BMW GS Riders tend to be very similar to Jeep Wrangler drivers. You usually have someone with these huge wheels and tires, shocks, winch, light-bar and neoprene seats that has a perfectly waxed Jeep that never sees any off-road time. The main reason for this is because when you’ve spend 42 grand on a 4×4, you’re less likely to take it off road for a few years but before you pay it off, a new model is out and you enter the cycle again.
The same goes with GS riders who can easily spend 32 grand on a motorcycle and for those riders, Touratech is basically the #1 place to mod your bike to handle all of those off-road adventures you’ll never take.
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Today, I am going to review some Crash Bar Bags. My GSA Comes with crash bars and since most BMW GS Riders never need the crash bars because they don’t off-road, they fit these bags over them to store more things in. If I dump the bike, whatever is in the bags will be destroyed and possibly the bags themselves will rip to shreds especially if the dump takes place on pavement. Off-road, things like a water bottle are fine in here but these really are the first things that touch the ground after my engine guards.
Why did I buy it? Well, these are $182 new but I got an insanely good deal on these 3rd hand from a guy on a BMW forum so they were a great deal and I like how they look.
Manufacturer Description:
DETAILS
A brilliant bag for overalls, spare gloves etc. Really looks good on the new R 1200 GS Adventure. These easy-access bags are designed specifically to fit the stock fuel tank protection bars on the R1200GS-Adventure. The bags are just put over the tank bracket and fixed in place with 2 straps.
PRODUCT FEATURES
• Color: Black with reflective
• Dimensions (l x w x h): about 10 x 8 x 5 inches
• Capacity: about 2.5 litres per side – water resistant but not waterproof.
• All model years
Note these are not waterproof so don’t store the phone or wallet in there although that’s the last thing I’d keep in there if off-roading since I’d most certainly smash the contents. I do think that these will be great for long highway rides when I honestly don’t have enough space on my bike. The tank bag is too big so generally, I’m stuck with just the luggage and I really need a bag that I can get to easily without having to take my key out of the ignition to unlock my boxes. When these are empty though, they actually flutter a bit in the wind and you can hear them there. I’m certain they contribute some drag / wind-resistance and could lead to a lower fuel economy but like luggage boxes, these aren’t on my bike full-time.
Here are a few photos I took and a video:
