Commuting Luggage

[totalllama82]

Figured this may be the best place for this type of post since there are plenty of you who commute and/or tour and have solved this problem before.

My old rucksack, an older version of this https://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9056938.htm is now nearing the end of it's life. It's been a very sturdy reliable and above all, waterproof piece of kit for the money.

My only reservation about it is that I don't particularly enjoy having a backpack restricting my movement on the bike. I'd prefer another solution.

On a heavy day (Monday and Friday) I ferry my work shoes, spare socks/pants, shirt, work trousers, lunch and occasionally a pack of 6-8 cans of pop in there. As you can imagine it leaves my shoulders sore although I can mitigate this problem by letting the straps loose and resting the bag on the pillion seat.

I've got a job interview coming up and if I get the job, my commute will lengthen from 19 to 26 miles each way. So I'm open to solutions to make the ride more comfortable i.e. tank bags or tail bags. I ride a ZX9 with a metal tank.

Are there any stand-out models or manufacturers for this?

tl;dr - what tank or tail bag is waterproof, is around 20 litres in size and won't fall off or be destroyed in our weather?
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Gone: Haotian HT125-8 / Yamaha YZF 600R Thundercat / Kawasaki ZX9R C2
Current: Kawasaki ZZR 1400 A7F

[fatpies]

Buy a 2nd seat and attach a Givi topbox plate to it?

Then use a 48litre givi box on it?

When you want to go riding for fun change the seat over.
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"It's easy to attack and destroy an act of creation. It's a lot more difficult to perform one"

[totalllama82]

Thanks for the input. I'll take a look into the top box
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Gone: Haotian HT125-8 / Yamaha YZF 600R Thundercat / Kawasaki ZX9R C2
Current: Kawasaki ZZR 1400 A7F

[G]

If an E1 pillion seat will fit, I happen to have one for sale cheaply which has four holes drilled in it... because I put a Givi topbox on it for commuting!

Worked very nicely.
I used it in combination with a laptop backpack that happened to very nicely hook around a magnetic tank bag. As it was an expensive work macbook pro, I liked having it where I knew it was ok - I just left the bag attached to the magnetic base and took them both in to work.

[Northern Monkey]

Givi topboxes look incredibly uncool, but theyre hard, waterproof, and click and lock onto the topbox plate in about 5 seconds.

If you're commuting every day in all weathers, they are by far the most practical choice. (but look shit)

[G]

[totalllama82]

It's a C2 I ride. Unsure if an E1 would fit - i'll check that out though as I don't think Kawak touched the rear a great deal from C -> F.

Had a look around and think that something behind me would possibly be better. The tank bags may get in the way if I have to duck down below the screen in bad weather (or when doing warp speed ).

I can't see a Givi rack on their site. I presume that is due to the fact the bike is old and generally not used as a commuter. Little demand. I did find a Renntec rack/box which look like a poor mans Givi. Any experiences with this?
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Gone: Haotian HT125-8 / Yamaha YZF 600R Thundercat / Kawasaki ZX9R C2
Current: Kawasaki ZZR 1400 A7F

[fatpies]

[totalllama82]

Aha now it makes sense! that is actually a genius idea
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Gone: Haotian HT125-8 / Yamaha YZF 600R Thundercat / Kawasaki ZX9R C2
Current: Kawasaki ZZR 1400 A7F

[Bendy]

I use a Kriega US20 tailpack most of the time, it's waterproof as hell and you just unclip the bag and take it with you.

[Clanger]

I use panniers for carrying luggage and a tank bag for additional stuff. The panniers are oodles of years old, Oxfords with 25yr guarantee. I spray them with waterproofing spray and use plastic bags inside (just in case). The tank bag was a cheap purchase from maybe HG, I bought it because it expands and has a clear upper for the map.
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Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[David072]