naked bike luggage

If you've read very many of my posts you know I have a preference for naked bikes.  My Harley Strreet Bob and vintage 75 GL1000 are naked most of the time but sometimes there's just no getting around it, you have to carry something.  Maybe it's your lunch that you're taking to work, or maybe it's a couple of things the significant other needs from the grocery store, or parts from the dealership.  What do you use to carry stuff and still keep the sleek naked look?

When my only bike was my Honda I got by for a long time just putting things in the shelter.  The shelter is a small space inside the faux gas tank.  It is handy for a lunch, a few papers or odds and ends.  When I started going on long trips with my brother, I bought a small Tourmaster bag with built in bungee cords that would attach to the back half of the seat.  I would go for 4 days or so and if it didn't fit in that bag it didn't go.  The nice thing about that little bag is at the end of the day I would just unhook the bungee cords in 10 seconds and carry it into the motel.

I travel light when I'm on the motorcycle.  I also pack clothes to wear that are mostly worn out so at the end of the day I just throw them away.

The Harley Street Bob was a different story.  There was no faux tank to stash my stuff in the Harley.  I rode it for quite awhile before I finally gave in and bought and installed a luggage rack to my Harley.  It's small.  It's black.  It isn't very noticeable, and it works pretty well.  I bought another Tourmaster bag that had a profile that fit the Harley better than the bag I use with my GL1000.  Even though this bag is small it still holds enough for a 4 day trip.  If I really need to I can stack the two bags on top of each other and the bungee cords hold nicely.  They both have a rain cover that work perfectly.

I have a third bag that I use quite a bit with the Harley.  It's a tank bag with magnets that hold securely.  This fits nicely on the tank and it even has a clear plastic compartment that allows me to write out a list of the highways I want to take on my trips and I can stay on course with a quick glance to see what junction is coming up next. More often though I use the tank bag on my daily commute.  Its magnets hold tight to the luggage rack in back and is just the right size for my lunch and a few papers or a book.

       
You have to carry things from time to time but the best thing about these bags is that when you don't want them cluttering up the look of the bike you can just take them off and you have a naked bike again.