I'm looking to see what you fellow inmates have as far as soft bag set ups for 950 or 990 adventure. I tried a set of Chase Harper bags draped over the side panels. They lasted my whole 6 day off road trip until the last extended bit on the freeway. Melted a hole right through the right bag. Anyway I'm trying to see what you guys have for a setup. Mounts or no mounts? I just want a setup that will last.
I am pretty sure that any bag resting right on the pipe will just melt. I really liked the Giant Loop bags... and I love the new Kriega Overlander bags. Go to the vendors section, there are threads on both the GL and the Kriega and the Wolfman.
For my type of camping/ cooking / riding style. The Wolfman soft luggage system works great for me. I like the easy to access individual bags. Top dry bag fits my tent- sleeping bag, sleeping pad, stuff sack of cloths. Sides are for layers and cooking supplies and food. If you don't want racks. - Giant loop Great Basin. I had racks on the bike, but it fits much better with out them. You really do get what you pay for. Both of these products are built to last and have not let me down on any of my long cross country trips.
+1 Wolfman ... my set up is a lot simpler than CJs though ... The bag on top is not Wolfman, but the saddle bags are the Teton model with mounting rack ... http://www.wolfmanluggage.com/Saddle/teton_saddle_bags.html System works as advertised ... perfectly!
If you haven't already done it, swapping the stock exhaust for aftermarket cans will greatly reduce radiated heat (and weight). That won't change what happens when bags contact the actual exhaust piping, but may help with melting overall.
I dig that setup. I like simplicity. Also I like that the mounts aren't so far back like the factory ones. Thanks for the advice.
I'm thinking a GPR 2-1 setup is in my future. I just love the 2-1 Rally style exhaust. It looks so cool.
My setup. I have the Wolfman Bags too, but prefer the GL with another top sack like this. No need for the side racks, and the GL carries the weight more forward and central to bike......I prefer this setup. I have also seen a buddy use both the GL and the Wolfman Side bags w Racks all together...on an SE to boot
I have the wolfman dry bags on the stock KTM racks. They are fucking awesome. Dry as a bone in the heaviest downpours, and are fairly easy to take on and off. Easy to unbuckle the top cross straps to get under the seat while the bags hang from the rack mount points. I spent the extra money for four bottle holders and use that to carry 4x 1L fuel bottles which is very nice to have on a long trip off into the wilds. If I ever get safari tanks I can use the bottle holders for water, spirits , and or a liter of oil for a long trip. If you don't have racks I'd recommend getting the Wolfman racks which would make taking the bags on and off faster then the universal mounts I have for the KTM racks. My setup for four weeks on the bike:
+1 for the Wolfman setup. I like the flexibility of being able to use different combinations of top bags depending on how long I'm gone
I make some nice affordable crash bar bags if you're in the market. Currently available for KTM & Hepco Becker crash bars.
The Great Basin works well alone or with a dry bag duffel zip top for loose items. Make sure you put bra tape on the side panels before each ride as the bag chafes the paint.
For shorter trips or even longer ones when I am not camping I reckon the Giant Loop is hard to beat. I kept the racks primarily for the good anchor points and also as Akra protectors. I crash a lot. For longer and camping trips, like vonotto above I tried adding the rotopax to the rack with a dry bag on top but foung this pushed the GL too far forward to allow me to manouevre off road, so I now switch back to my trusty ortlieb saddlebags. I mount these high and forward to get a good weight distribution (the heavy stuff goes in the saddle bags always). It also reduces the overall width at the back to within the handlebars width, which is really handy for negotiating crowded Latin American city traffic. Just done a recent trip where I started out solo, dry bag full of camping shit, mounted as far forward as is comfortable to get the weight more "in" Was later joined by the boss, same setup just shifted the drybag back on top of the rotopax. Missus doesnt do camping so camping stuff dumped and mailed back home. Drybag now full of shoes, makeup, hairdryer....... The Ortlieb drybag and saddlebags have been with me now for over 3 years and about 120,000kms. Durable, not a rip or tear in any of them despite abuse, crashes. Great products.
