Admin - if this violates the rules of the forum, please delete or move as required, and please accept my apologies.
To all - hello, this is Dan from Dirt-Bike-Gear.com. I've been making soft luggage for dirt bikers for 7 years now and am looking to move into street bikes in a small way. In the dirt bike world I've often sought out input from others about desired features and that's why I'm posting now.
I'm designing an "everyday" bag for the FJR (I have an 08 FJR) and other bikes. The basic idea is a simple, very nearly waterproof bag designed to very quickly strap onto the seat or the luggage rack. I am motivated to design this because I often find I want either a bit more than my tank bag carries, and sometimes I don't want the tank bag at all.
I realize that there are several other manufacturers in this niche, but I think I've got a unique idea or two that will make my bag sellable.
Here's a basic description:
1) material - a very waterproof material of heavy, durable fabric. Black only.
2) size - roughly 10" long x 9" wide, and about 4" high. That's about the right size to fit neatly on the seat of many large bikes like the FJR, and also on luggage racks like my Garauld sport rack
3) access - via a zipper covered with a flap, around 3 sides of the bag
4) bungee on top - for extra storage capacity
5) attachment - to the luggage rack via included straps, to a seat via the included straps and a very small strap system that mounts under the rear seat. The design is such that you can attach or detach the bag in about 5 seconds, yet it will be very firmly attached. The design is also such that if one of the attachment points fails, the bag cannot come off. It won't use bungees either.
I know the above is vague but it's really a very simple bag. I'm not worried about the basic design. It works, I've tried it.
What I am worried about and what I seek your input on is a few features.
1) soft versus semi-soft vs rigid
In the dirt bike world we generally don't worry about a bag maintaining its 'shape', many of the bags, including all of my bags, have no stiffening inside and so the straps that tighten the bag just compress the fabric. The bag is 'lumpy' so to speak.
But in the street bike world looks are more important. I think we'd generally like things to look better and more shapely. On the other hand I want the bag to be compressible so that stuff doesn't flop around.
Right now I think that I'll use either a rigid or semi-rigid base. This is pretty much a necessity to make it work properly on luggage rack.
The sides and the top will be soft, just fabric. This helps to keep costs down (I manufacture in the US so I must design carefully to minimize construction costs) and allows compression, holding everything nice and tight. The only bad thing is that the bag will be 'lumpy' if cinched down over lumpy contents.
An alternative is to put a bit of stiffener in the top of the bag, which will improve its appearance but still flex somewhat over the bag contents. In any case, I won't be make the sides stiff as I want them to be able to compress down so that contents don't move around.
I'D LIKE YOUR THOUGHTS on the appearance question and how important it is to you that the bag maintain its shape while in use.
2) organization pockets inside the bag
It's certainly possible to create a veritable brief case with multiple pocket for cell phones, business cards, pens, tablets, .... But specialized pockets are less versatile.
I think that I'll put net pockets on either side of the bag but no more, BUT AGAIN I'D LIKE YOUR THOUGHTS.
3) other ideas - if you have any other suggestions I'd like to hear from you. For example, it would be easy to make a larger version of this bag, then make it possible to strap the small bag I've described onto the large bag (or to another small bag) for more capacity. And any other thoughts would be welcome.
I hope to have bags for sale in about 6 weeks. Price isn't set yet but should be moderate given the quality. I'm not interested in making crap.
Your thoughts are welcome and appreciated. Thanks.
Dan
To all - hello, this is Dan from Dirt-Bike-Gear.com. I've been making soft luggage for dirt bikers for 7 years now and am looking to move into street bikes in a small way. In the dirt bike world I've often sought out input from others about desired features and that's why I'm posting now.
I'm designing an "everyday" bag for the FJR (I have an 08 FJR) and other bikes. The basic idea is a simple, very nearly waterproof bag designed to very quickly strap onto the seat or the luggage rack. I am motivated to design this because I often find I want either a bit more than my tank bag carries, and sometimes I don't want the tank bag at all.
I realize that there are several other manufacturers in this niche, but I think I've got a unique idea or two that will make my bag sellable.
Here's a basic description:
1) material - a very waterproof material of heavy, durable fabric. Black only.
2) size - roughly 10" long x 9" wide, and about 4" high. That's about the right size to fit neatly on the seat of many large bikes like the FJR, and also on luggage racks like my Garauld sport rack
3) access - via a zipper covered with a flap, around 3 sides of the bag
4) bungee on top - for extra storage capacity
5) attachment - to the luggage rack via included straps, to a seat via the included straps and a very small strap system that mounts under the rear seat. The design is such that you can attach or detach the bag in about 5 seconds, yet it will be very firmly attached. The design is also such that if one of the attachment points fails, the bag cannot come off. It won't use bungees either.
I know the above is vague but it's really a very simple bag. I'm not worried about the basic design. It works, I've tried it.
What I am worried about and what I seek your input on is a few features.
1) soft versus semi-soft vs rigid
In the dirt bike world we generally don't worry about a bag maintaining its 'shape', many of the bags, including all of my bags, have no stiffening inside and so the straps that tighten the bag just compress the fabric. The bag is 'lumpy' so to speak.
But in the street bike world looks are more important. I think we'd generally like things to look better and more shapely. On the other hand I want the bag to be compressible so that stuff doesn't flop around.
Right now I think that I'll use either a rigid or semi-rigid base. This is pretty much a necessity to make it work properly on luggage rack.
The sides and the top will be soft, just fabric. This helps to keep costs down (I manufacture in the US so I must design carefully to minimize construction costs) and allows compression, holding everything nice and tight. The only bad thing is that the bag will be 'lumpy' if cinched down over lumpy contents.
An alternative is to put a bit of stiffener in the top of the bag, which will improve its appearance but still flex somewhat over the bag contents. In any case, I won't be make the sides stiff as I want them to be able to compress down so that contents don't move around.
I'D LIKE YOUR THOUGHTS on the appearance question and how important it is to you that the bag maintain its shape while in use.
2) organization pockets inside the bag
It's certainly possible to create a veritable brief case with multiple pocket for cell phones, business cards, pens, tablets, .... But specialized pockets are less versatile.
I think that I'll put net pockets on either side of the bag but no more, BUT AGAIN I'D LIKE YOUR THOUGHTS.
3) other ideas - if you have any other suggestions I'd like to hear from you. For example, it would be easy to make a larger version of this bag, then make it possible to strap the small bag I've described onto the large bag (or to another small bag) for more capacity. And any other thoughts would be welcome.
I hope to have bags for sale in about 6 weeks. Price isn't set yet but should be moderate given the quality. I'm not interested in making crap.
Your thoughts are welcome and appreciated. Thanks.
Dan
