Luggage Racks, Hard Cases & Soft Bags

[AZPI]

Yesterday I packed a 38L DrySpec bag and strapped it to my back seat and stock luggage rack. The handling of the bike was obviously different and I was prepared for that.

I was curious about side luggage racks. Are they a requirement when using soft bags? Can you really just drape the bags over the back seat and secure them to the frame somehow. As far as soft bags go are racks only there for something to strap them to and to keep one away from the exhaust (See pic below). As far as off-road goes do side racks offer any protection during a tipover or do they usually just break?

I'm thinking about using soft bags on the side and a hard top case so I'm going to start researching what's compatible and best for me. I just need to understand how necessary the side racks are.

Thanks in advance!

 

[RCinNC]

I've used both, and for the kind of riding I normally do, I prefer hard bags (in my case, they're Duratool cases). My bike is my main vehicle, and I prefer the hard bags for day to day use because it's easier to use them to haul things like groceries. They are also a little more secure than soft bags, if you find yourself somewhere that you can't keep an eye on the bike. If I was doing an substantial off road riding (like single track or really rocky trails, not talking about forest roads), I'd opt for soft bags; less chance of getting your foot caught under a hard bag and being injured if you crash.

You don't need racks for soft bags; you do need to make sure that the bag can't swing far enough inboard on the bike that it can make contact with the rear wheel. It's not a problem on the exhaust side, but might be on the other side on an S10. On my old V-Strom, I had a device called a luggage standoff installed on the non-exhaust side. Basically it was just a piece of steel tubing that ran from the rear passenger footpeg towards the rear of the bike (I can't recall where the other end was attached). It mainly gave the bag something to rest against so it didn't swing towards the wheel, and also gave you another point to tie the bag down. You could easily make one out of electrical conduit or steel strapping, if you needed one.

I have a pair of Nelson Rigg soft bags that I do like. I believe they're CL-850's.

 

[Checkswrecks]

Nelson Riggs with the grab handles turned over. They will chafe the muffler cover if you don't protect it.

The above were on the first Tenere before going to the hard boxes. If I were to buy bags today, it would be the Mosko Moto bags.
https://moskomoto.com/collections/motorcycle-luggage
http://www.yamahasupertenere.com/index.php?topic=13263.0