InvictaMoto's Red Pepé Blog

Well. Mostly packed. Just sponge bag and the new pocket atlas* to go out and be stuffed into the Saddlemen bag. It's a bit full as I wanted to save the panniers. The left one contains my Kent Fire Brigade "Biker Down" first aid kit and... two bottles of English white wine from Chapel Down Vineyard (never call it a winery!) That's about 15 miles from home.  Both bottles wrapped in bubble wrap and then on a travel blanket. The right one has my Triumph waterproof over jacket and trousers.  Plus a lock and a bag for race day. I was going to manage without my tank bag, but I need somewhere for my passport and spectacle cases!  Now I have to decide on what to wear. Vented jacket obviously but it looks like Hood jeans over leathers. So. It's nearly 10.30pm and I have to be up early to be on the train to France at 8.50am. * useless!

Profligate that I am I decided the used bag wasn't going to work properly as it is simply too soft and doesn't hold its shape. Looked at a few Saddlemen options and with my refund from British Airways I bought a new bag. The quality is instantly evident. It came from a UK Harley dealer and luckily isn't badged HD at all. It had its first outing on the Somme trip and was perfect  it swallowed all our "duds" for the Ceremony and more. Saddlemen FTB3600 with waterproof cover The bright yellow waterproof cover came in handy in some terrible weather and no water got in. The cover is big enough to fit over the main bag and the top bag. It looks a bit flimsy but worked well. At £138 inc taxes and delivery it's not cheap but you'd have to pay more for hard luggage and a rack to mount it. The standard setup was the right size for my sissy bar pad and I used two other supplied straps to keep it tightly in place on the little rack, should...

I have been lusting over some extra luggage for a while. Checking forums there are lots of guys with some really good looking Kuryakyn or Saddlemen bags that are designed for the cruisers or customs and that attach to the sissy bar. The plan was to look at them on a recent trip to the States, the natural habitat of the cruiser. In the end this never happened and so the lust has been cooled. Instead I have invested a few pounds in a bag from a friend of a friend. It's not new, but hardly used. It's basically a largish square bag with two pockets on each side.  There's a roll bag that is supposed to fit on the top but I have no idea how. There's no waterproof cover so everything will have to go in waterproof bags inside it. I tested it for fit earlier and it has two velcro straps that one fits under the sissy bar pad, the other across it and two others to anchor it to the rack. It's semi rigid and looks like once it is filled with clothes etc it m...