Update on the tail bag

I got a chance today to get in a pretty long ride with the tail bag, and through the ride I never felt any difference in the feel of the bike, no drag or anything like that.  I had the tail bag pretty full. Without expanding it, it fit in a SLR camera (with case), a netbook, sweatshirt and a bottle of water.  With all that in it, there was still some room to squeeze in stuff like a phone, some engery bars, etc.  It also felt very secure, which was one of my concerns.

One downside - there is pretty much no room between you and the bag when it is zipped to the seat, so no chance of carrying a back-pack, unless it is one of the super thin messenger bags. Also the bag is not super comfortable as a back-pack - at least not to walk around. Also, if you are installing the base with the passenger grab bars installed, the side pockets will be pretty useless.  All I can fit in there is a tiny camera on one side and a phone on the other.

And since I did not post a pic of the bag on  the bike, here you go. 

Review: Ducati Performance Rear Tail bag for Monster 696/796/1100

I have been looking for a decent tail bag for my monster and after looking at a few options, decided to go with the Ducati Performance (DP), rear tail bag, as it is designed for the bike and from the pictures I saw on the web, seemed to fit well with the bike.  I was not able to go check it out in-person at the dealership, but went ahead and ordered it.

I also could not find any decent reviews on this bag, like how much it would carry (other than that it had a capacity of 18L, which to me means absolutely nothing!), would it fit a laptop, an ipad, a camera etc.  Also if it would fit with the passenger grab bars installed on the bike.  So with that in mind, some thoughts on the bag and pictures.

What comes in the box? - actually there is no box, the bag included the base, which goes on the seat, a rain cover and a strap to make the bag into a backpack. Oh, and some useless instructions.

Finish:  A little disappointing for the price, which can range from $250 to $280, depending on the dealer.  I needed it urgently, so paid in the middle.  Back to finish, it had threads hanging in a few places (see pic), the zipper seems  cheap (the expansion zipper stuck a little), but lets see if it lasts. The inside of the bag has sort of a cardboard piece which helps hold its shape. Overall,  it is made of nylonishy, type of material. It does have some reflective material on the bag which looks good. The shape, if it holds it fits nicely with the bike.  The finish of the base seems better than the bag itself.

Fit: The base goes on the back of the seat and the holes on it line up with the two screws that hold in the seat cover.  Had to struggle a bit to get it all to line up, but overall it fit well.  It was also super easy to zip/ upzip the bag from the base.  Still concerned about the zipper, when the bag is full, as that is the only thing holding the bag to the base - no other supporting straps.

What can you fit in it? A laptop (10 inch netbook) or an ipad will not lie flat in the base of the bag, however, once you fill it up halfway you can lay it flat about mid-way.  In terms of other things, with the bag extended, I was able to fit in 3 t-shirts, 2 pairs of shorts, a pair of sweat pants (the thin kind), pair of flip flops, 3 pairs of socks, a netbook, a charger and some toiletries - with a little room to spare.  So from the looks of it, you can pack enough for a couple of days in here.

What about the base? The base has two little pockets on the side.  These are zippered with a velcro flap covering it. Pockets are good enough for a cell phone, little camera, etc.  With the passenger grab bars installed, your use of these pockets is limited.

So overall, the bag looks decent, seems like it will carry enough, but lets see how long it will last.  I'm still not sure if it is worth the high price.

Monster reflection.

Took one with the 848 in the same spot so had to take one with the Monster as well. Vespa is next on the list.

Red Vespa

I don't think the Red Vespa has been introduced. This is a 2006 150LX.  It's a perfect bike for city riding, given its basically a twist and go.  Fast enough for the side streets and manuerable, so I can really mess with the cars in town :). 

Took a short ride out yesterday around town.  Took my camera with me so here are some shots. Some great back roads around here that are super fun on a scooter.

Loop around the coast.

I haven't updated this in a while - why? - well, the summer (sort of) decided to show up and have been riding quite a bit.  I'm planning a trip to Victoria BC in the next few weeks on the monster, but here is a ride report from a trip around the Oregon coast on the 848.

I started off the ride with a few folks from Portland that were heading to Astoria, OR. Rode to Astoria taking the some back roads, avoiding any major highways, so a trip that usually takes about a couple of hours stretched to about four and a half.    Plus, this group I ride with are fairly mellow rides with lots of stops, so by the time we got into Astoria, had lunch and were ready to get out, it was almost 4:00 pm.


My plan was to head down Hwy101 (which is very different on the Oregon coast vs. CA, more like PCH up here) for a few hours find a place to stay overnight and then ride back up to Portland on Sunday. Most of the folks with me headed back to town. Couple tagged along with me until  about Wheeler, a coast town that lasts all of 2 stop lights, and I'm being generous here.  We wanted to grab coffee, but realized that everything in that place closes by 5:00 pm on a Sat with the sun out - so no coffee for us. The other two headed back to portland and I continued down 101 finally stopping at a little motel (which was on the beach) around the Yachats area, which is mid-way down the state, as it was getting back.  Picked a nice clean motel, they let me park my bike in front of my room, but it got lonely and I ended up sharing the room with it- don't tell the owners ;).
Sunday was just as nice as Sat. I decided to head East instead of going back up the coast. Took the Alsea hwy (Hwy34) east.  This was an amazing road, with nice mixture of straights and twsties, so you got a chance to relax in between the technical parts.  This road also had a nice selection of little towns along the way, covered bridges, etc. that was nice to see- so overall a very cool combination for all senses.  That road along with a few addtional connecting back roads, got me home.
Fun couple of days, although I think I need a week to recover after doing this on the 848 wearing a backpack ;).

View from Astroria

On 101

Sunset at the coast