By Greg Drevenstedt
If you plan to lay down the miles, a tankbag is a critical piece of kit. Even on touring baggers like the Harley-Davidson Road Glide and Street Glide that my pal Eric Birns and I rode from California to Texas and back (read about our ride on Arizona’s Coronado Trail on page 34), you need a convenient place to stash essentials like a water bottle, snacks, sunglasses, and faceshield cleaner.
Both Glides have handy storage drawers to hold and charge a smartphone. The Road Glide also has small storage compartments inside its frame-mounted fairing, but the Street Glide does not. Even the Road Glide’s compartments are small and awkwardly shaped. The Nelson-Rigg tankbag provides up to 7 liters of easy-to-access storage.
Nelson-Rigg has been making motorcycle luggage since the early 1980s, and its Route 1 line is aimed at cruiser riders. For our nine-day, 4,200-mile journey, Eric and I supplemented the Glides’ saddlebags and chopped Tour-Paks with Nelson-Rigg’s Route 1 Traveler Trunk Bags (see review in the July issue) and Journey Magnetic Tank Bags.
The Journey bags secure to metal tanks with four strong magnets inside wing-like flaps that extend well beyond the sides of the bag. This spread-out design ensures the bag won’t slide around even when fully loaded. A grippy, textured rubber material on the bottom of the bag and flaps won’t scratch or mar paint, but it’s always a good idea to keep the bottom of the bag clean, especially after riding in windy, dusty conditions.
The bag’s tapered design is slightly wider at the front than the back, and it measures 10x8x4 inches in the standard configuration (5-liter capacity) or 10x8x6 inches when expanded (7-liter capacity). The sides of the bag have leather-like vinyl panels with reflective piping. At the front is a convenient carry handle, and at the rear (facing the rider) is a pass-through port for a charging cable or wired earbuds. Atop the bag is a clear, touchscreen-friendly pocket that will hold a smartphone, GPS, or map.
The bag has a hi-viz orange lining that makes it easy to see what’s inside, as well as three mesh pockets, two of which have hook-and-loop closures. There’s also a 100% waterproof rain cover with a clear top.
Using the Journey tankbag is easy. Just open the flaps, lay it on the tank, and fill it with whatever you want. On the Harley Glides, the tankbag sits behind the fuel filler, so it doesn’t need to be removed during gas stops. During longer breaks or at the end of the day, you just pull the bag off and carry it with you.
The Nelson-Rigg Journey 1 Magnetic Tank Bag retails for $114.95. It’s covered by a lifetime warranty, and the color is guaranteed not to fade.