Note: This is a
sponsored review; however, the opinions I’ve expressed are my
own and were in no way influenced by Viking Bags or its representatives. I hope
you find the review informative and entertaining. ~Curt
When you ride a motorcycle, especially a Sportster,
travelling can be a challenge because of limited luggage space. Selecting the
right luggage is important because it can mean the difference between a great
travel experience and a poor one. When picking out motorcycle luggage you have
to walk a fine line between having something that’s too small to accommodate everything
you want to take and something that’s too big to fit safely on your bike. In
the end, the size of your bike and your personal preference will largely
determine what works best.
In 2012, I made my first multi-day, multi-state ride and
needed some luggage. At that time, I
chose a tunnel style bag that fit across the passenger pillion. It was roomy enough at 3200 cubic inches and
straddled the pillion without removing the passenger backrest. Overall, I liked the bag and it served its
purpose well. However, after making several trips with it I grew very
frustrated with not being able to access items in my saddlebags without
removing it.
Fast forward to three weeks ago. You can imagine my delight when I was
contacted by a representative from Viking Bags about doing a product
review. Talk about timely. I was in the process of planning a trip to
Garner State Park with the Gruene HOG Chapter, so I wasted no time and told
them, “Yes, I’d be very interested.” I
visited the Viking Bag website at www.vikingbags.com
and perused their large selection of motorcycle luggage. I placed an order for their LargeBackseat Luggage with Backrest ($129.00) on Wednesday, 8 January 2014. Their
customer service was great. I received a
UPS tracking number within 24 hours of placing my order and the bag arrived on
Tuesday, 14 January just as promised…in plenty of time for my weekend trip.
Out of the box, the bag was impressive. It was solidly constructed, looked like it
could take a beating, and it was ginormous. The two main compartments have 3400 cubic
inches of space and the three expandable side pockets add another 680 cubic
inches for a total of 4080 cubic inches of storage. This bag should definitely meet the needs of
even the most serious road warrior.
After seeing just how large the bag was, I was a little nervous about
how it would fit on my Sportster. I
carried the bag to my bike for a test fitting.
It definitely wasn’t going to work with my passenger backrest. I removed the backrest and found that the bag
would overhang the pillion a few inches but would work.
Crisis averted.
I packed everything I needed for a weekend trip including a
cold weather sleeping bag. It was tight,
but it all
fit. I could have packed much, much more if I had bungeed the sleeping bag on the outside. It took about 20 minutes to secure the bag to my bike…not because it was difficult, but because I wasn’t sure of the best way to do it. The bag came with two methods of mounting. The first being via a yoke/harness placed under the seat with four connecting straps and the second with two tie-down straps with buckles. I didn’t want to remove my seat so I positioned the bag on the seat, connected the clip hooks on the bag, and ran the straps around my shock struts and fastened the buckles. I tightened the straps and quickly realized the bag wasn’t stable. I used two bungee cords to attach the back end of the bag around my rear saddlebag mounts. This seemed to do the trick. I placed the backrest pad on the bag and was ready to roll.
fit. I could have packed much, much more if I had bungeed the sleeping bag on the outside. It took about 20 minutes to secure the bag to my bike…not because it was difficult, but because I wasn’t sure of the best way to do it. The bag came with two methods of mounting. The first being via a yoke/harness placed under the seat with four connecting straps and the second with two tie-down straps with buckles. I didn’t want to remove my seat so I positioned the bag on the seat, connected the clip hooks on the bag, and ran the straps around my shock struts and fastened the buckles. I tightened the straps and quickly realized the bag wasn’t stable. I used two bungee cords to attach the back end of the bag around my rear saddlebag mounts. This seemed to do the trick. I placed the backrest pad on the bag and was ready to roll.
The bag sat quite a bit taller than my old tunnel bag and
because of that, I was a little uncomfortable with just how stable and secure
it was. After about 20 minutes of
riding, I pulled over to check the bag.
It was solid. I checked the bag
one additional time before reaching the Park with the same results. At the end of the day, I was very pleased
with the bag’s performance and while it felt “different” while riding from what
I was used to, it did allow me easy access to my saddlebags…which was my main
reason for wanting it. I’m sure after using it a few more times, I’ll be just
as comfortable with it as my old tunnel bag.
So, would I recommend this bag? Absolutely! Is it the perfect bag? Probably not.
I wasn’t overly impressed with the buckles as they could be much
sturdier and I really wish it had come with two additional tie-down straps…I
don’t think you could secure the bag with what was provided unless you opted
for using the under seat yoke/harness. With
that said, it is a very nice piece of luggage and for $129.00 you get a lot of
bag for your buck (similar bags are easily $50+ more). This bag should
definitely make your short list.
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Resources
Learn How To Attach The Bag With The Under Seat Yoke/Harness
Viking Bags has Tunnel Bags Too – Here’sOne Similar to My Old One
