Carrying your own stuff....

On our trip we will have a lot to carry, especially now that Sadie will be traveling with us. The BRAT2 will be the carrier for all our camping supplies as well as the cooler and food stuffs. Heavier extra motorcycle gear as well.

Then we each need to carry our clothes and toiletries as well as the daily gear we always carry. Stu has a large trunk, the tour-pack and the luggage rack with the Harley bag on top.

Donna has her saddlebags and will probably carry a tank bag (purse replacement as well as daily riding necessities like camera, chapstick, tissues, etc). Needless to say, she needs more room. LOL!

So today she went on eBay and found a good buy on a detachable sissy bar with luggage rack. She had one, without the luggage rack, and sold it on eBay last summer, thinking she wouldn't be using it. Never fails....LOL!

She also has a luggage set that won't work as well with her current configuration since she has no passenger seat, just a Mustang fender pad she recently added.

Since her current luggage bag is soft, she's concerned that it will damage the paint on her rear fender. Thus the search for a hard bag...easier to deal with all around but lots to consider.

• It needed to be large enough to carry a week's worth of clothes. 
• It needed to be mountable on the front or rear of a sissy bar on the bike.
• It needed to be able to deal with the rain with waterproof being the best, having a rain cover second and using an insertable liner the third.
• Outside pockets would be nice...always can use extra space.
• How it is carried had to be considered...handle at the top, rolling wheels, backpack, shoulder strap?
• Reflectivity is always good...especially in dusk, dawn and rainy times.
• Finally, the cost....not looking to spend $200-300, prefer under $150

After researching ten different bags and setups, she finally ended up getting these.

Nelson Rigg SVT-1000 Jumbo Weekender 

Nelson Rigg SVT 200 Dry Roll Bag 

Not as pretty as some but they are completely waterproof, large, reflective with good carrying methods...and she ended up with free shipping (always a good thing). The roll bag will work on the luggage rack both on the long trip as well as local, around town errands.

That about wraps up the latest....Sadie is doing well riding. She loves it so much that she whines until the bike is started. She's not crazy about her Doggles but we hope to get her a dog helmet once she is grown and that will prevent her from scraping them off. LOL!

Ride safe,
Stu and Donna