I ride my bike to work and would like to keep it protected from the sun. I have a bike cover but no way of taking it with me without blowing away.
I have a backpack but it has all my tools and other supplies so there's not much room for a cover.
What do you guys use or recommend? Finding a fuel tank bag? A net on the backseat? Saddlebags? Which ones, name brands? Any advice would be much appreciated, I can't decide if I want to try a fuel tank bag or getting nice size saddlebags.

I personally recommend the Rapid Transit Recon 19 magnetic tank bag, it holds a fair amount of stuff, and come with backpack straps.

I believe that there are stretchy lycra bike covers that ought to pack up a lot smaller than the typical nylon ones.

FWIW (and yeah, I know you've got a different bike) but I carried a full nylon cover under the passenger seat of my newgen.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a115/adouglas2001/Ninjapics/IMG_0570.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a115/adouglas2001/Ninjapics/IMG_0572.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a115/adouglas2001/Ninjapics/IMG_0574.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a115/adouglas2001/Ninjapics/IMG_0575.jpg

I found that a tail bag bungees nicely to the back part of a pregen seat, and it comes off very quickly so you can take it in to work. Forgive me for posting this photo yet again, but it's one of the few I have that show the tail bag:

I like to find the simple solutions first; Is there not a spot that is mostly shaded that you could park your bike? Perhaps, move to another spot during lunch to "chase" the shade.

As far as bags go, saddlebags offer quite a bit of storage as well as a tail/tank bag. I opted for a Cortech magnetic tank bag so it can be easily removed and used on another bike. Some expand to hold nearly as much as saddle bag and have nearly waterproof covers to keep stuff dry.

Honestly & imho, most bike storage problems are addressed by being a bit on the creative side and increasing your packing skills to maximize what room you have available. For example; I can fit 3 xl hoodies in my Cortech Super Mini tank bag. But to be 100% honest too... I had to get my wife to teach me how to fold them. :lolsign:

Check out the Cargo Space area here for more ideas.

/thread moved to Cargo Space

Thanks for all the replies. I'm thinking of a tail seat bag. I'm wanting to get hard saddlebags down the road and make some custom brackets but I'd like to use the tail bag for now.

I never thought of a tail seat bag, thanks for the info.

I've got a tail pack on mine, a 10L pack from Kriega. Love it. We have 10L and a 30L but the 10 is almost always good enough for me, unless we're on a road trip or something. You put the anchors under the seat, and you can change from one bag size to another as you need it.

Also, the bike cover can squish back into its packing bag and won't take up as much space as it does when loose.

I'll put in my endorsement for Kriega's products. I picked up a US-30 last week based on some threads here.

I have a 2007 ex250 so I can use the nylon loops that the packs come with or the luggage anchors below the seat, both work well.

The bags seem to be pricey, but what you get is a luggage system. For example you can buy a US-30 and anchor that to the seat, then attach 2 US-10's or 2 US-20 bags to the US-30 bag to increase your capacity.

Also the Kriega bags are dry bags (waterproof), and they are secured in a way in which they aren't likely to scratch your paint :dancecool:

Husband and I did a camping/Vegas trip on the bikes. On my bike was the Kriega 30L pack, with 2 10L packs clicked onto it, and my CamelBak on top of the whole deal. Worked really well. Everything stayed solid in place, and would keep it dry in case of rain.

The 30's a bit big for my daily use, but the 10 is fantastic. We'll use the 30 for longer trips.