Rackless look ugly, tacky and most importantly impractical for day to day on road rides. I agree with SocalRider. Rackless makes sense for off road only
Have had BMW and SW Motech hard panniers and top box. Now exclusively use Kriega luggage and a dry bag with Rok straps. Cheaper, can move from bike to bike and a lot less weight.
Also have Kreiga. Brilliant system! I wish they made a proper tanklok bag but I use a 20L up front and a 20/10/10 combo on the tail and it has worked great for multiweek trips.
Nice job, sir, showing the +/- of each style. After 22 yrs on my beloved ‘20 R1150 GS, I just switched over to a ‘23 Triumph Tiger Rally Explorer. I went with the factory hard panniers only because I’m in my late 60s, don’t do much off-road beyond forest roads, and my past experience with Jesse cases on the GS showed me that they will hold up just fine on the occasional tip-over. I only hope that Triumph aluminum can take a punch as well as the Jesse cases did. 🙄 I’m not a fan of lane-splitting, so the width shouldn’t be an issue. I had contemplated soft bags in prepping for a South American trip in the 90s, but decided that the steel was less prone to invasion than soft bags. I was proved correct in my belief. Thank you for your review.
A configuration worth mentioning, in my opinion, is a hard top case and soft side panniers. Ease of access to day gear and won’t crush your legs or get bent up in a mild tip over.
@@shaundisch2020 I have the Slime "Pro-Series" metal handled tire plug kit and I haven't had any problems with them poking things they shouldn't(they are kept in a faux leather pouch that some of the cheaper sets come in). The key is that the soft luggage for ADV bikes is actually surprisingly rugged and it takes a lot to accidentally damage them. Hard luggage on the other hand is actually very easy to damage, it's like the difference between a plastic soda bottle and an aluminum soda can.
@@Jack-yl7cc I have dropped my hard luggage a million times, makes the bike easier to pick up. Dents all over but still keep my stuff locked up and easy to access.
Well done Ian, I’ve ridden adventure bikes for 40 years. You’ve nailed it with explaining the differences here, hard boxes are super convenient but can be very dangerous to your legs off rd. 👍
@@elgringoec yikes ! hope your ok , yeah ive never had a bike with hard bags , always been more off road focused , so i am quite happy with the newest soft bag set up ive got , tusk olympus , for the $$ i dont think it can be beat
@@justsomedude445 Sounds good. I'm looking to get a mid sized adventure bike and I'll probably go with tusk or mosko. I was lucky enough to react quickly as my leg started to be pulled under and straighten the bike before getting injured. It gave me a scare, though! I got overconfident and kinda forgot to consider I was on a 700# street bike.
@@elgringoec i thought since i already have spent a bunch more $ than i intended to on this 901 build what the heck id go with those sexy looking Mosko Moto bags but when i went to price them out they sell the bags , the rack and all the attaching plates and hardware all separately like a la cart' so when i priced it out it came to $1800 U.S.D. or so , where the Tusk Olympus for $575 comes with everything and i mean everything even a dozen extra washers and fasteners = complete kit + i ran their bags before and they turned out to be tough stuff maybe just a little heavier and not nearly as good looking but .......
@@justsomedude445 Oh my that's a huge difference, I can definitely see going with the Tusk! That 901 is sweet! I've been trying to get my eyeballs on a T7 since they were released, so far no luck. I really want to ride before committing to buy, but the market isn't there yet. I keep saying maybe soon. At some point dealers will be looking for buyers instead of vice-versa. In the meantime Honda might release the rumored new Transalp and that might catch my fancy. Time will tell...
Hi Ian, nice overview. I used the Reckless Revolver on a 5500 km trip, also based on your review back then. I found it doesn't touch my plastic parts at all. I don't put it on the pillion seat but on my topcase base plate since I use a topcase for day to day pyrpose. So at least for those with a similar rack sticking out anyway, the plastic scratching topic may not apply.
Thank you for your video. I have soft rackless panniers (LOMO) and to keep them not flat I use inflatable-China-made cheap travel pillows, one for each panier. It is easy to pump them up with your mouth or remover the air by squeezing it with your hands and then to keep them in the panier with your language. And when you have no lagguage the inflated pillows keep your paniers in their designed shape. Works perfectly for me.
I initially got the reckless 80, but I do prefer lockable Alu panniers for on-road trips. Off-road the reckless is great, but travelling solo im so nervous leaving the bike, even for 5-10 min, which limits me quite a bit more than I thought. Simple hings like checking out a sight or going to a grocery store becomes a stress. When I looked it up on RU-vid before buying, I learned hard cases were heavy, dangerous, and bulky - but that’s mostly an issue for off-road riders. for on-road trips, thats been an easy trade-off for the convenience I get with the alu cases.
Well simply because it’s not very true. Yes top class soft luggage will cost similar money as hard panniers. Yet spucken get overall way cheaper soft luggage aswell! Same goes for weight. The Mosko moto system for example is quite heavy being the sturdiest most robust soft pannier I’ve ever seen and tired (including hard heavy back plate, metal fixings etc) yet you can get other luggage which might not share some of Moskos benefits but in return will be much lighter. For example giantloop mototrekk or wolfman Rocky Mountain…
Great review on showcasing the different styles and options!! One thing that stuck out for me I wanted to mention having experience with both soft panniers and a rack less system. You talk about it being more commitment with the reckless to get it strapped onto the bike vs the click on/off of the panniers however I would argue that strapping the reckless 80 to the bike as the backbone of the system is only comparable to adding the luggage rack the panniers mount to and that pulling the dry bags of the reckless on/off is pretty close to the same effort it takes to dismount a pannier bag although I would give he edge to the panniers. I think initial set up / mounting of the reckless systems takes more effort and attention but I think day to day ease of use vs soft panniers is very close to the same. That being said though all these choices and debate about what works best and what’s right for who is half the fun so again great review ! I enjoy he content and look forward to more in the future!
Cool video! I got hard luggage (Honda brand) for my Africa Twin 1100 (2022): Aluminum top, and the plastic side-cases. The reason is simple: I want them for the daily commute and I want them to be sturdy. I got the plastic side-cases because they don't need additional mounts. The aluminum top case is just perfect for the sizes; the plastic alternative was way too large. For offroad riding I would never drive with luggage. I ride offroad for fun, not to go camping or something. Whatever I need would be a bottle of water and some soft gear that would fit into my backpack.
i always love honest reviews with pros and cons. I have a 2017 KTM 1290 The hard bags are ok if you never go off road or over pack them. The stock mounting system is the weak link of the bags. I bought some soft bags won't name the brand but not a good option they had a good price point but not good for a long trip of 50/50 with camping. So I ponied up for Lone Rider semi-rigid motobags. I already had the racks. I would have to say a great bag easy to mount and locks to the rack also the bag has a lock. I can fit my camping gear in the 31L bags and the rest of my clothes and gear/tools in the 38L bag. For important valuables, I kept the hard top box on my KTM. So this combination works for me. On long trips i like to camp 75% of the time and hotel a few nights. Plus i don't care about lane filtering since i don't live in or near California. Once it becomes nationwide i might be dead . When i did ride in CA a few times I loved it. Thanks for a great review and info
Great video Ian. Very informative. A little tip on those Reckless bags: that bottom strap that you have going around the holster, those are actually meant to come up and clip into the dry bag. Unclip the roll top from itself and clip into those longer straps - that will allow you to cinch everything down even tighter. Cheers! Love your channel.
Great review but for solo riding I have a tank bag for valuables, a seat mounted roll bag for everything else. A nearly empty top box for helmet and jacket when I want to leave the bike and go off and explore on foot.
Stellar performance, as usual! For my T7 I listend to your earlier advice on this. I got the racked soft panniers. My own safety and the rack protects the exhaust hanger, was what tipped the scale. I got the OEM Yamaha panniers, like them. Thanks for your hard work!
07 KLR - Went with Tusk rack and large hard panniers. Wanted good protection for camera gear and easy access. Ride to places for pictures and then usually gravel or two track. With the thought of possible injury bought decent boots. On a recent trip 1K miles, Bike fell over at a gas station with only a slight dent on the pannier where it was attached to the rack. Didn't see the dent until I took it off. Long day, tired and late. 😎. Good video Ian, thanks as always. Also have a soft duffel and tried the camera in there (dry run for access), hard pannier access wins hands down. Always trade offs.
Protip: run the straps connecting to the bike on the rackless systems through a cut up bicycle tube so your mx boots don't wear through the straps. Great video Ian, as always!
Thanks Ian. I'm a huge fan of Mosko Moto. They're gear is super well thought out, great guys at the company and CEO and they all ride all the time and use their stuff 100% of the time so I trust their advice on tips and techniqes etc etc. Great video.
On my drz400 got Chinese 'amphibious' 60L pants and 40L top waterproof duffle 2nd season in the city and trips with no damage Not very comfortable to put and get the stuff out but lanefiltering is as easy as it is without them Also I move pants little bit forward and don't get exhaust damage+ my S is very thankful)) Everything costed around 100$
So, what is conspicuously missing is the semi rigid LONERIDER Luggage. Their system is by far the best I’ve used. I was a MOSKO MOTO fan, having used their Backcountry set for a 10,500 km trip. They worked great, but the Semi Rigid wins, providing the safety benefits of soft luggage and the shape and form of hard panniers! Also, I disagree with your comment about no straps on the hard panniers, if you strap items to the top, now you must do strap management.
On my GS I’ve got hard panniers and on my wife’s vstrom we’ve got soft panniers. Mine takes wind on speeds above 120km. with the softpanniers you don’t notice then. Also a lot lighter. Also filtering is easier because the bike is just smaller with soft panniers.
Since I had to sell one of my kidneys to purchase my BMW GSA, I’ll use the hard boxes it came with for now. I’ll have plenty of time to shop around for soft luggage while I’m on crutches. Great video.
I'd be interested in your take on a budget adv setup. I decided on using Andyz strapz with my hiking bag with a rain cover instead of buying panniers just cause I couldn't personally justify how insanely expensive luggage systems were.
A large dry bag with bungee or compression straps would also work. I prefer carrying stuff on top instead of on the sides in case you need to do lane filtering or tackle narrow trails.
That would be a cool project. Not just a budget adv bag setup, but an entire bike and bags setup. I am looking for a really cheap adv bike right now and have been thinking of going with an older KLR because I need a larger bike. Doing a $3,000 or $4,000 complete rig build would be a few episodes I imagine.
I’ve been riding 2 years with a tail bag which works fantastically well if you’re solo and don’t mind spending 10 mins a day tying, don’t have to worry about exhaust heat as well. Downside is I can’t store anything valuable and I can’t take a passenger. Now I’m considering a new bike to take my wife on, I’m considering what setup to get. A hard pannier at the back which can double as back support is easy pick. After that it’s a bit complicated, I don’t like the bike being large, wide and heavy so hard side panniers are out. I don’t want to put the pannier holders either but can’t think of how I can use a tail-bag which only has side pods that don’t touch the exhaust.
I'll go with your suggestion to save weight and promote flexibility with the simple, strap-on bag system. I never would have foreseen the safety risk caused by hard bags during probable tip overs in off-pavement adventures. Thanks for that!!
Excellent and very thought-provoking useful video. I personally like rackless for the handling benefits you mention. You could also have covered the Giant Loop Coyote. Anyway, I always like you presentation so much Sir, very calm and considered, you remind me (voice wise) of a much younger Christopher Walken, LOL!
Top notch. Thank you for good pros and cons on each. Agree on all points. I have the hard case panniers. The biggest con for me with the panniers on my Super Tenere is they're the most difficult (of the 3 setups) to get on & off the bike. As they're so bulky. But they are very convenient and roomy.
Just want to say how good your videos look. The color, contrast, focus all look so good. What cameras and editing software do you use? Or do you "have a guy" that does your video's?
Hello Big Rock Moto! I’ve been enjoying your content for a long time now, great stuff! Please add the Shad TR40 and the Givi softbags as well; Shad has a cool locking system and the quality is really good for the price point. All the best!
Another downside of soft rack panniers is the straps or rather the beaver tail can get caught on trees, downed logs, etc. I tore both my Mosko Moto backcountry bags to pieces riding hard on tight jeep trails. They did replace at a discount and are coming out with brush covers so might be less of an issue next year when they come out. Thank God the inner bags held and i was able to cobble together for the rest of the trip
I love the conversation an real time experience his videos start. Excellent always reviews of the review. Nothing beats real time experience. I do not buy anything until coming you tube it first!
I am also currently researching into luggage systems for my KTM 890 SMT. I need a min. of 40-60 lt. of capacity in total, with something small and easily accessible for rough day-trips on the top/back. And most importantly it has to be more narrow than the handle bar! Other than that I'd consider anything. Currently I am using a hard top case for easy throughout the day access and a large soft bag strapped before it going from site to site. But I want to get rid of the top case, especially for more off-road oriented day trips. With Mosko I am concerned that getting those dry bags in and out could bother me, as well as I guess they still get dirty when I bring them into a hotel and don't camp.. With Kriega reckless I am afraid I won't like taking the bags on and off (too much dealing with straps too I guess) and also I have to bring them into hotel rooms when they are messed up and dirty, which I think I really don't like. Maybe Kriega bags and using some generic inner bag? Another option might be using a rack with very narrow paniers like Kriega's OS-22s / 32s? I also couldn't find any comparison video in all of youtube comparing Kriega's OS-BASE kits with the Mosko reckless kits - which I was very surprised to find out... Any recommendations for me please?
Love you, Ian. On my 310 I bought a Givi rack and ended up using Thule panniers. Weird, I know, but the setup works great. I will add a 40L metal top case next week. Cheers from Bulgaria.
I use soft luggage with saddle stay/racks and a tail bag which is soft too. I travel with a pillion, so they are useful. But every break I take I have to check if they are properly fitted or loose! and for inbetween stays in hotel, the unmounting and mounting takes a lot time. but I am also very fearful of if I have hard setup and I crash or the boxes take damage, there will be nothing to fix them, but for soft ones, I can easily just tie them up using the loops 😅 Travelling in bike for 2 3 years, never had any accident thank to god.
Personally I did the 48 l left and 37 l right trekker outback cases from givi on my Aprilia Tuareg and surprisingly as wide as they are they don't really stick out much farther than the handlebars would. I finally got my top rack delivered and now I'm just waiting on the 42 l top box which will be great for little day trips but the Aprilia seems to wear the weight well so I'm not too concerned. Of course what I'll probably end up doing once I have it all is I will put some real weights into the boxes and go riding so I can see how it all feels. I'll probably just take some water bottles and wrap a towel around them so they don't move around too much inside the boxes but I think I'll get a pretty good idea on how the bike will feel maxed out. Like they say in the army train how you fight. I shall train with Max load so this way there are no surprises when It comes to a trip
Sometimes, I feel that your "honest" reviews are now so honest. The gear your presenting is in mint condition, so I'm taking your approach with a grain of salt. This revie is seam to me like a good comparison between options. I do want to acknowledge that your value and the videos you provide are important to my decision making. I can definitely tell you put a tremendous amount of effort into your videos, and I'm grateful for it. If I had one suggestion is to (perhaps) omit "the honest" verbiage, because it instantly has a bias approach.
Very good review. With the year I use hard panniers..soft panniers and now ... ( before I have ktm1290 adv. 2015, R1200GS 2019, ) rackless with the ktm 790 adv 2024( suppose to receive soon) . I use mosko moto on the R1200GS, 35L panniers and the tank bag. Mosko Moto are probably the top on the market... but for the rackless I m gonna use Kriega OS ... just because this is smaller... not because is better..but this Kriega OS system are very well made.. the side bag have 3 choice...18,12, or 6 Litres....
As you say - it is a percieved security... But also in the eyes of the thief. I think often it is the occation/opportunity that makes the thief? It would be very interesting to see statistics (from insurance companies etc), if there is any difference between number of thefts from motor cycles - if there is any difference between hard or soft panniers.
I run the Mosko Reckless 80, but I bought their 40L Backcountry duffel to put on top, instead of the 22L it comes with, and it adds up to almost the same space as the backcountry 35's.
I just purchased the base and a set of 6 liter per side os adventure bag for my 890r. Plan on doing a duffle bag for day trips. The kriega would be for tools and rain suits. Would love to see videos that talk about size of bags required vs day trips, basic necessities, etc.
6:37 That's a hilarious display of the suspension... which is pretty bad suspension.. LOL. Every test video I watch has the same theme about the 300L - mushy suspension.
Great Comparison. I have the Reckless 80's, and love them, but the side bags can be a serious pain to load. I don't think I've ever got them all the way down to the bottom.
Same problem here. However, I saw a video of some guy riding in sandy dirt a lot, who said things got better as the bags got a bit dirtier. Perhaps you could even try to recreate this (I haven't yet)
As someone that has never used a rack system: how hard is it to take the entire rack on and off? I like the idea of the quick clip in for both hard and soft panniers but I have always disliked the look of empty racks when people go on a quick ride or their daily commute.
That CRF Rally is kniw to have a very soft suspension system. Great bike but Honda didn’t engineer the suspension well at all so first mod is $1,000 suspension upgrades which sucks. Might as well get a TransAlp
I think hard bags are a good general deterrent. Sure you will never stop a dedicated thief, but I am more worried about people who walk by and just take a peak because they can. If you can have a simple lock then it completely stops these kinds of thief’s.
Tusk stuff is really good as long as you don't have to contact them or order anything from them if you live in Europe... They don't answer live chat (in their opening time), don't reply to emails. But at least you have to pay 1,5 times the item's price for shipping to europe
..true,its depend your kind of ride..it need to expirence each type to know the one suitable..may be OK if the top was hard and side soft..best of both world..
Love your stuff Ian and this comparison in different options however these specific soft luggage options are absurdly overpriced. I bought a full set of GIVI side pannier racks and a top rack/plate, a 60L dry bag with 2-30L waterproof soft panniers 120L total storage for a total price after tax of about $615.. Just for these recommended bags or hard cases alone are way more expensive than that with far less storage. It's insanity what they think they can squeeze out of people.
I've been coast to coast and a couple other places in my 10 years. Didn't start really branching out until 7 years ago. Used only Giant Loop Coyote and Mojavi, and a back pack. Don't mind wearing a pack, so meh. So they are rackless😃and highly abrasive😕 A Great Basin would probably be enough for me. Maybe a future purchase.✌ Who are Charlie and Ewan?🤭
What about the UV radiation and weather resistant over a long duration of use? In my experience, every plastic fibric will break after some years of use. A point for the hard panier.
I saw a video of a guy in a f800gs crashing about 30mph offroad (little sand patch that was deep all of a sudden) and when he hit the ground the cases flew apart amd lifted the bike up off the ground. After seeing that I've steered away from hard cases. There's no way I want my cases to grab the ground and launch the bike back on top of me. Suffice to say the boxes were destroyed and so were the racks. After falling at 25mph with my soft bags I'll keep those or go rackless. Save the boxes for touring bikes
I run a Giant Loop rackless system on my DR650. It's a pain in the butt and ruined my plastic's. Still it's right to the bike and lightweight. I run the Mosko Moto rack setup Ian shows on my Tiger 900 and while it is heavy, and took some training to get use to the weight, it's awesome. It's pure quality, easy to use for a soft pannier, and so very tough. I've dropped my bike 3 times during training and the bags don't even show it. With the Bark Buster's, Crash bars and the Mosko bags it's just pick up the bike and go. I don't need to access the main compartment of the bags because the pockets Ian shows are easy access during a ride and hold what I need for the day. The Mosko system is just awesome.
So the word here is no matter what kind of luggage bags you choose they all their advantages and disadvantages. The choice is seen as strictly personal also depends on what kind of ride one usually chooses.
Wear would you put a laptop for milled-mid off-roading on a e-dirt bike ? soft or hard or backpack ? I'm new to bike camping/glamping and wondering if there is such a thing of to may packs/gear ? Ie. tank bags, fork bags(20L), handle bar bag, saddle bags((tusk 74L)After watching this I might want to go with out the brackets and us soft) and tail rack for my 24lbs battery bank. All on my sur-ron E-dirt bike. G-lamping/extra's items are fishing gear, medium laptop, small second monitor, maybe external graphics card/gpu and 300 wat's solar blanket('s). Any thought's/pointers ?
I've been following your channel for some time and subscribed. I liked your opinion on alot of subject and product. What is your suggestion or opinion on my question. I'm retired, nevered own a bike, 5'2" with 25 instead yea I'm short.i want to by a bike, f750 gs adventure or f850 gs adventure. I got the time and want to get out there and see what I missed out working for 34 years and now retired. Most of the travels will be on black to but would like to go off road or maybe hit some bar, so what do you suggest for for fist time. Bike and travel. Keep up on what you do be safe.
That pannier rack for the mosko soft bags is just ridiculously wide. I would never buy that. I would go to a welder and have something slim done bespoke.
Ian- I’d I use your shopping links, which default to Chrome, and copy the links to Safari, which is what I use for all shopping, will that work? I also like to browse a lot and not sure whether browsing after using on of the link you provided will give you the kickback. Can you confirm? I want to support but, being in IT, I’m kinda questioning whether this sort of usage will work.
"This bike loses half of its suspension travel just from it's own weight, it's kind of hilarious" Man you should see my Honda NX650 then, i barely keep it angeled on its stand on even ground xD
