First of all I wrote "leather" and not leather. The quotes are there for a reason. Underneath it there is also a synthetic "pad" layer that keeps moisture in. This is a personal experience and it was merely an attempt to help. If your experience is different, good for you. Lastly, if you ride in the UK, you don't know what air dust is. Here in Greece, we do. And it accumulates fast. If it doesn't happen to you, all the better. I guess your opinion is the only one that counts...
Sam is correct about the " Each to their own" statement However the "On its own the ring is even more ugly than the bagster tank cover. Which is barely visable from 15ft away" is wildy optimistic at best Why not put a picture up of your blade so I can see it
I agree with this. I have bagster covers for the 916 and a Monster (Monster is long gone now) I also have a tank ring on the 1098. None are any easier to use than the other when it comes to refuelling. Having said that I use Kreiga tail packs and Ventura racks now Not had any trouble with damaged paint etc
"On its own the ring is even more ugly than the bagster tank cover. Which is barely visable from 15ft away" is wildy optimistic at best Why not put a picture up of your blade so I can see it [/QUOTE] I am nothing if not optimistic
I am nothing if not optimistic [/QUOTE] Park it outside of a Spanish petrol station and it looks eerily like a floating tank bag...
Touches the tank. This means that all the dust that accumulates under it, will act as an abrasive layer that might dull your paint. Haven't reached that point but it seems to me that you will need to get it off and on often in order to do a proper cleaning and avoid that. Maybe true. Getting it on and off is NOT as easy as you might think. I actually think that it will require far more time than the Givi system (which however needs an allen wrench and the dedicated bolts). If you find getting it off and on hard your doing it wrong -10 secs max Try removing a givi ring in that time Anchor points being at the corners of the tank means that, depending on the shape of it, bags may not attach easily or properly without introducing some flex either on the bag or some strain in the whole system. Maybe, but not in my experiance The "leather" absorbs water in the rain. This means that it may keep moisture near metal parts or make the dust that is under it like mud. mmmmmmmmmmm Getting a heavy bag up for a tank refill in a gas station is at least as difficult as getting a Givi tank ring bag off. No The forward barrel-like anchor points may interfere with the movement of the steering bar. It will not hinder movement but it may snap the anchor points. Not on mine but Ive got clip ons P.S. The quality of the whole thing is exceptional by the way. The cover and the bags still were in excellent condition after 5 years of heavy use.[/QUOTE]
I am nothing if not optimistic [/QUOTE] LOL fairy muff , not as wank as I expected at all , photo looks exactly 15 feet away though
Strictly speaking its about 4.6 meters ( Pictured in france) But just in case the OP is still here I really rate the system. The downside is the cost of the cover £100+ The Givi rings look to be about £15 If it comes down to cost Givi takes it
postmaster, as I said at the end of my first post, this experience comes from a Bagster system installed on a Versys, not on the Multi. Attaching the cover on a Versys was a pain and not a 10 sec job. The rear belts, were always slipping under the tank (because of a curvature in the Versys' tank) so you needed to be very precise and fiddly as to where they stay while you are tightening the thing (and at the same time not move the cover forward or to the rear in order to keep the tank hole centered. The front belt needed to go under the chassis which was the only rigid point that you could use and getting your hand there was a pain (the front part of the tank on the Versys is much higher in relation to the steering column). It might be totally different for your bike and judging from the picture it is. The distance from the belts to the lower part of the tank is much smaller as is the distance at the front. So it might well be that removing a Givi ring in your case is indeed much more difficult. When you lift the bag (which is a small one) you don't bump against a windscreen, so it's easy to lift it, have it stay there while you refuel and get it back down after. In the Versys (and I assume in the Multi as well since it has a windscreen), especially if you have a taller bag, it was impossible to lift it and leave it there while refueling. You needed to hold the bag with one hand (at about 70deg), unlock with the other and refuel. You always kept one hand on the bag. This I don't consider easier than removing the bag altogether (which is far easier in the Givi mechanism)
We have clearly had different experiences due to the big difference in bike style. We can only "speak as we find" and respect each others views. Just hope it has been helpful to the op
I'd never used any tank bag on any bike, ever, until I had the Multi with the Urban Pack (Givi, tank ring). I always thought that tank bags were a right PITA. However, the Givi tank ring option is a fookin brilliant thing. Nice small tank bag, just for the essential things. Simple to remove when refuelling and simple to use in general. I very rarely ride without mine now. I'm a tank bag convert!
I went the other way. Used to lug a big magnetic tank bag around so that I could ruin my paint *and* not see my instruments! Now I have a handlebar bag from Wunderlich and as well as looking far less manly I can now find my dainty little things at peage stations and whatnot without accidentally unzipping a map pocket or extending my bag unwittingly.
Yeah, I thought about one of them little handlebar gizmos. Hope our Maude don’t find out I’m fretting over frigging bags. It’d have to be 100% waterproof though, can’t have me make up getting ruined.
Agree with @Sam1199. I've had a Baglux bag system on my Honda for over 10 years and the tank still looks mint, so dirt/water can't be getting underneath (or if it does it clearly doesn't make any difference). I wouldn't put the tank cover on if the tank was dirty obviously but that's just common sense. There was more paint damage from my knees rubbing the tank in the first couple of thousand miles before the cover was fitted than there has been in the fifty thousand since. Do watch which bag you buy though. I can't fill my tank with the bag on so have to remove it completely so I take 10 seconds longer to refuel.... My fuel tank shape does put the bag quite far forward though so maybe it's the bike rather than the bag? If I was buying luggage I'd buy one again.
I agree with @Stang about Baglux, have one on my VFR and no problems with the tank at all. But I fitted a tank ring to my DVT, it is quicker to remove, which is necessary as I have a keyless cap.
