Wheelborne Touring Bag Review

[Admin]

Wheelborne's Touring Bag’s inside pocket measures 13 inches x 8-1/2 inches x 5-1/4 inches, slightly contoured to be smaller at the back toward the rider. (Morgan Gales/)

Using new motorcycle luggage is an exercise in trust. You put important belongings into a single bag, attach that bag to your bike, then head down the highway at speed and trust your things will be safe. When you find a brand that performs extensive testing and revision, it makes it much easier to trust that brand’s products.

The Touring Bag from Wheelborne was released only after a year of on-bike testing and development. This unique take on the classic tank bag adds function and style to a proven carry system through use of high-quality materials and thoughtful design. At $295, this piece of luggage is certainly an investment, but the last couple months of daily use and testing has proven its versatility, durability, and value.

The Touring Bag easily attaches to any bike with a steel gas tank, but a universal fit kit is available for non-ferrous tanks as well. (Morgan Gales/)

Wheelborne is a small sew shop in Richmond, Virginia, specializing in motorcycle luggage. Each piece is made to order on vintage sewing equipment with great attention to detail. On one hand, this means you’ll have to wait an average of 10–14 days for Wheelborne to construct your goods. On the other, it means that the person making your bags is probably the one picking up the phone. Wheelborne products are all designed to be sustainable and repairable, and are guaranteed for the life of the piece.

The Touring Bag is made up of one main 12-liter pouch with a water-resistant YKK zipper, and a large clear map pocket on the top. Its outer shell is made up of 15-ounce waxed canvas, but this is layered with recycled rubber, coated polyester, and water-resistant pack cloth to ensure waterproofing and give the bag its flexibly rigid character. On the inside of the flip-up lid to the main compartment are four tool/pen slots, a small flat zippered pocket, and a card/document pocket with a snap closure. There are two pass-through ports for charging cables, one at the back of the bag facing the rider and one on the lid leading from the main compartment into the clear top map pocket, both covered as to ensure water resistance. The map pocket is closed at the bottom with both a zipper and a snap, allowing for a quick closure if you’re in a rush, or a more secure zipped closure when needed. High-quality veg-tanned leather adds structure to the outside of the bag; in our testing it’s been acquiring a nice patina as we use it.

A small opening facing the rider allows cables into the bag’s main body while remaining weatherproof. (Morgan Gales/)

Six 70-pound-pull neodymium magnets attach the Touring Bag to any steel gas tank through a layer of rubber backing. These magnets proved strong enough to hold the bag on an unfaired motorcycle’s gas tank directly in the wind at 80 mph with no slippage. Wheelborne even claims it will stay planted off-road, which based on tested performance, we don’t doubt. If you don’t have a ferrous gas tank, Wheelborne makes a universal Hard Mounting Kit that can wrap around most traditional gas tanks and attach to points on the outer four corners of the bag.

We mounted the Touring Bag to a Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST, Sportster S, Honda Rebel 1100, my vintage Honda Dominator, and more. Even on bikes like the Indian Chief, which has a dash piece going down the center of the gas tank, the soft bottom of the bag lets it conform to fit. On certain bikes the bag needs to be slid farther back toward the rider; on others it will sit farther up. It’s easy to figure out and can cover most gas caps if needed. The magnets did not scuff or mar paint on any of the testbikes, though we were particularly precious about the paint jobs. We’ll likely put a soft cloth between the rubber and paint just to be extra safe.

A strap on front of the Wheelborne Touring Bag makes it easy to carry off of the bike. (Morgan Gales/)

A leather strap on the front/top of the bag makes it easy to carry when it’s not mounted to your bike. The magnets continue to prove useful off the bike as well. When I get home I will often throw the Touring Bag on the side of my metal toolbox, my desk, or even on my refrigerator. Note that if you set the bag on the ground, or anywhere with scraps or debris, you need to be aware that the magnets could pick up metal bits that could later scratch your tank. Attaching it to something that keeps it off of the floor means you don’t need to worry about picked-up scraps.

We were only able to test the Touring Bag’s weatherproofing in light rain, which it handled without issue. The marine-grade vinyl window on top sheds water quickly and keeps whatever is beneath protected. Waxed canvas will let water through eventually, but with the multi-layered fabric and recycled rubber included here we’re confident that it would keep belongings dry through longer periods of heavier rain.

As I plan to keep this bag on my bike for my daily commute, I’ll update this story after further use.

Four loop pockets are perfect for holding a pen, tire pressure gauge, or small flashlight. (Morgan Gales/)
A small leather pocket on the bag’s lid is perfect for parking passes or ID cards. (Morgan Gales/)

The main pocket of the Touring Bag is deep enough and the walls of the pack are sturdy enough to allow access while riding without the wind blowing your things onto the road, though do this at your own risk. Thanks to the dual-zipper closure, it can be opened a small amount to allow rummaging around. Anything that’s likely to be needed during a ride, like a soft cloth for a helmet visor or a little snack for the blood sugar, can be stowed in the map pocket for easy access.

The map pocket on top of Wheelborne’s Touring Bag measures 7-3/4 inches x 8-1/2 inches. (Morgan Gales/)
Six large neodymium magnets keep the Touring Bag on any metal gas tank. (Morgan Gales/)

We’ve spent time thinking of what we might change on this bag given the opportunity; we didn’t come up with much. A canvas piece to cover the magnets when the bag is off of the bike would be nice, though it may get in the way during normal use. This is nitpicking, of course; we’re thoroughly enjoying this bag, and look forward to watching it gain patina and break in with further use.

View the full article