Well... Thought I'd better add something to the site, since I've gleaned so much from it over the last few months.
Bought a Triumph Tank bag (25l) for my 07 S3 today (along with a Ventura back rack) as I'm off on a road trip in a couple of days and needed some storage.
Was umming and "r"ing for weeks over the Triumph tank bag, and trawling through the posts on other peoples opinions, some of which weren't always good. Don't you hate trying to make decisions on bits of gear that you haven't actually seen?!?!?
Anyway, I thought I'd throw in my first impressions (after 3 hours)...
Nice looking piece of kit... I like it. It comes in five pieces.
Tank Bra
a black leather / felt bra that attaches with two screws and straps to the side fairing mount bolts under the tank (5 minute job)... and a strap that hoops round underneath the frame at the front of the bike. There's a hole over the tank filler, so it's designed to be left on permanently I think.
The leather is a bit thinner than I'd like, I've seen some Gixxers with much thicker looking bras, but it fits the tank contours "reasonably" well and the first thing I realised was "no more scratching the tank paintwork...." Black paintwork (as you know) is a pain in the arse (does "arse" get through the censor?) for scratches showing through. You do lose some of the shape and styling of the tank though.
Putting it on for the first time took about 15 minutes. Subsequent removal and refitting should be about 5 mins... It's just the two fairing bolts which are a bit fidly. BUt I think it'll be a bit like bike covers..., religously donned and doffed for about a week.. then you just can't be arsed... (the word I put in the previous paragraph) ;-)
Having sat and looked at it in the driveway this afternoon... I kind of like it. It gives the bike a meaner look, like the black "shape masking" covers that manufacturers put over car bumpers when they're testing new unreleased cars on the track.
It obviously covers the Triumph tank logo, but that just makes people stare at the bike more trying to work it out...
You should also bear in mind that the only bra colour that Triumph do (apparantly) is black... So if you've a blue / yellow / white / Kermit the frog bike, you can't colour match.
Storage Bag
Made of Black Nylon, clips on to the bra with two clips at the front with a zipper at the back. Looks functional, has pockets at sides and rear, clear pocket on top, and has a Triumph logo on the sides too, so people can see that your riding a trumpy when the bags on. Someone posted something a while back about their bag knocking the kill switch when the bike was on full right steering lock... but I've filled mine with cardboard and towels to bursting and can't see how it would knock the kill switch... Maybe they've changed the design since then.
The bag is expandable via a zip, and removable in about 30 secs, just undo the two clips at the front, and the zip at the back. There's a fairly meaty looking carry handle on the bag as well.
For fillups, you just undo the zip at the back, or the clips at the front and "roll the bag over" to access the fill cap.
Clear plastic clip on map pocket
This clips onto the bag mount points on the bra instead of the bag if you just want a map pocket on the tank. Don't think I'll ever use this... although it might make a good rain hat!!!
Waterproof Bag cover
This slips snuggly over the tank bag to make everything waterproof and has a clear top, so you can still see maps etc. in the top of the bag. It's also expandable via a zipper in case your tank bag is full.
Rucksack Straps
These clip onto mount point (plastic D-rings) at the top and bottom of the bag so that you can use the bag as a small rucksack. They're fairly cheap looking, and the clips don't look like they'd take much weight, but if all you're carrying is waterproofs and phone / camera etc., they'd do the job. You can also leave them clipped onto the bag when you mount it to the bra.
I'll post some photos up when I get a chance in the same link on the Speed Triple Forum, (and can find my camera) and pop up an update on how it handled a week long road trip next week.
Too Scared to Wheelie
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