Luggage Reviews
Joe Rocket - Manta XL Tank Bag
and
Cargo - Endurance monster Tail Bag
 

Touring or day rides usually demand you bring extra clothing for changing weather conditions. There is also the need to carry beverages, food, camera gear and for some like me, a mini tire inflater and plug kit. Regardless of what it is you need a means to carry it securely and safely on your motorcycle. Backpacks are great for short distance but can lead to rider fatigue on long hauls. When I purchased my B-King I wasn't figuring on the long hauls as I have a Goldwing for that. I soon found that the bike is highly capable of day rides and over nighters. A tank bag was a given as they are very versatile. I also wanted something to the rear of the bike.

The two products I found to meet and exceed all my storage needs are the Manta XL tank bag from Joe Rocket and the Endurance Monster Tail bag from Cargo. I am so impressed with them I decided to publish their review content and contact information on my site.

Joe Rocket - Manta XL Tank Bag

Lets start with tank bags. Any B-king owner will know that the tank is an odd shape and not every tank bag will work on a B-King. The location of the ignition in the middle of the tank doesn't help things. I spent some time at my local Cycle Gear store in Tacoma WA, trying on different tank bags for fit and quality. One of which stood out among all. The Joe Rocket manta XL was the perfect fit for the B-King. It fits nicely between the ignition and the tank end. This bag has an anti slip, anti scuff layer on the bottom covering five strong magnets. Once the bag is put in place it won't be moving. The bag is very roomy inside. On my rides I usually can fit a spare camcorder, Camera, bottle of water, hand towel,  snack or two, cell phone and wallet. On the outside there are two pouches. One for a cell phone and the other houses a rain cover and has room for a few small items. I have made several rides for this side using this tank bag and find it to be of exceptional quality. So far I have not seen any indication of its cuffing my tank. Keep in mind it is very important that you clean the surface of your tank prior to placing anything like this on the paint. The cost of this sweet tank bag is about $40 and can be purchased from Cycle Gear. I will be putting the miles on this bike this summer and I will update this page with durability information from time to time. So far I have a little over 600 miles with the tank bag and have had nothing but a positive experience with it.

Joe Rocket - Manta XL Video Review

 

Cargo - Endurance monster Tail Bag

In some cases a tank bag will not be sufficient to carry all your storable. Over night rides or day rides with gear for two are just a couple examples. There is also long haul rides where you are going to cover allot of roads and want to bring along rain gear and warmer weather gear for later in the day.

With the addition of the Two Brothers or Yoshimura exhaust, the turn signals are relocated to the midsection of the tail of the bike. This makes it impossible to use a saddle bag setup without major modifications to the bags or relocating the turn signals. This in turn means I would have to locate a tail bag system that was expandable. This way I could use it in compressed mode for day rides and expand it for over nighters and multi day rides. I spent several weeks looking tail bags over and finally decided on the Endurance Tail bag by Cargo. The Cargo Endurance tail bag system is one sweet versatile tail bag. The bag mounts with strong Velcro straps that run under the pillion seat or cowl. Once the bag is strapped onto the seat or cover, simply position it back into place. The next mounting step is two use the provide bungee chords to secure the bag by running them from the side hooks to the passenger foot rest brackets. This makes for a ver secure mount. The OEM bungee chords have metal hooks covered with a rubber coating. I have has bad experiences with these type of bungee chords as the rubber coating usually comes off and you mar paint etc. I chose to purchase some bungee chords that have strong plastic hooks instead of metal. Once in place the Cargo tail bag is secure and ready to load up. This tail bag has two expandable side compartments, one front with padded shoulder straps, one rear and a very roomy expandable main compartment. The main compartment is more then roomy, its huge! In fact this tail bag has a higher storage capabilities then any tail bag I have seen. That's not to say there are not others out there. In my search this is the largest I found. The Cargo bag is quick mounting, provides for allot of storage, flexible enough to use compressed into a smaller bag or expanded with the padded shoulder straps out for use as a back pack. By far this is the most versatile tail bag I have come across. The material is very rugged and in handling the tail bag I can tell it's going to be a very tough piece of luggage for the road. the cost of the Cargo Endurance tail bag is about $99 and can be purchased from Cycle Gear. As always, I will be putting the miles on this bike this summer and I will update this page with durability information from time to time. Check back from time to time and visit my YouTube channel  .

Cargo - Endurance Tail Bag Review Video

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