Do you ride bags on or bags off?

twozzie · Jan 19, 2014

For us californian riders be aware that legislation is being suggested again to ban "splitting" (again) but even worse is a proposed law that all riders were reflective gear (possibly high viz only) and motorcycles can only ride in groups of 3.
I'm sure someone out there has the more correct interpretation but this is what I gleaned off the local news.
Sorry to derail the thread somewhat

NewRider · Jan 19, 2014

twozzie said:
motorcycles can only ride in groups of 3.

Hopefully this will only involve beginners (first year). We have something similar in the province of Quebec, Canada. A new driver must have an experienced rider to be with him on is own motorcycle for the first year. One would think the authorities try everything in their power to discourage peoples of driving motorcycles.

twozzie · Jan 19, 2014

Nope, all riders apparently

Guy · Feb 3, 2014

Filtering is one of the reasons to ride a bike to get to the front of traffic. Why ride a bike if you have to sit in traffic queues, you might as well be sitting in an tin box with the rest of them! You have to be quick off the mark in country's that don't have the orange light before the green, nice to have a bit of warning.

Bags off for me unless touring.

twozzie · Feb 3, 2014

Guy said:
Filtering is one of the reasons to ride a bike to get to the front of traffic. Why ride a bike if you have to sit in traffic queues, you might as well be sitting in an tin box with the rest of them! You have to be quick off the mark in country's that don't have the orange light before the green, nice to have a bit of warning.

Bags off for me unless touring.

I'm with ya man

gatdammit · Feb 3, 2014

America is still trying to grasp the concept of SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT. This is pure torture. I'd rather they really crack down on enforcing passing and lane discipline than splitting or filtering...baby steps.

zippy49 · Feb 12, 2014

I've driven and ridden in many countries. In Germany it is verboten to pass on the right on the Autobahn (except in a traffic jam), and everyone there seems to obey every traffic law. However, if you get stuck in a 'wrong' spot or lane in heavy traffic you will be a skeleton before anyone will let you in!

The opposite is Mexico, where all traffic laws seem optional but nearly every driver is willing to cut you some slack.

Problem around here is that we have the worst of both...

That said, I can't imagine living and riding in the UK with all the rules, cameras, and radar. No MOT inspections here!

PS My saddlebags are in their box on a shelf, along with the mounting plate.

zippy49 · Feb 12, 2014

twozzie said:
For us californian riders be aware that legislation is being suggested again to ban "splitting" (again) but even worse is a proposed law that all riders were reflective gear (possibly high viz only) and motorcycles can only ride in groups of 3.
I'm sure someone out there has the more correct interpretation but this is what I gleaned off the local news.
Sorry to derail the thread somewhat

Took me maybe two minutes to find the actual text of the bill. The lane sharing proposal is SB350, and is not unreasonable, just redundant and vague. I doubt it will fly.

"This bill would prohibit, with an exception for a peace officer,
as provided, a person operating a motorcycle from passing another
vehicle in a portion of a lane occupied by that vehicle unless
certain conditions are met, including that the passing occurs during
traffic congestion, and the passing occurs at a safe speed."

I thought that was already the de facto situation! Whipping through stopped traffic at 60+ is called reckless driving, a three pointer. The DMV will ask for your license back for not much more. And what, cops can split at "unsafe" speeds?" Don't think so. That's why they have lights and sirens.

And the other two have no chance of passing. They are stupid. Never mind, back to the topic at hand...

I'm asking a mod to take this into a new thread, so we can discuss pending legislation that will affect us without hijacking this one.

JefDC · Feb 13, 2014

What is the maximum weight that the side bags really can handle ?

Thx ... jef

gatdammit · Feb 13, 2014

JefDC said:
What is the maximum weight that the side bags really can handle ?

Thx ... jef

I have definitely exceeded 10 lbs a few times. I try and keep heavier part of load on the bracket side. My seams show a little stress but I don't feel like they're going to explode spontaneously on the highway.

I'd say the weak point will be the bracket-bag mounting. Hope I don't confirm that.

zippy49 · Feb 13, 2014

Depends on usage

From the Owner's Manual:

"The side panniers are only for light luggage:
each pannier can contain a maximum of 11 lb (5 kg)
(K). Excessive weight might compromise vehicle
stability."

They don't mention durability. Several riders have reported carrying big loads, and the only failure I can remember seeing was impact-induced. So I would not worry about a bit of overloading unless you are planning to ride on very rough roads. Compared to some of the gigantic rear trunks that some riders have installed, the weight is carried lower and more forward, which improves stability.

gatdammit · Feb 13, 2014

I tend to run uneven loads pretty often because I pop my helmet in/out of same bag. I've never noticed adverse handling from uneven loads.

JefDC · Feb 15, 2014

Thanks for the replies.
It seems awfully little to me.
On my previous bike I had about 9 kg in each bag of a throw-over, 8 kg in the Bag on the back Rack and 9 kg in the Tank bag (total of 35 kg) with absolutely no issues at all.
As the Hyper is rather high I would load that much on the Back, but only 5kg in the sidebags ...

Best regards ... jef

Jackiecliett · Feb 27, 2017

No prob splitting with bags on

HyperstradaHopeful said:
Do you guys find it any harder to lane split stopped traffic to get in front at a red light with the saddlebags on?

Also, what are the laws on that? I know California allows lane splitting, but is moving to the front of a traffic light considering lane splitting? Are you guys in other states allowed to drive between cars at a traffic light to get to the front of the line before it turns green?

I don't find it any harder to split with bags on. They sit up pretty high.

monocog007 · Feb 27, 2017

I think the worst problem from overloading will be stress on the seams of the zipper. Mine were starting to tear before I had them replaced under warranty. And that was from nothing more than clothes and camping gear, nothing heavy.

gatdammit · Feb 27, 2017

My seams were stressed to, but reached a point where they looked they were gonna hold. My helmet caused the most stress on the zipper seam. Still say after 3 years of use 99% of the time I rode they held up well construction wise...the faded fabric was uber-lame, though. Eventually I'll have my old set reconditioned by a custom shop.

nosequeponer · Feb 28, 2017

usually off, unless itÂ´s raining or going shopping

Do you ride bags on or bags off?

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