Bagster Tank cover, and Alpha Tankbag.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------PeteSC(4/29/03 6:23 pm)Bagster Tank cover, and Alpha Tankbag. This is a full tank cover, with attachment points for tank bags, and other luggage. manufacturer is www.bagster.comI bought this from www.riderhaus.com, which is operated by a Bandit riding 'Yank' living in Germany.Initial impressions.....the cover is much heavier, and more 'shaped' than my current Lockhart Phillips full cover. (Discontinued)The underneath is foam covered to protect the paint.The bag attached to the tank via two short rubber straps with plastic clips, and a web 'leash' that goes around the steering head.(The LP had 6 clips attached to the hem)There are 4 attachment points for the tank bag. The front are a unique 'cam swiveling' type, that will allow the bag to be tilted forward for fueling.The rear two are common luggage types, perhaps what you'd see on a leather briefcase or portfolio. (Spring loaded push button type)Below, one of the rear fastener, with one of the rubber attachment straps, which clips to the edge of the tanks. There is one on each side.Overall, the hardware seems adequate, and easy to live with.The bag itself is a common, expanding tank bag design, with a few 'quirks'.It has an integral rain cover which folds into a zippered pocket UNDER the bag. It seems easy to unfasten the bag, unzip...and whip it out!The cover is kind of 'funky' looking, and I doubt I'll use it unless the bike is parked in heavy rain. I prefer to pack my stuff inside my luggage inside waterproof bags.....ziplock, and trash types. For me, it's easier to deal with than a flapping rain cover, but I kind of like the innovation of the bagster.The arrow points to the zippered storage for the attached 'showercap'.The bag is constructed of vinyl, or leatherette type material. It seem to be well constructed. I still prefer the look of Cordura for a tank bag, but this looks OK.Kdrive offers a similar setup, for the newer Bandits.....but not the older ones. (Kdrive available from riderhaus, also!) Plug plug plugI like a full tank cover. I'm prone to putting scratchy stuff on top of the tank while working on it. This will keep the paint looking nice.I'm looking forward to using this during the Rally, and should have some more comments when I get back!-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Red01SuziB12S(4/30/03 4:29 am)Re: Bagster Tank cover, and Alpha Tankbag. Looks nice! I'm looking forward to your comments on how you like it. I've been thinking of something like this myself. Paul W--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Red01SuziB12S(4/30/03 4:38 am)Re: Bagster Tank cover, and Alpha Tankbag.I didn't see the Bagster listed on the Riderhaus pages... how does it compare to the K-Drive for price? (2nd Gen K-drive is $70 for the cover & $85 for the 22L expandable tank bag - unfortunately, only available in black right now and I'd prefer a color matched tank cover) Paul W--------------------------------------------------------------------------------PeteSC(4/30/03 7:14 am)Re: Bagster Tank cover, and Alpha Tankbag.They're a little more expensive than the Kdrive. Just a seat of the pants evaluation......it looks like the price Riderhaus gave me on the Bagster was cheaper than the few US suppliers.www.bagster.com/en/catalogue7.php3?moto_id=3237&code=1403E&idprod=1 Here's your red.... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Red01SuziB12S(4/30/03 7:32 am)Re: Bagster Tank cover, and Alpha Tankbag.I'd seen the red one on Bagster's site (looks too light for the dark red of the B12's, but more in line with what the B6's came in). Paul W--------------------------------------------------------------------------------PeteSC(4/30/03 7:48 am)Re: Bagster Tank cover, and Alpha Tankbag.They may have another red. They're European.....so I guess the colors are based on the colors available in Europe for the model years specified.They even have animal carriers so you can carry your small dog/cat on the tank! Ought to be fun! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PeteSC(5/5/03 12:25 pm)Re: Bagster Tank cover, and Alpha Tankbag.Well, I used the Bgster setup during the Rally, and like it.......with a few reservations.I have trouble disconnecting the front of the bag. Maybe it's a just that I haven't figured out a 'technique' for unhooking it.When full, the tank bag easily flips up to add fuel, but is kind of awkward to keep it there. This may be due to my 'Helibars', and you may have no problems with the stock bars.During fueling, with the bag flipped up, sometimes the tank cover gets moved around a bit. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- gtbandit(5/8/03 11:20 pm)Re: Bagster Tank cover, and Alpha Tankbag.Great review, Pete, since I have the exact same set-up, I'll add my 2 cents. I also bought my set-up from Riderhaus; they had better prices than Eurobikes.com and Ladyriderswear.com (which was discontinuing its product line). I paid $90 for the tank cover and $100 for the tank bag and $25 shipping from Germany. Shipping time was 3 weeks. K-Drive does make a set-up for the 1st gen. Bandits. The tank cover is the TBCS6BL (black only) $70 and the tank bag is the TB2-Z $80. I found the tank cover on the K-Drive website and Riderhaus said the smaller tank bag would fit it. I haven't seen any photos of the K-Drive for the Bandit so I was leary of getting it. Is the Bagster worth the cost? No, but it and the K-Drive are the only options of its kind available for the Bandit. The tank cover and bag are actually made of PVC and like Pete said seem to be well made. The clips that hold the cover on the tank actually appear to be Zytel nylon. I had to unbolt the tank in order to attach the cover, although Pete said he could rock the tank enough to attach it without unbolting the tank. The tank bag will expand enough to carry a full face helmet, although some smaller pockets would be nice to organize stuff (it only has one on the lid). Even with stock bars the bag is kind of awkward to hold up while refueling, but it's not that big of a deal. However, unlike Pete, I did not have any trouble with the cover moving around while I had the bag tilted up. I did have trouble with it moving around, however, when I tried to force the rain cover over the bag while it was expanded. I couldn't quite get the rain cover all the way on the bag in its expanded position, but it stayed put underway nonetheless. The rain cover also has slots in it so you can thread the head strap through it. While at the BOSS rally the bike sat out in a real severe rain storm. When I removed the tank cover later that evening, the tank and underside of the cover were completely dry. Water will leak through the seams though, as I found out when I previously washed the cover on the bike, then immediately removed it. I did find dust under the cover on that trip but it was mainly (95%) on the indented part of the tank where the cover does not fit snug against it. The cover also leaves a small strip of the tank uncovered all the way around it which could allow trace amounts of dust to get under it. But, after a 2560 mile trip, I had no new scratches on my tank. The cover did its job. I also found out, through a little experimenting, that I could get my Joe Rocket Blaster magnetic tank bag to work over the cover through careful placement of the magnets. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------PeteSC(5/9/03 12:33 am)Re: Bagster Tank cover, and Alpha Tankbag.Craig...a couple of side pockets would be nice! I had my spare glasses and keys in the little pocket behind the map case.....and that filled it up. I also had a lot of heavy stuff in the bag....may have been why it was shifting the cover when fueling. Didn't try to use the rain cover while moving.....did notice a little dampness inside after rain.....think it came through the zippers. No biggy. Well have to continue torture testing them...Craig! Pete -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PeteSCPosts: 3358(8/29/03 1:17 pm)Re: Bagster /after a couple of thousand milesStill looks good, and people comment favorably on it.I think the majority of my minor 'shifting' problem is due to the bag contacting the Helibars when I tilt it up to fuel.I just realized it isn't much harder to completely detach the bag for fueling, than it is to detach the rear snaps, tilt the bag forward......hold it....while trying to fuel up. Will try this next time.While on my COLO trip, we were traversing some areas of 50-60 miles with no gas available...so we'd fill up every 80-100 miles or so.All of this 'filling up' really shifted the cover around......but I still like the cover/bag setup!I did use the attached 'shower cap' during a heavy rain storm and it didn't blow around as much as I thought.....and kept everything inside dry.Riderhaus is temporarily out of business.....but there are a couple of other US suppliers. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Topic: Bagster Tank cover, and Alpha Tankbag (Read 8924 times)