Sportbikes can be exceptionally practical. They’re light, they’re efficient, they have good brakes and slim dimensions. But man, is it a pain to carry your stuff on them. With a little clever modification, it needn’t be. Here are the best ways to add storage to any sportbike. Tankbags bring numerous benefits: they locate the mass of your luggage as close to your bike’s center of gravity as possible, out of the wind, securely between your arms. They also leave room for a passenger and make it easy to read a map. We like the Kriega US Tank Bag Adaptor, which works on literally any bike and fixes either a 10 or 20-liter, totally waterproof bag to your tank in absolute security. The go to solution. Throw your stuff inside and hit the road. Problem is, wearing weight on your back can get really uncomfortable. That’s why we wear Kriega bags, which transfer the weight off your shoulders, improving comfort and leaving you with freedom to move around. Strap a soft luggage bag (or several) to your back seat and you suddenly have a flexible, secure storage solution.

This is how I carry a lock and chain on my bikes or haul big loads for road trips. Your bike is made to carry weight on its passenger seat, so adding weight there is no big deal. Again, Kreiga is our go to. A Kriega US-10 will fit your day-to-day tools, a US-20 will take a laptop or a weekend’s worth of clothes and either a US-30 or two 10s, strapped to a 20, will take you further. Depending on which bike you ride, you might find a mounting kit that can attach a topbox to your sportbike easily. They typically require pillion grab rails or a big subframe though, so if you’re on a current generation sportbike, you may be out of luck, unless you’re prepared to make some more permanent modifications. Go on eBay and buy a spare pillion seat, get out your electric drill and bolt that top box right onto it. If that seat has a lot of padding, a sandwich of a 20 gauge steel sheet on top and underneath may add some strength. With bolt heads inside the locked box, that’ll give you a secure, removable place to keep stuff, if not a pretty one.

When I ride to the airport, I throw my Maxpedition Fliegerduffel on the back seat with bungee cords. They’re an easy, cheap, versatile way to carry virtually anything on any bike. Just make sure you strap the cords to a secure part of your bike and get them tight. What are your go-to carry solutions?When shopping for a technology backpack, have you ever thought, “This bag would be perfect if only it had a couple extra slots for those things I need”? The folks at Mission Workshop clearly have, because the R6 Arkiv Field Backpack is an intriguing response to that very conundrum. Sitting in the middle of the company’s Arkiv Field Pack line, the R6 Arkiv Field Backpack ($209 and up, depending on configuration) is an all-purpose, weatherproof, premium-construction backpack featuring the Arkiv System for creating what I’ll call “modular rucksacks”: Picture a full-featured backpack with two or three main compartments that can fit laptops and books; another compartment for smaller items and tools;

a couple pockets on the sides for extras; and an even smaller pocket on the front for pens, your Moleskine notebook, and car keys. Now, tear each compartment off the bag as if you’re watching an animated blueprint on an episode of How It Works. Finally, add a series of rails—yes, like a train—for attaching all those compartments together in just about any configuration you can imagine. Yes, it’s as interesting as it sounds.bmw motorcycle dealer in springfield il The R6 is named as such because it features six of these Arkiv System rails: two on the front for attaching a Laptop Case and Folio (I’ll get to that in a moment), and two on each side for attaching Vertical Zippered Pockets (also explained below). mens alpinestars 2 waterproof motorcycle boots

There are also R2 and R8 Arkiv Field Packs with exactly the number of rails, respectively, that you’d guess. Each rail is made of thick, tightly woven nylon to maximize durability, structure, and weight, with small, strong velcro straps at the top to secure whichever component you attach. Because of this modular approach, Mission Workshop doesn’t sell pre-configured complete backpacks. Rather, the company offers components you use to create the perfect bag, or bag system, for your needs.motorcycle dealer in oahu You start with the core backpack, which features one exterior pocket for small items, one large main compartment with 1,250 cubic inches of space, and an internal zippered pocket for some separation. best luggage for r6Mission Workshop says the zippered pocket is good for a laptop, but I’m not sold on that claim: The pocket offers no structure or padding, so it’s better suited for documents and the like. motorcycle helmet cheetah

For carrying and protecting your laptop, you’ll want the Laptop Case component ($86 to $92), which is a vertical, padded sleeve that stores up to a 15-inch MacBook Pro and optionally attaches to the backpack’s rail system. The Laptop Case also sports two rails on its front for attaching more components. On each side of the R6 Arkiv Field Backpack you can attach Vertical Zippered Pockets ($52 to $58 eaach), which do exactly what it says on the tin: Each is a tall (14-inch) pocket for stuffing tall, quick-access items. motorcycle helmets tucsonI also received the Folio ($68 to $74), a 12-by–10-inch sleeve with two pen slots and plenty of room to fit an iPad and a couple magazines or thin books. The Folio can fit on top of the Laptop Case or Arkiv Pack itself and features two of its own rails. Another major component—one that I did not receive for review—is the Tool Pocket ($58 to $64), an 8-by–10-inch pouch that fits on top of the Folio, Laptop Case, or Backpack itself for stuffing smaller items and tools.

The Tool Pocket also features a strap on the back for storing your bike’s U-lock. Mission Workshop also offers a $24 shoulder strap for the Arkiv System. Instead of mounting the Laptop Case or Folio on the pack itself, you can slip one or both onto this shoulder strap, giving you a vertical messenger bag and letting you leave the main pack at home. The bag and add-ons are available in black or gray cordura, or—for a surcharge—waxed canvas. The bag also features premium construction: Every component is weatherproof and features urethane-coated YKK zippers. Overall, the Arkiv System’s modularity is impressive. It took me some time to get decent at sliding components onto the rails, but since I frequently change which gadgets I carry—and, usually, thus the bag I use—I appreciated the convenience of keeping all my stuff in the same bag but being able to choose which part(s) of that bag I take each day. My main complaint with the R6 is that, as an “everything in its place” gadget bag lover, I found the bag to be a little lacking in places to organize pens, cables, adapters, and the other trinkets I inevitably need.

Granted, the Arkiv Field Packs are rucksacks (meaning: all-purpose bags) at heart, but the Laptop Case and Folio components could still feature more organization options. Of course, you also don’t get such a flexible bag system without some compromises. For one, Mission Workshop is a premium brand with great construction—arguably necessary to provide a durable system like this and still offer a lifetime warranty—which means the small R6 pack I reviewed starts at $209 before you add any components. (A larger version with 2,200 cubic inches of space starts at $229.) Add those extras, and the configured bag I tested came in at $491. Second, while I didn’t mind the bag’s weight, you’ll want to keep it in mind if you like to travel light: The smaller R6 I received weighs three pounds by itself, and with the Laptop Case (1.5 pounds) and Folio (1.1 pounds), it tipped the scale at 5.6 pounds—a whole 1.1 pounds heavier empty than my Retina MacBook Pro. The construction of the Mission Workshop R6 Arkiv Field Backpack is top notch, and the modular system is flexible and innovative.