I'm hardly an expert at this and have only traveled with hard panniers, complemented with a duffel bag on the pillion seat for my camping apparel. Most of my travels have been on hardtop with small ventures on gravel. Although being a PITA, the camping gear can be replaced fairly easily if stolen and I can always find cheap lodging in the meantime. My more expensive items (camera, tools, laptop, etc) are stored in my hard luggage for relative safety.
This being said, I'm planning a longer trip mostly off-road and am thinking about reversing my arrangement. That is to say, soft side luggage (for security in case of a fall) with a Pelican style top case to store my expensive items. My decision is not yet finalized and look forward to advice that others may offer.

P.S. There are several posts on the HUBB discussing the pro's & con's of both systems. You may want to check these out if you haven't already.

Safe travels,

I have not purchased the husky yet, only considering it. I am aware of the problems with the rocker arms on the KTM... but then again, it is a cheap and easily replaced item that I would conscider a service item on this bike. Same goes for fuel pump... (also prone to fail on the BMW F650GS Dakar and allways had a spare... no biggie I think. Radiator problems was also an issue with the KTM, which i think is a bigger problem.

Riding highways at 130 kmh was a pain even on the bimmer. I once did 2000+++ kms o the dakar in two days. With only the stock screen, nothing to disengage the throttle return spring, and a helmet with a pressure points, stock seat, touratech panniers dragging in the wind, a faulty clutch and riding on a flat front wheel for the last couple of hours - I think I have a pretty good ide what riding the husky would feel like on the highway. I do however believe that with a few improvements (fairing, had protectors, improved seat, throttle return spring disengator, more "aerodynamic soft" panniers with a better center of gravity, steering damper, improved grips, adequate tyres for highway riding... I think it will work ok. Put into perspective, it only takes a few days of highway riding to cross all of Europe.

As for magnitude of off road riding, it will vary. I've done trips where virtually all has been off tarmac (i.e. Iceland). Then again, most longer trips are mostly done on tarmac... though gravel and offroad is allways sought after. I seldom do very long rides of very demanding offroad riding though.

As for camping equipment:

-A light weight sleeping bag. If it is cold, I hack it as best I can.
-Compact inflatable mat

-Ultra light tarp or plastic sheet. I will bring a tent to areas with bothersome critters though, Then I bring a one layer two person festival tent without a vestibule - it is light and compact, self standing, is set up in seconds. If I am on a longer trip expect to be finished camping, and still have ways to go - I donate the tent to someone.

-Towel

-No cooker of any sort. All the cooking is done over an open fire or an improvised hobo stove if making an open fire is problematic (two cans, gasoline and a coin can be sourced anywhere). My cooking gear consists of a military style kidney shaped titanium canteen bottle, complete with a large kidney size pot that fits snugly. I can cook one pot stews in the cup/pot and liquids directly in the bottle. A titanium spork and my leatherman and I have everything I need. I often also carry a small steel thermos cup for that mid day tea or coffee.

My hygiene kit is also fairly bare bone. Toothbrush, tooth paste, bar of soap, razor, deodorant, laundry detergent, wet wipes, toilet paper... Not much of anything else.

As for clothing I carry one change of outerwear and one to two changes of underwear - all merino or low volume/weight technical stuff. I carry a shemagh, a cap, and sneakers - but not much else.

I've stopped carrying a dedicated GPS on most trips as I find it a hassle to disconnect for security and having one more item that needs charging. I no longer carry a computer or a tablet, but maybe a bluetooth keyboard for my phone on longer trips, and maybe an e-reader for various tour guides, maps and other books. If I carry camera equipment it is limited to a go pro and/or a fairly compact system camera. If I ride in groups I bring a couple two way radios in addition to coms in my helmet. I no longer carry a sat phone, but may carry a GPS tracker. Electronics is one of those nice to have items that really clutters life... all those cables, all that charging, all that valuable stuff on my mind (is it secure in the room, is it secure on the bike, is it properly stored, is it charged, what item to charge first, are all the bits and bobs on board....). In short, my electronics is minimal in both volume and weight.

My first aid kit is always plentiful, as is my tool kit. If tie is on my side I try to leave most spares at home except for those things which are most prone to fail and which can't be decently bodged and leave me stranded. I also tend to bring a crap load of bodge repair items (epoxies, tapes, cables, zip ties, fasteners and so forth).

I prefer to bring as little as possible - mostly because I think "nice to have items" clutters more than it helps more times than not. On my trip from Nice to Norway for instance, the smallest Zega panniers were not even close to quarter full and was packed an ready to go in less than three minutes. I mean, what do you really need in the civilized parts of Europe besides your passport, wallet and a single change of clothing? Unless you really want to, you don't have to cook, sleep outside or fix anything yourself. Regardless of where you are, all services are at worst only a few hours away. I can survive a few hours without being able to stuff my pie hole or have access to the amenities equipment can offer.

As for valuables and items that I like to access frequently throughout the day (cash, papers, camera, wet wipes, shades), I prefer to have those in an easily accessible backpack that I can just snag with me as I jump in and out of stores, etc. The panniers are used for stuff that are accessed at the end of the ride or in case of emergency (tools, spares). Everything else is stored in the tank bag, on the outside of the panniers or in the backpack.

As for my original question, security is my main concern for going soft. Not so much in my parts of the world, but more and more so the further south or east I travel from Scandinavia. Busy border crossings such as that found between Senegal and Mauritania, where the bike have to be left unattended while sorting out paperwork. I think I would be panic stricken if not riding in a group. The consequences of theft is a whole different matter there than here...

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I've travelled with soft panniers, though not the latest generation and only within Europe. But from your very thoughtful post I definitely agree with the desire for light weight (in bike and luggage), though I have a few reservations about the really light weight trail bikes (including the 690/701) being great mile munchers, particularly if you're venturing far from civilisation and rescue services. As you quite rightly say, you can do it on anything, but still some bikes are better than others.

Your reasoning is also why I'm 99% sure my next bike is going to be a 790 Adventure, and I've been thinking about the best luggage to use on this. My current thinking is a rack with hard top box, because as you say hard luggage is less attractive to the casual thief. A place for laptop, camera. etc. On the sides, supported by racks, soft bags which I plan to secure with Pacsafe cables to prevent casual opening and removal. Sleeping bag, tent and maybe spare waterproofs in a dry bag in a Pacsafe net bungeed on the back seat.

Maybe that's a bit of a faff but I'm a tad paranoid about theft on the road. I know a determined thief will get in anyway but I reckon 99% is opportunist and that can be deterred.

As for seating, I'm looking at lightweight camp chairs, and as for leg protection in a spill, that steers me towards soft panniers. HTH

After several years of using hard SW Motech side cases on my 2012 V-Strom 650 I switched to Nelson Riggs roll top soft bags last year for one reason only. The width of bike with the hard cases mounted (wider than the handlebars) was a major irritant - no threading through long lines of traffic, worrying about clipping something etc.


The result? You're correct, soft bags can be a major irritant when not in motion. Yes, you can put a soft bag inside a soft bag but I found that the inner bag, once fully filled with various irregularly shaped items was often reluctant to squeeze back into the outer bag whereas it would have slid nicely back into the smooth metal interior of a hard case. A struggle would ensue. There are worse things in life but it was a pain.


So, my solution was (using adapters for the racks) to switch to much narrower plastic Givi hard cases. They hold far less that the SW Motechs but you can't have everything.

I enjoyed watching your intrepid Vespa adventures.

I recently retired a KLR650, which spent its life with Happy Trails aluminum boxes on it. Something I don't see in regard to disadvantages of hard bags is they seem to amplify vibration, where soft bags dampen it. I sometimes find my pliers and adjustable wrenches have disassembled themselves when I get them out, that doesn't happen with soft bags. That said, it is a lot easier to get things out that are at the bottom of alloy boxes, and they are more secure at border crossings and whatnot.

I personally know two people that have had legs broken in a fall with aluminum bags, so that is a major consideration to me. I just bought a Honda XR650L that came with Mosko bags. They are expensive, and I wouldn't have bought them new. They use a bag in bag concept, have the above mentioned issue of the inner bag not wanting to go back in, and are not any lighter than my Happy Trails boxes, but seem rugged and well thought out. I haven't had them long enough to have a real opinion on them.

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I just ordered the Nelson-Rigg Sierra Dry Adv bags. Haven't used them yet. Like the two other Nelson-Rigg pannier set I had before, all have inner stiffener panels ... so most times inner bags slip in OK.

Do your panniers have inner stiffeners?

My last N/R's had zipper and the whole side of the bag opened all the way up ... so pretty easy to stuff my full inner bag in, which was just a grocery store shopping bag. (Trader Joe's)

But if you OVER LOAD your inner bag with too much CRAP ... then you can't really blame the bags. You're overloaded. Lighten it up and it will fit.

Are you're new GIVI bags are plastic ones? Mine pictured a few posts back.
They're tougher than they look. I fell a couple times, whacked trees and hit a steel pole leaving a parking lot.
A few scuffs, but those GIVI's never cracked. I was impressed how strong.

But you need heavier racks to carry the GIVI's and most ALU panniers. The Jesse bags are great ... but did you ever weigh one empty? no thanks.

Some heavy duty canvas soft bags are heavy, but my Nelson-Rigg aren't too bad, about 3 or 4 lbs. each? vs. 7lbs ea for my old GIVI.

My current racks are super light tubular. 2-3 lbs. ea including steel bolts.

I try to keep all up load about 45 lbs. max. Two panniers and top duffel bag (duffel only half full) Includes clothes, rain gear, tools, bath/first aid, spare tubes, electronics, WATER, extra sandals.