I think thats true, but only of Anglo-Saxon riders ... from UK - US - Australia. In these parts of the world there is a real debate about what luggage is suitable. And I agree that the default setting is people start with hard luggage. Once the first big trip is out of the way, they realise the advantages that soft luggage can bring.

In the Teutonic world there is NO debate. There is no variety of opinion. In Germany, Holland, Austria, Switzerland, Scandinavia, the default mentality is that you tour on a large bike (almost always a 200 kg + BMW boxer, KTM V-Twin or Honda Africa Twin.) The idea of doing a long trip on a lightweight bike (or using soft luggage) has not even occurred to many teutonic riders I have spoken with. I have met hundreds of German overlanders over the years. Not a single one of them had soft luggage, and only one of them was on a bike smaller than the ones listed above ... and he was on an F650GS ... still 180kgs.

In the Anglo Saxon world there are far more people doing long trips on much lighter bikes around 150 - 160 kgs. XT600s, DR650s, XR650s etc ... For the anglo saxon world, a BMW F650 Dakar is a mid size touring bike, for the Germanic world its the lower limit of sanity. Guys like Austin Vince swear by his 115kg DR350s, that have been round the world twice, having done pioneering routes each time. Mac Swinarski's pioneering trip to Chukotka this year was done on 110kg KTM 400s, obviously with soft luggage.

This is why you get two differing viewpoints on what gear you should take. It because there are two different mentalities. I am not saying one mentality is better than the other, but for certain, one mentality is better suited to certain objectives than others. It depends on what is your objective and what you want to get out of your ride.

We Anglo Saxons are however still swayed by the marketing material from overlanding gear suppliers, many if not most of who are German. Since they had a 10 year headstart on 'us' for motorcycle overlanding most of the big aftermarket parts suppliers are German. So what the Germans deemed appropriate aftermarket parts has become the default for the whole world. Its only in recent years that Anglo Saxon companies like Steel Pony, Andy Strapz, Wolfman etc have really emerged, and begun making quality products that dont conform to the Germanic stereotypes.

__________________