Hi all! Wondering if anyone can share any recommendations for currently available tank bags for an older Guzzi - SP1000 and T3 type tanks. Been a while since I used one, so no idea if the magnetic type ones (for instance) are genuinely effective, whether they ought to be “also attached” some other way, etc. Had a good search around (on this forum and on the wibbly-wobbly-web) but not immediately finding any harness types (which is all you could get when I last had one!) for the older Guzzi tank shapes. Was a time someone made leather covers for these tanks, I seem to remember, complete with harness attachments, but not seeing anything like that come up in my searches. The advice offered on here can be invaluable at times, saving a disappointed purchase, so thanks in advance.
I have used Oxford lifetime tank bags for the past 10 years or so. The magnets hold on very well with moderate loads but for extra security there is a strap that passes under the tank. Can be left there when you take the bag off. It’s a bit of a pain threading it esp if you have a standard air filter. Bent coat hanger help. A bit of that rubber for drawer liners to protect the tank. You can also secure it at the front around the headstock. Comes with a waterproof cover that balloons up when you ride , but a bungy of the right length low down keeps the air out.
Expandable , 3 external pockets and two straps to convert it into a rucksack.
Buy one from eBay.
And no , I don’t work for Oxford, it’s just got the Min seal of approval.
Love and kisses
theone&onlymin
x
Thanks, Min. That’s exactly the sort of practical recommendation I was after. Happy to pay money for the right product, but don’t want to pay out and then find, after a few rides, it’s “not quite right” for one reason or other.
I use a Wolfman tank bag. Made in the states by a real enthusiast who puts his experience of touring into constantly improving the product.
I got mine from “Winding Roads” in the UK.
They supply straps to fit just about any bike. Different sized side pockets are available. They are very well thought out, and very well made.
I use my bike every day,and even on a wet day its my brief case/office.
It fits my Spada/G5, my F650 BMW and my '47 G80 Matchless.
Thanks @g5e! I came across these guys when looking into saddlebag options. They do look like quality items. Good to hear, too, that they are reliably waterproof. That’s more than my ‘waterproof suit’ can be relied upon to be! Which - of that range - are you using on the Spada/G5 tank? Thx in advance!
Its the “Rainier”
Thanks, @g5er!
I’ve used Eclipse tankbags for the last 30 years on many bikes. Again American and excellent quality. Uses a 3 clip fixing harness so is very stable and the harness only has to be fitted once then left there.
Only problem I found with an early T3, and this is common to all tankbags I’ve used, is the strapping the bag down pops the cap! Later ones with the flap are ikay but I’ve had to build a foam ring to go round the cap.
I got this last year. Autokicker Tour Series Tank Bag I was sceptical about the magnets as well, but they really work. Also, the rear flaps are exactly where I grip the tank with my knees so is doubly-secure. There’s a front strap that is supposed to go aroung the headstock, but due to mine being so cluttered up with wiring and cable it won’t go so I added a luggage strap to make it longer so it can go under the nose of the tank and in front of the frame downtubes. I have carried quite a bit of weight in the bag, and it just does not move. (Unlike my old Eurodesign one with detachable base with 3 straps!) Can also be worn as a rucksack. HTH
Thanks, Mike H! That’s some great info from you guys. I also discovered, in a renewed ‘search effort’ that Bagster still list a harness/cover combo for T3 in their online catalogue … although since this also seems to fit a Le Mans (which, as we all know, has just a bit of a different tank shape) I’m not sure how reliable that stock list entry is!
Baglux make a cover that fits a T3, I have one on mine
But it has holes to fit the tank of the same shape that has the lockable flap/cover thing over the cap
However, baglux sent me some extra fabrics, which I took to a cobbler, when filled in the flap cover holes that I didn’t need, result looks fine
I like baglux, it means you only need one tankbag, if you have more than one bike, and it stays in place, even if someone forgets to do the front strap up, as I found the other day riding too and from work, wondering why I had a long flappy strap thing at the front
I’m not entirely convinced by the magnet ones, I remember the one the Bloke had on the gpz900 trying to make a bid for freedom, more than onceHalfnut2014-08-26 08:32:48
Thanks, @Halfnut. I did (re)discover the Bagster/Baglux products online, but a first-hand, real life recommendation is always going to be more valuable than a tiny picture on a web page! And yeah, I have one of those lockable flap/cover things. Wish it could be readily changed for a ‘regular’ filler cap without having to change the whole tank, but that would be a discussion for another thread!
Got an Oxford X30 no problem with it’s magnets sticking to a Cali 1100i tank at semi legal speeds, (although I do mount it back to front as it looks better), and on a VFR 750 no problems at really silly speeds. Crazey Grazie2014-08-26 09:34:48
Thanks, @Crazey - helpful to know, but I’m particularly interested in knowing which bags suit the Spada 1/T3 shape tank - as per the thread title (o;
A red X30 “suits” my LM 3, simular tank shape - but more bothered about capacity and waterproofing than the look.
Thanks @Hotfuzz. For “suits” read: fits well, does the job, stays in place, doesn’t fall aprt or fall off, etc.
as per your original post,
“Been a while since I used one, so no idea if the magnetic type ones (for instance) are genuinely effective, whether they ought to be “also attached” some other way, etc.”
Check out the July issue of “Ride” page 85 - Magnetic Tank Bags if you want to know what’s good, and no I don’t work for Oxford Products either
Tagging on to say, the baglux tank bags that have rucksack straps are really good, frees up a hand, when carrying stuff into where you are staying and it seems better than a carry strap, to me
+1 for baglux.
One I can recommend is the Ortlieb tankbag. It’s completely waterproof, has multiple attachment alternatives, comes with a clip on A4 map pocket.
I had a magnetic tankbag on the Enfield V-Twin when I had at rear tyre blow out at 60mph in WA and laid the bike over. The magnets stayed on the tank, but the stitching tore and the top of the bag went down the road, leaving the bottom section with the magnets attached. Not much damage to the bag. The magnets do their job. Just don’t over fill the bag.
Mal