Airplnmech
Junior Member
This being my first thread please be easy on me. With that said, September of last year I picked up my 09 FZ6 and have been looking for touring gear since then. Most of my riding is local but my wife and I do take several overnight trips and usually one long trip per year. After putting a couple thousand miles on the bike I realized that I didn't want to permanently install any bags so that led me to the SW Motech Blase saddlebags and the Givi T489 tank lock. With a quick call and a whole paycheck to Twisted Throttle they were on the way.
The first thing I noticed when the boxes arrived was the quality of the bags, both the Givi and SW bags used really heavy duty material in their construction. The mounting of the Givi Tanklock bag consisited of removing three bolts from the gas filler and installing a low profile mounting ring. The tankbag then just locks onto the mounting ring and is ready to go.
The mounting of the Blase saddlebags is a little more involved. All of the bracketry comes unassembled and there are a lot of little fiddley bits in the box to contend with. The instructions are minimal but workable so the assembly went fairly smooth. The core of the system is the support arms that attach to the passenger footpeg brackets. When the arms are removed all that is left is two small brackets right at the top of the passenger footpeg bracket.
Once I had it all installed it was time for a hot lap. At freeway speeds everything stayed put and nothing got in the way. The tankbag is small enough that you don't even know it is there unless you are looking at it. The only part of the tankbag I do not like is it has a safety strap that loops around your handlebars. From what I have seen it isn't necessary and I don't like the idea of anything messing with my steering. I think it will meet the hot knife soon. Other than that the whole install is very solid and looks like it will serve great. In the spring I will be going on a ten day tour and will post an update to let you know how it works in the real world.
The first thing I noticed when the boxes arrived was the quality of the bags, both the Givi and SW bags used really heavy duty material in their construction. The mounting of the Givi Tanklock bag consisited of removing three bolts from the gas filler and installing a low profile mounting ring. The tankbag then just locks onto the mounting ring and is ready to go.
The mounting of the Blase saddlebags is a little more involved. All of the bracketry comes unassembled and there are a lot of little fiddley bits in the box to contend with. The instructions are minimal but workable so the assembly went fairly smooth. The core of the system is the support arms that attach to the passenger footpeg brackets. When the arms are removed all that is left is two small brackets right at the top of the passenger footpeg bracket.
Once I had it all installed it was time for a hot lap. At freeway speeds everything stayed put and nothing got in the way. The tankbag is small enough that you don't even know it is there unless you are looking at it. The only part of the tankbag I do not like is it has a safety strap that loops around your handlebars. From what I have seen it isn't necessary and I don't like the idea of anything messing with my steering. I think it will meet the hot knife soon. Other than that the whole install is very solid and looks like it will serve great. In the spring I will be going on a ten day tour and will post an update to let you know how it works in the real world.
