gary@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (gary w buchholz) (08/14/85)
For anyone contemplating buying a tank bag I have some advice and warnings. The two bags I had under consideration were the Bagman 24 Liter bag and the Eclipse 18 Liter. I couldn't decide so I ordered them both from Dennis Kirk intending to send one back. The major difference is mounting. The Bagman has a strap mount that fits around the gas tank. The Eclipse bag has a 3-point harness. The latter mount is far superior as the 3-point harness will not allow the bag to slide down that gas tank as in the case with the Bagman. Besides this, the Eclipse "looks better" as there are no straps down the side of the tank. Further, for the case of the Eclipse all the mounting hardware can be left on the bike when the bag is not being used. In the case of the Bagman it is unsightly and is removed. The Bagman bag is bigger (24 liters) than the Eclipse (18 Liters) and the difference is the height (see below). Other than this they have the same number and type of zippered pockets. I bought the Eclipse and sent the Bagman back. As for riding with the bag.... beware. With a loaded bag tight turns are almost impossible as the bag interferes with the travel of the handlebars. On a trip to Michigan through some winding roads one of the people almost lost the bike (Nighthawk 650) in the woods after the bag bit the kill switch in a turn. On my Nighthawk 750 the bag will bit the START switch on the right and the HORN on the left on a full lock to lock turn. On a few turns in the campground in the grass I almost lost the bike due to the restriction of handlebat travel with the bag mounted. All these problems aside I really like the Eclipse bag (oh, the Eclipse bag has a much smaller map bag than the Bagman which is somewhat of a problem). The bag is really convenient and have used it for a number of things from carrying my CB and FM radio to holding "junk food" for long trips. I recommend the Eclipse bag for anyone in search of a tank bag. Gary
kens@orca.UUCP (Ken Serack) (08/19/85)
> > For anyone contemplating buying a tank bag I have some advice and > warnings. > > The two bags I had under consideration were the Bagman 24 Liter bag > and the Eclipse 18 Liter. I couldn't decide so I ordered them both > from Dennis Kirk intending to send one back. >> I bought a Bagman 18 Liter bag and modified it to mount with >> suction cups. There is NO mounting hardware except on the bag. Ken Serack Tektronix, Inc. tektronix!tekecs!kens