Luggage options for your Ninja 250R

[bdavison]

I know some of you guys occasionally ask about tank bags and such for taking longer trips on your Ninja 250R. I know I mentioned these bags last year in a thread about a trip report, but here are a few closeup pics so you can really see them on the bike.

I searched long and hard for great saddlebags and tankbags for the Ninja.
My critical criteria are as follows.
1. Must be absolutely 100% waterproof.
I regularly take expensive DSLR cameras and lenses with me, and I want to be able to protect them from the elements. On long rides, inclement weather can occasionally pop up without warning, and I dont want to have to stop and seek shelter just to keep my gear dry.
2. Must be able to be removed in minutes.
Many times on a long ride, I want to take the bags off the bike so that I can return the bike to a twistie carving machine. So it is important to me that I can quickly install and remove the bags without a lot of work or special tools.
3. Must not shift, or move while in motion.
Riding a bike with flopping storage is a nightmare, and on a bike as light and nimble as the 250R, it can be downright dangerous. I want gear that stays put no matter what.

Now the ninja 250R is particularly difficult to find appropriate luggage for. For one, the back of the bike is just about impossible to install any kind of saddlebags as it really was not designed to ever have them. There are two options...a hard saddle bag mount bolted or soft side bags that conform to the bodywork of the bike. The hard mounted option doesnt work for me, because of the time required to install and remove the luggage.

After searching, and trying a bunch of options, I found that the "Rapid Transit" bags are almost "made" for the ninja 250R. They fit extremely well, can be installed or removed in under 5 minutes, are waterproof (they have covers that work great, and are stored in the bag itself), and they stay put.

First off, the tank bag. Rapid Transit tankbags are just insane in how well they are designed. They are magnetic, but have soft rubber covers over all the magnets. The bag fits the ninja tank very well. Even at 90mph, the bag stays perfectly locked in place. It has a camel bak storage inside the bag, along with a tube port, and clips for the mouthpiece. This is fantastic on long rides in the summer months to stay hydrated. There is also storage and routing for iPod and phones. Touchphones can be used through the plastic on the phone pocket. It has a map pocket. And even has backpack straps that can convert it to a backpack, which are stored in a special pocket in the bag. It also has pockets for change, spare keys, headphones, GPS, map pockets, tollbooth pockets,etc.

The saddlebags are perfect for the 250R. They have large spacious storage. As you can see in one pic, I have two pairs of jeans, and 5 t-shirts in one. They have waterproof covers stored in a special pocket on the bag. The covers will NOT open accidentally as they zippered, velcro'd and latched. While its very secure, you can open it in seconds with a rip open technique. The bags are held open with a stiff internal liner. The 250R's exhaust is rather dramatically upturned, however the Rapid Transit saddlebags do not contact the exhaust, and have plenty of space so there is no risk of heat damage. The part of the bag that contacts the bike is soft rubber coated so it wont damage the bike. It simply straps on, and with the latch buckles, it can be removed from the bike in minutes. On the top of the bags is carry handles that allow you to carry them easily like luggage. There are also d-rings on the top that will allow you to easily bungee something over the rear passenger seat, or attach further storage with a Rapid Transit seat bag.

Street price for the saddlebags is around $79 USD, and around $60 for the tankbag.

They are worth their weight in gold in my opinion. I cannot recommend them enough. Mine have spent thousands of miles with me on my bike traveling, and I will keep using them for a long time to come.

[csmith12]

Cool stuff but I feel a move comin' on.

[fleemos]

Those look like exactly what i have been looking for. Thanks for the review

[Stamatos]

Great review. Thanks for the info.

[Alex]

/moved to Cargo Space area

[EsrTek]

I got the Recon 19 tankbag and Platton Tail bag from Rapid Transit last yr.
Only used the tail bag once, but it was great but not enough storage.
I thought of replacing the tail bag, but instead I think these saddle bags would be perfect addition.

[bottom rail on top]

Do you have the recon 45 or 77 model? Thanks for the pics!

[nycsteve]

Awesome review. I have the tank bag, the Rapid Transit "The Stack LT", and it works wonderful. Just as you mentioned, I take a DSLR with me sometimes, like today, and it not only fits perfectly, the bag doesn't move at all. Where did you get it at that price? I paid a bit more.

What are the saddle bags that you have? Look great and would work perfectly for me since I currently just use a school backback strap with bungies to the rear seat lol

Edit: I know why I paid more, you have the "stack" model. I have the "stack LT" model which has an extra storage bag underneath what you have. @bdavison

and this

Originally Posted by bottom rail on top

Do you have the recon 45 or 77 model? Thanks for the pics!

[dubojr1]

I have the 19 tank-bag and I'm really liking it so far. The Recon saddle bag setup is a little bit different in that it would allow to "lock" the straps for it under the passenger seat for some security. My bike is parked in a parking garage while at work and probably would fine in addition to my 2-way alarm. I'm still pursuing option for hard cases though because I'd really like to be able to leave some things in the cases and feel that they are safe from theft. Maybe I'm just too paranoid.

[xSean13]

I have the rapid transit "The Stack LT" and can vouch for it. The rain cover works great, even at 110mph indicated.

[siebadn]

For the two people who mentioned taking their DSLR's along on rides ...
What else do you do to keep the cameras safe? Do you put them in the saddlebag or the tank bag? I would love to take my camera along, but I am worried about bumps in the road, etc., jiggling internal components loose.

[bdavison]

Originally Posted by bottom rail on top

Do you have the recon 45 or 77 model? Thanks for the pics!

Mine are the smaller of the two versions...so 45 I think.
The 77's were too big, and would contact the exhaust pipe...just an FYI ;-)

[bdavison]

Originally Posted by siebadn

For the two people who mentioned taking their DSLR's along on rides ...
What else do you do to keep the cameras safe? Do you put them in the saddlebag or the tank bag? I would love to take my camera along, but I am worried about bumps in the road, etc., jiggling internal components loose.

I normally just lay them in there, so far I've never had a problem with vibration causing any problems. The lenses have cases that they came with that I use for them. Usually, I put it in the tank bag instead of the saddle bags. It makes it easier at rest stops to just grab the tankbag off the bike with all my valuables and take it with me. Im using a Nikon D60 Gold, 18/55mmVR and a 55/300mmVR most of the time.

[joshuajcrouch]

Very nice review. Can you share which model tank bag and saddle bags you purchased? I gathered already that they are the rapid transit brand.

I am also assuming that the saddle bags did not require any hardware to install? I want saddle bags but spend more time with out them than with them. I really don't like the way these sport bikes look with all the metal hardware on the back when the saddle bags are removed.

[nycsteve]

Originally Posted by siebadn

For the two people who mentioned taking their DSLR's along on rides ...
What else do you do to keep the cameras safe? Do you put them in the saddlebag or the tank bag? I would love to take my camera along, but I am worried about bumps in the road, etc., jiggling internal components loose.

Never had a problem with them. I use a Rebel Xsi and put it in it's camera bag, then in the tank bag it goes. Way easier to just pull it out and use for a quick shot if need be.

I've even carried the camera around my body just using the camera bag. Anything over 70mph and it starts to move around too much!

[siebadn]

@bdavison @nycsteve
Thank you both for the comments. I was super worried about the vibrations, but I will give it a try with confidence now!

[bdavison]

Originally Posted by joshuajcrouch

Very nice review. Can you share which model tank bag and saddle bags you purchased? I gathered already that they are the rapid transit brand.

I am also assuming that the saddle bags did not require any hardware to install? I want saddle bags but spend more time with out them than with them. I really don't like the way these sport bikes look with all the metal hardware on the back when the saddle bags are removed.

Saddlebags are Rapid Transit Recon 45, and tankbag is the Rapid Transit Recon 19.

There is no hardware for either of them. The tankbag is purely magnetic. The saddlebags are straps only. When removed from the bike, there is nothing left attached to the bike.

[dooby]

Hi Bryan,

thanks for the write-up and pics. I saw from this thread:

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=73475

that some saddlebags may obscure the rear indicators (turn signals, in case "indicators" is a Brit saying ;-)

Do you have any shots from behind? Any concerns about signal visibility with those bags?

Thanks, Pete

[bdavison]

Originally Posted by dooby

Hi Bryan,

thanks for the write-up and pics. I saw from this thread:

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=73475

that some saddlebags may obscure the rear indicators (turn signals, in case "indicators" is a Brit saying ;-)

Do you have any shots from behind? Any concerns about signal visibility with those bags?

Thanks, Pete

From the rear, the saddle bags do not obscure the turn signals. From the side of the bike, they will a bit. The stock turn signals end up right about even with the back of the saddle bags. You can see it in this photo.

[bottom rail on top]

Thanks for the pics and the info. I just ordered these after months of hemming and hawing about which saddlebags I should get.

[Coolbpf]

I have a gigantic hard case trunk. Paid a welder like 100 bucks to make a bracket mount, so now it's thief proof.

[dubojr1]

Originally Posted by Coolbpf

I have a gigantic hard case trunk. Paid a welder like 100 bucks to make a bracket mount, so now it's thief proof.

Pics?

[wardie]

Bryan wouldn't it be better to have the bags open from the rear rather than the front as shown in picture three? The seams are open to the weather and most certainly rain will leak in. Flip the bags so the closed portion of the zipper faces front. I have a set of Dowco bags and tail pack that employ similar zipper arrangements and they've lasted for years and most recently through a horrible rain storm that lasted almost 300 miles from the Indy Moto GP back to Ohio. No leanks. Wardie

[amjhstn]

I looked for hard cases for my wife's Classic EX250 and didn't find anything I could live with, so I decided to make my own from:
some 18' X 13" X 4" Zero Cases I found on Ebay for $60.00 a piece,
some 1/2" copper tubing I had left over from a home plumbing project for the case mounting frames,
some locks I bought at the local lock shop,
and some aluminum brackets I made at work and had black anodized.

I used the bungee hook mounting screws for the top mounting points and a third mounting point on the bottom that goes back to the rear subframe to secure the case mounting frames to the bike. The mounting frames are pretty sturdy secured this way.

I wanted the cases to be easily removable but reasonably secure if she decided to leave them on the bike when out and about.

The key lock on the Zero Case locks the case when it is on or off the bike, and the lock on the bracket locks the case to the mount which I keyed alike with the case locks so everything uses the same key.
One twist of the key and pull up on the case handle and it's off in a couple of seconds. Goes back on just as quick.

At 18X13X4 they probably don't have enough space by themselves for long touring trips, but they are water-proof and she plans on carrying her computer and some extra clothes etc. when commuting to work and they should work fine for that.

All together, I have about $150.00 into the bags so far with about another $20.00 for paint as I plan on painting the mounting frames black, and the bags red to match the bike this winter. Not bad for $170.00.

[LT505]

I am looking for something to put in a DSLR and that will fit on my pregen Ninja 250. Think those saddlebags would be a good option? They look pretty good to me.

[xanderick]

Originally Posted by LT505

I am looking for something to put in a DSLR and that will fit on my pregen Ninja 250. Think those saddlebags would be a good option? They look pretty good to me.

I would think so. I've got some Wal-Mart saddlebags myself, and my netbook+DSLR survived just fine from Boston to California. The Wal-Mart ones are pretty good, and the pop-out raincovers are hi-viz on top of that.

Just make sure everything is properly secured and you're good to go. I've switched to a locking weatherproof toolbox bolted to a tail rack, just so I can leave stuff on the bike unattended, but for everything else the saddlebags were fine.

[Old Guy on a '08]

Originally Posted by Coolbpf

I have a gigantic hard case trunk. Paid a welder like 100 bucks to make a bracket mount, so now it's thief proof.

Pic's

[Teasnuts]

Will those Rapid Transit 45 saddlebags fit on the old gens? I like those but am worried they'll hit the turn sigs on my '07.

[evoaz92]

thanks for the review!! theyre perfect for what i need them for