So who are the Adv riders here?

So, I've started down the ADV path. Some friends of mine are doing a week long COBDR ride this July, and I decided I shouldn't miss out on the opportunity. In a hurry a month or so ago I couldn't find a Tenere 700 anywhere near me. So, I picked up a 2020 Triumph Tiger 900 Rally that was sitting on my favorite dealers floor instead. It might be a bit of a big girl, but I think it'll be alright. Some of the other bikes on the ride are a 690Adventure, T700, DR650, and an F800.
I've already armored up the bike with crash bars, Barkbusters, and a skid plate. But, I'm waffling about luggage options now. My default was go to with the alum panniers, but now I'm thinking a soft luggage solution might be "safer". How dangerous are alum panniers, really?
Having fun with gear buying too. Supplies are so limited in some things. Frustrating trying to put together some quality kit. After market parts are a struggle sometimes too. Glad I didn't decide in June to put this together.

 

I love my tiger. Never owned a adult bike before. LOL
I did go with aluminum boxes and extremely happy. I did not do the top box though. Also put an arrow exhaust just for a little bit of sound. I do have a brand new scorpion exhaust if you are interested in it.

 

Grab one of the rackless setups from Mosko Moto or Giant Loop. They’re much lighter and won’t break your leg. I had aluminum panniers on mine. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve planted a foot and had a pannier hit the back of my boot.

Pack light!!!

Invest in proper MX boots.

I’d suggest looking at Motoz Tractionator Adventure tires. They’ll withstand the CO terrain. I ran a set from IL to OK, rode a section of the TAT, rode back to IL, sold them to a guy in AR who then rode them to/around CO and back. They’re tough tires.

 

Too heavy of a base. There are several SV Adventure conversions on ADVRider. They’re a way lighter bike than a V-Strom could ever hope to be.

 

Pretty much that, except, if you want Aluminum cans for other day to day uses. Don’t let the soft bag contingent scare you. I’ve had AL Jessie cans on for 50k miles so far without a broken leg. Just be mindful that it “can” happen and ride accordingly.

 

I've had both and am now 100% soft bags. Too many negatives with the hard panniers if you ride off road.

 

I like Wolfman. Plus I can have multiple sets for different circumstances for less than the price of hard bags.

If I had a more street oriented DS I might go with hard bags.

 

I've been running the Giant Loop Coyote bags for a while on my 950. Great system. If you are more towards the off road side of things they can't be beat. If you are doing mostly street or FS roads, the big metal things are probably easier to pack, and get in and out of during the ride.

The Coyote is great for keeping your stuff dry and out of the mud, sliding between trees and just being solid and dependable. Just ordered the Mojavi for my 500.

 

Looks like an SM version of my 950 Super Enduro

 

I'm encountering supply issues with the better soft bag manufacturers. So many are out of stock. Very frustrating.

I sorta followed that already. I went with the Alpinestars Corozal boots. I have true MX boots, but the soles are going to be crap if I have to do any lifting of crashed motorcycles on trails. Plus, these have a waterproof liner.

I've seen good things about Motoz tires. Never heard of them before going down this ADV rabbit hole. This trip we'll be trailering to CO. So I'm actually leaning towards maybe something really aggressive, but soft. The Bridgestone AX41 are tempting. Right now the Tiger has some Dunlop Trailmax Missions for bombing around MO to get my durt legs back under me.

 

True. It just seems a shorter path to making a DL durt worthy, vs an SV. But, eventually, someone figures it out.

 

Holy Crap! How big is that tank?
You don't need that much fuel for a supermotard, do you?

 

Never got around to thanking you for the recommendation - thanks!!!! For this next round, I went with Pirelli STR's (did an honest assessment on where I'm at and what I ride - 85-15% with the 15% being rocks, gravel, dirt and hard pack so sticking with something more road based until it's time for the NEBDR (which is most likely next year - MABDR and some off road training school hopefully this year). Just got back from the NC and TN and their street characteristics are superb - did everything I asked of them off pavement as well). When it comes time to get the second set of wheels, I'll definitely check out Dubya).

 

They got video "documentaries" on Amazon for rent of the BDR's (including the COBDR). Started watching them after watching the NEBDR one. It's not going to win any awards but it'll give you an idea of what's involved and may help with some prep (ie one of the riders on the scouting trip got altitude sickness). On the soft side of things, don't know what you're packing or how much room you need, but I'm a big fan of my Wolfman B base and Rollie bags/Duffle (duffle is 40l and each rollie is 20L - could easily do several days with just that set up - but I'm staying at hotels not camping on those multi day trips). It's a modular system so you can add a larger duffle and add more rollies on the tail rack for example (the B base goes over the rear seat) - honestly - I could probably throw another 25L duffle behind the 40L if I wanted to. If you look in the flea market people are selling soft stuff all the time - between the rollies (flea market brand new) the B base (on sale) and the roll top duffle (Amazon gift card) I was into the whole system for about 300.00.

 

Thanks for the doc suggestions on Amazon. I'll check them out. We're doing all hotel stays, so, no camping gear needed. We've been in CO a number of times street riding. So the altitude sickness thing is something we're aware of. So far, none of us have hit it. For sure, doing these passes will test that.
All my sport touring has been with hard bags, so all this technology for soft bags is a new frontier for me, lol

 

FYI if you are looking for a good set of aggressive tires for a "bigger" bike, I have been liking the MotoZ Tractionator Desert HT (140/80-18 for me) and the Pirelli Scorpion Rally 90/90-21 front. IMHO it's one of the best all around tires that works great off road, but decently enough on the pavement. I'm harsh on tires, so I get to try lots and lots of them.


I've used this combo on a bunch of passes in CO, riding the Kentucky Adventure trail (many of the hard sections as well as the main loop), and the Tellico Adventure trail as well as my usual stuff in north GA and places like Highland Park single track on the 950.

 

It's 6 gallons but given my lack of restraint and traction, I can usually get around 150 miles out of it before I get nervous and start looking for gas stations. It's all about the smiles per gallon the beast.

 

I have Happy Trails hard, Wolfman and Tusk soft. One day I'll actually ride somewhere and use them

 

This set up was just a "test" but I ended up really liking it for what I do - I didn't want a rear rack on the bike and I like the fact that visually it keeps me just focused on bringing the "essentials" but I have room in the duffle to throw stuff in (side bags have air compressor, plug kit on one side, rain gear and extra gloves on the other, duffle has tire gauge, first aid kit, tools (including a plastic mallet) honda polish and micro fiber towels) Also like the reduction of weight and rear footprint (it's bad enough having to be mindful of the cylinders) If I was moto camping, I'd consider the bigger soft luggage panniers but right now, it's good for what I realistically do. I will say this though - if I were to get another rackless/rack system - I'd jump on Mosko moto 35's and reckless 80 just for the resale value alone - it almost seems like there "out of stock" situations help guarantee to keep the value of their used stuff up (sucks as buyer, great as a seller).

As one new adv rider to another, here are my top three things for the bike so far: aftermarket adjustable steering damper (transformed the bike both on and off road) 2) strapless ring lock tank bag - it gets annoying really quick undoing those straps for fill ups - especially when you forget to close the bag after taking out your wallet) 3) moto jug - I absolutely LOVE this thing - up to a gallon of water that stays cold all day (I put Ice cubes in it and got an RTIC jug) - goes on your rear passenger pegs - I even use it on long drives in the car - stick it in the back foot well and drink cold water at my leisure - and the owner of the company is Firefighter who rides from SLC to LA as a commute so that's how it started (and his wife does the sewing) - hard not to support that!.

 

Something new to me in my research on ADV bikes, bias fronts with radial rears. Anyone explain that?