Saddlebags have survived from horse to motorcycle because, well, they’re relentlessly effective. It’s fitting, then, that Cortech’s well-established luggage system uses its Sport Saddlebags as the centerpiece. When mounted in combination with Cortech’s Sport Tail Bag, the trio of 1680-denier bags keeps a whopping 53 liters of your “necessities” in check.
Roughly triangular in profile, the Sport Saddlebags feature external accessory pockets, an expandable gusset on the outer face (adding 2 inches to each bag’s depth), integrated heat shields along the bottom, neoprene-backed pads where the bags come in contact with the bike, internal foam stiffeners and, because the bags aren’t even remotely waterproof, standard rain covers. Conventional hook-and-loop-backed strips connect left and right bags while small straps at the front and rear of each bag lash them to your bike. Twin, parallel zippers offer access to the bags’ load. This top-opening system is harder to pack in the hotel room but more convenient when you need access on the bike.
So far, that’s standard soft-saddlebag stuff, but here’s a twist: The Sports include a special mounting system to integrate with the Sport Tail Bag. Four quick-release fasteners cleverly hidden on the saddlebags accept straps sewn into the Tail Bag, creating a solid, confidence-inspiring mounting system. The Tail Bag also has a quartet of plastic-hooked bungees so it can be used solo, and it’s large enough to carry a 15-inch laptop with its expansion gussets extended.
We tried the Sport system on a variety of sportbikes and found it worked well on most. The biggest problem comes from those skimpy tail sections currently in vogue: They don’t offer enough support to keep the bags from sagging (and pulling inward toward the rear wheel) when fully loaded. Example: The system fits a first-generation Yamaha FZ1 perfectly, a new FZ8 not as well. On bikes possessing, uh, larger rear ends, the Sport Saddlebags mount securely, with little sagging even at maximum capacity. Depending on the turnsignal configuration, you might be challenged to place the 15-in.-long bags to clear the blinkers without obscuring the passenger footpegs. Also, we’d like to see longer connecting straps on the Tail Bag to accommodate more seat/tailsection configurations.
After six months of use, all three bags look great, though we did manage to disintegrate one of the rain covers. (Posing as civilians, we got Cortech to send a replacement set at no charge.) You must take great care fitting these covers if you want to retain them, and understand that they still don’t make the bags 100-percent waterproof. Moisture can get between the covers and the neoprene backing and then wick into the bags. Ugh, soggy socks.
We can forgive these minor trespasses considering the very reasonable price. For the sportbike pilot who takes a few yearly trips—especially in drier climates—Cortech’s luggage trio is an excellent, economical choice.
DETAILS
Tour Master
26855 Malibu Hills Rd.
Calabasas Hills, CA 91301
800/880-0000
www.tourmaster.com
Price…$139.99 (Sport Saddlebags), $79.99 (Sport Tail Bag)
Ups
- A lot of capacity for the dough
- Well-considered mounting scheme
- Substantial loading flexibility using all three bags
Downs
- Flimsy rain covers
- Saddlebags need near-zaftig bike butts for security
- Do you really need to bring all that, honey?
