Yes Emily

Yes Emily, girls can ride motorcycles!


Sunday, February 9, 2014

If You Can’t Ride … Dream!

The snow is (I've lost count of how many feet) deep. Right now riding season is just a dream and so my philosophy is, if you can’t ride … dream!

You might remember I started dreaming at the International Motorcycle Show in January and did a little shopping at the same time. Thursday, a month almost to the day later, Canada Post left a little love note in my mail box letting me know the new luggage had finally arrived.

Excitement abounded as I unpacked the gear, the family not offering a bit of advice on how to insert the ridged bottoms into the saddle bags.



Proudly, it was done – (one saddle bag, molded top, a bit squished from shipping) and sitting on the dining room table. Now what? Put them back in the shipping box and store them until – who knows when. They look a little small, and they're not expandable, time will tell.

So, here’s what I got to replace the sorely disappointing* Gears luggage.


Tour Master Nylon Cruiser III XL Saddle Bags featuring adjustable mounting yoke and something I’m thinking will be really handy; zipper removal system. Thanks Tour Master for the website photos. Plus ...


I got an Iron Rider Main Bag (or as I call it – a trunk- thanks Iron Rider website for the photo). Time will tell how well they stand up to riding and sun ... if the snow ever melts and I'm ever able to get the Star out of paddock again I'll let you know. 


*Gears Bags, after three summers – zipper pulls had broken (first year out), faded from black to near white and totally lost shape, sagging and dragging to an extent I'd call embarrassing: Gears Trunk also faded, zipper broken and drooped over luggage rack and listed to one side uncontrollably. Neither bags nor trunk stood up to the test of time. For what it's worth, though they held a lot of stuff,  I'd not recommend them.

16 comments:

  1. I remember the lopsided luggage. Still, it did the job.

    Looking forward to seeing the new kit on your Star.

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    1. Lopsided as it might have been it held a lot of stuff - am very worried about the new luggage - where will I put the mascara?

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  2. "Zipper removal system" what is this? Removable pulls? Nice looking bags and w/hard bottoms to maintain shape. Do they have/need rain covers?

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    1. Richard, it was the idea they could be zipped off that sold me! How handy will that be?

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  3. karen;

    I had a Gears bag for my scooter. Can't say it was bad but it wasn't waterproof. I also have another Gears Tank bag, seems okay, but not waterproof either.

    But my Gears heated riding gloves were no good. My friend also bought a pair and then burnt out

    Bags look good but will the zipper detatchment system hold the weight of the bag and contents ?

    don't worry about being non-expandable, just pack less

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast

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    1. Bob, I've come to believe there is no such thing as a waterproof soft sided bag ... that's what garbage bags were invented for. PS if the zippers don't hold - the world will hear about it. (pack less you say, coming from a man who travels with how many gadgets - all I really want is room for one little tube of mascara and perhaps a little bit more!)

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  4. Nice looking set of bags. Hopefully they will weather a little better than the last set.

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  5. Didn't you know that winter time is moto shopping (gear replacement) time? I hope the new bags will serve you better than the last. Given the price tag on such equipment one would expect it to last longer than three summers.

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    1. I have learned my lesson! And here's hoping I get a few more years out of them. The top bag (non gears) has lasted over 7 years - still is as black as it was when I bought it, though it has suffered a little from PEI squirrel chew!

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  6. Trial and error seems to be the way of it. My best jacket is something I picked up at Cyclegear completely off brand...and a jacket that should have been wonderful, well, sucked, but everyone else who had loved theirs. Go figure. Hope these are a "find". Good luck.

    I solved the luggage problem...I just don't go anywhere.

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  7. Looks like great luggage Karen and anxious to see everything where it belongs.....on VStar. I've found my Tour Master gear to be a great value; that crispy hole in the bottom of mine not the gear's fault.

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    1. Coop - looks like small luggage to me, but glad to hear yours (sans hole) has stood the test. I'm anxious to see what they look like too - was thinking I may even have to put them on backward to better suit the high tail light. Man, just when I had packing down to a science - there goes the formula.

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  8. Keith, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Goin' nowhere - I'd rather have the luggage problem, but they seem so much smaller than the old ones ... not sure if I'll be able to go as far. I'll have to figure out what I can leave behind.

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  9. with the amount of snow we've had I think it might be mid June before it all melts! I have a Gears Navigator tail bag that hasn't stood up well either. It has a flap that buckles up which is good because the inner lining pulled away from the zipper far too easy, and the bottle holder ripped off. Still, I love the attachment system so continue to use it for "hardware" stuff and my rain gear. I picked up some Motopak soft bags this winter and can't wait to try them out. I spent far too much knee surgery re-coop time on Google Maps so I have a stack of routes printed out that I'm dying to get to.

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    1. k rowland s - my gears tail bag looks like crap (honestly!) I picked the Iron Rider bag because of the 'seemingly' rigid bottom - I think it was the drooping over the luggage rack that bothered me more than the zipper malfunctions ... however I may have to get my PhD in luggage attaching before I ever figure out where and how everything straps on. The new bag seems a bit larger than the old - it's where I've always kept electronics, maps and miscellaneous crap (however I need an entire new formula for packing this season because the Tourmaster bags are decidedly smaller than the Gears ... and they don't expand.) Would love to see your stack of maps and places to ride ...I've had a case of the fickles myself ... one day I say one place, the next, another (usually depending on what food truck I've just watched on TV.) Just can't make up my mind, but you're right; with all this snow I'll probably have until June to decide.

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