possible. Going to South America and using cheap hotels all the way: use small hardbags or selfmade small (!) aluboxes.
Peter
Sorry, I read your message again, your going to South America, but Argentina and Chile! These countries you dont stay only in hotels unless you are a miljonaire.

[This message has been edited by peter theuwissen (edited 27 July 2000).]

Hard Luggage:
For:
-Solid
-Waterproof
-More secure (as in theft).
-Can be used for other purposes such as
camping etc.
-Inexpensive if you make them or shop around.
-Acts as a buffer in certain accidents.

Against:
-Makes the bike width dangerous in city
traffic and other such situations of
congestion if you forget that your not
riding a sigle cylinder small bike.
-Promotes overpacking.

Last month I was riding two-up in Bangkok
and was side swiped by a cage. The cage
caught the left side of my one-piece crash
bar on an air-cooled BMW. Our legs were
saved by the crash bar and the wide Darr
aluminum panniers. The panniers are the
latest that Darr has to offer and are not
that high quality. We went down, as I feel,
extremely hard with slight damage to the
bike and panniers. The cost of the panniers
was approximately US$250 shipped from Germany
to my residence in the US. I consider that
inexpensive insurance in this case.

Ride safe,
Carl

Peter makes a good observation on that the
area of travel makes a difference on the type
and size of luggage. Riding two-up is also
crucial in the decision of what size luggage
to use.

Ride safe.

I biked around Patagonia a few years ago on a transalp ( 19 litres) and although I had a few close calls I never ran out of Petrol, so I doubt if you need jerry cans. Can't help you with the luggage debate though as i didn't have hard or soft luggage just a rucksack on the pillion seat. But I would always feel safer leaving the bike if i had hard luggage.

Hi Dave,
I couldn't resist having my say! I rode around the world in '97/'98 and I used softees and I never regretted it. But I customised them a bit by fitting an alluminium plate into the back of them, which then had hooks fastened onto those. This allowed me to pull them up hard against racks on each side of the bike (rule No 267 - "vibration is your ENEMY!). They lasted the trip well and I still use them. OK they're not secure but NEVER leave anything of special value (ie that you couldn't afford to lose) on the bike, but I did have a plastic 35ltr top box which was lockable (I mean, you don't want to lose your stove do you, but you WOULD get by without it!) which doubled up nicely as a seat while I was cooking etc. One thing thats really good about soft luggage is that when, sorry, IF you come off the bike they don't break. I've seen people with plastic/fibre glass or alluminium boxes in all sorts of problems after a bump. Can you imagine how hard it is to find someone with a TIG welder in say, Cambodia? Or even a simple rivet gun for that matter! But there are cars all over the world and if there's cars there's guy's with gas welding gear. After soft luggage, mild steel is the best material. Use very thin stuff and it won't even be all that heavy, but it will withstand a right old bashing. And anyway, your not going on a track day are you!
They were Oxford Lifetime Touring panniers and cost £90, so save yourself some money and stay out there a little longer instead!

Good luck

Warren

It seems that all the pros and cons of the hard vs soft debate have been covered. My contribution is that a crucial consideration is the type of roads you expect to ride on. Soft bags are (in my opinion) better suited to dirt, and hard bags to tar.

I don't think it can be argued that soft bags are not water or dust proof. As the Globeriders said, their Ortlieb gear is both.

I've heard that hard bags are more likely to damage the bike's frame in an accident. They are also more rigid, and less able to withstand dirt work.

Also, soft bags are more flexible i.e. if not packed to capacity you can tie them in, or squeeze in an odd shaped article.

However, if you expect to stick to tar, hard bags have the edge - security, etc.

Otherwise, I'd go for softies.

Thanks to everyone who's contributed. I still haven't totally decided but I think I'm going to go half and half: a hard Zega topbox, and the soft Oxford Touring panniers I have under the bed from when I once had an XJ600. That way I can see have a modicum of security but travel as light (and cheap) as possible. I'm a bit worried because I'll be camping and travelling on my own, and I know how quickly someone can get into your bags whilst you're in the supermarket or whatever. However I suppose I'll just have to be vigilant. You can't guard against everything can you? And if you could... what a dull life that would be!

I have a XT600.I have mounted two medium size ammo boxes either side of the saddle & a smaller one in front of the bash plate,valuable stuff locked in these,tank bag & roll tied to bike,these two items I can remove and take with me when I leave the bike for a short time ,it seems to work.Ammo boxes are very cheap,can take a hammering & and are small,also it encourages you to travel light& they are completly water proof.

Dave,

I won´t get involved in the hard/soft discussion, although it´s a great debate topic.

I wil however tell you about my country, Argentina which I have covered from tip to toe on a bike. Forget the jerry can. Don´t carry one more thing which will spend 95% of it´s time empty. Gasoline is readily available and even if you don´t see it, it may still be there (however this is also rare since there are quite a number of gas stations). That means, if you are setting out on a long stretch, ask the locals where the filling possibilities are. Plan ahead. Or ask me. I remember and have marked a few places. If you ever need to carry, just pick up an old oil container from a gas station (4 L), use it and then throw it away at the next gas station you come to.

Summing up: Gas is not really a problem in Argentina and Chile. Don´t carry a jerry can, I have not done so with my 18 litre Transalp and have covered about 20.000 kms just in Argentina/Chile.

Gonzalo
-Argentine ex-pat living among the Vikings in Norway.

Can you pass on the contact info for the Darr boxes? $250 sounds terrific.

Thanks!

gord

Hi All,

One thing to watch with Oxford Panniers is that the version with the plastic buckles can snap very easily. I nearly got wiped out when mine snapped after I went over a deep pothole in the Pyrenese. Unfortunately they fell onto my exhaust and melted all the gear inside, so I travelled very light for the next two weeks. The newer velcrose sport ones are a better bet. Full respect to Oxford who replaced them and paid for my damaged gear>

I travelled with both soft and hard panniers but prefer the security aspects of hard panniers