Narrow hard bags

grinja1k said:

Simple solution. Don't splint lanes. It's just dumb.

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Splitting lanes makes perfect sense. We're not talking about going 100mph when traffic is 80mph, but rather going a few more mph when traffic is going slow, less than 30 mph. Removing ourselves from getting rear-ended in slow heavy traffic is a safety strategy.

It's dumb to split lanes in MN. Drivers here are terrible. They're either clueless and don't line up nicely or check thier blind spots, or they'll get pissed that you're not as miserable as them and will open their doors on you. In fact, I could make the argument that commuting through the metro area on a bike is just plain dumb.

But in CA it makes sense. And in some parts of the world it's almost required if you want to get to your destination. Drivers line up nicely and give you lots of room (even on my FJR with bags I was able to lane-share), they don't make sudden moves, and it's only the occasional jealous midwest ******* tourist in Los Angeles that will give you problems.

Reduce your ignorance: Lane splitting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Givi offers the E21 sidecases:

7.7 inches in width.

I've driven in the UK, Ireland, and ridden in Europe and seen many riders who use top cases rather than side cases where lane splitting/filtering is allowed. After years of having bikes with side cases I went this way with my Bandit 1250 and might go the same route with my new '12 N1K.

Found a pair, search is over.

Finally found some narrow bags some months back, and a very spacious trunk that holds two full face helmets. Now I can split lanes in heavy traffic and tons of space to stow my gear. Total width no wider than the handlebars.

I'm going to have to search for images of a N1K with a top trunk only (no saddle bags). Although most of the freeways here are fairly roomy that saddle bags wouldn't bother much, some older portions of the 110 or the 5 fwy can be narrow. But Marauder, if you're in Azusa, the 60 and the 10 fwys have carpool lanes with double yellow lines that make it easier to split, no? but I think i'd rather have a top trunk. May not be super pretty, but it's gotta be better than those unattractive Givi E-21s.

as for the split/not to split argument, I wouldn't live in a state where I couldn't split lanes. I see both sides of the argument and there's plenty of knuckleheads here in socal that give lane splitting a bad name, but properly done, I feel safer splitting lanes 5-10 mph faster than traffic in a congested fwy. The risk of getting rear ended or to make a mistake in bumper to bumper, stop and go traffic is just too great. Imagine having to stop and go in a jammed freeway for 45 mins on a 500 lb motorcycle.