Ventura Packs & Racks

[mike]

I've been using the "Made in New Zealand" Ventura system for ~3 years now.  This is a great system for the rider who doesn't want hard luggage for whatever reason. It's also great for those afraid of paint damage from soft saddlebags. It can be used in conjunction with soft saddlebags and possibly even hard bags, depending on how the hard bags mount of you really need to carry a LOT of stuff.

I went with what they call the "Ventura Aerodynamic Bike-Pack System" - a kit which includes two "L" brackets, a Sport Rack, a Pack Rack and a 45L "Aero Pack." You can buy pieces separately, if you don't want the kit form. On the 2G B6/12, the "L" brackets attach where the bungee spools are and you can retain two spools if you use the rear ones in the front location.  The Sport Rack is your basic luggage rack while the Pack Rack is the same thing, but with a tall loop for holding their Aero Packs or Euro Packs. Aero Packs come in 35L & 45L sizes and two can be zipped together, if you're riding solo, for up to 90L of capacity. The Euro Pack is a squarer design in 44L capacity, expandable to 56L.  They also have a 10L Sport Pack available that is designed to be used on the Sport Rack.

The Sport & Pack Racks are quick to swap between each other for the changing duties you may have in mind, and the "L" brackets are easy to remove (at least on the 2G) if you want the clean looks of being stock.  I usually ride around with the whole thing at home and only install it when I need one of the racks. The 1G looks a little more involved and you probably wouldn't take the "L" brackets on/off much, but it looks like they are a little more discrete on the 1G, too. Their sample installation steps illustrate a 1G B6/12 install.

Here's a couple of shots with my B12 & the 45L pack installed in the solo position. (For two up riding, you just slip the pack over the rack with the pack sitting on the rack instead of the seat.)





Typical set of "L" brackets (these are excatly what the 2G Bandit ones look like):



The Sport Rack:



The Pack Rack:



45L Pack:



35L Pack:



(The 35L & 45L bags will zip together in any combination)

Euro Pack in 44L mode:



...and 56L mode:



The 10L Sport Pack:



All packs available in black, red or blue. Brackets and racks come in black for most modesl, but some cruisers are offered in chrome instead.

For the USA version of the Ventura site click here.

For the rest of the world, click here.

The have versions to fit most every street legal bike out there - even Pete's DR650.