tunnel bag

Wondering if anyone has the new product-givi xs318 tunnel bag? Apparently, specificly made for scooters. The burgman website has a review on it ( luke warm ) Trying to figure out how it attaches-without any success.

The Givi poop sheet says it has two straps which attach to buckles which come out of side pockets. Presumably those straps will fit under the seat hinge similar to the mounting of DJ Ellis's Silverwing Stuff tank bag. That said, I'm not that familiar with the Burgman.

The older Givi scooter tank / hump bags use to use velcro patches which were adhesived to the tunnel sides to attach the bag. Eventually that adhesive failed with the engine heat though.

Tim

I made an anchor-point which fits in the little square hole below the ignition-keyhole.
There are pictures in my album.
It is made from aluminium tube (represented by wooden dowel in the pictures) and pop-rivets (represented by drawing-pins).

I can supply more instructions/information if you ask.

https://www.silverwing600.com/gallery/Personal-album-of-MikeO/Personal-album-of-MikeO-cat_u308.htm

The disadvantage of a tunnel bag on a big maxi scooter like a Silver Wing or a 650 Burgman is you lose the ease of stepping over the tunnel to get on and off the bike. I've had a Moto-Detail tunnel bag for quite a few years now, it was great when I used to use route cards as I could put a clear topped waterproof cover over the top and use it like a tank bag. I did this preferring my detailed route cards to the TomTom sat nav I had at the time.

Yes you can carry a load of kit in a tunnel bag but it really is a pain in the butt clambering on and off over them to at service stations when you need to refuel, and a fully loaded tunnel bag is just a few inches lower than seat height. It's also an extra bag you have to lug up to your hotel room.

As for Velcro, how the patches adhere to the tunnel is solely down to the owner. Sticking the patches straight onto the grainy plastic surface isn't going to work unless all traces of wax, polish, and spray cleaners like Pledge are removed.  I didn't use the large cut to match the side flaps Velcro patches that came with my tunnel bag to fix it onto my 400 Burgman I used large female Velcro discs. I did however use them on my 650 Burgman and the adhesive backing was very tenacious, and I spent ages removing the pads and adhesive residue when I came to sell the scooter for my Silver Wing.

On the Silver Wing's tunnel I have again use Velcro discs and a couple have came off, usually in hot weather when removing the bag because the stronger male hooked Velcro on the bag flaps lift off the female loop Velcro on the tunnel, and I didn't mess about so much preparing the surface. I carry a few extra discs but one either side works just as three or four.

Last year when I went over to Germany I decided to not use a tunnel bag at all and I didn't miss having it one bit. It was great not having to stretch my leg to get over it, no removing it, putting it to one side then replacing it at fuel stops, and surprisingly all the touring junk I used to fill it with went elsewhere without a problem.

Cosmic_Jumper wrote:

The Givi poop sheet

This made me laugh out loud and totally made my morning LOLOL

I use a T455 on long trips for the extra space. Not an everyday accessory due to the reasons outlined by Meldrew. I can live with the hassle of step over and fuel ups on a trip. Years ago I decided to by two large industrial rolls of Velcro (1 male, 1 female) and just renew the strips on the scooter when prepping for a trip. They tend to last for a trip before the the action of repeated removals takes its toll. The rolls of Velcro are also handy to have around the house for all sorts of applications.

The 'obstruction' reasons were why I chose a small bag to use and had it hanging rather than resting on the tunnel.

I found it most useful when I was travelling to and from the UK when I was living in Belgium, a journey I made quite frequently.

Passport, wallet and such-like fitted in it and it was light-weight so not burdensome to carry around ferries, into service areas or to kiosks at petrol stations.

As it was hanging I could push it to one side for mounting or dismounting and, at a pinch, for refuelling.

It served its purpose admirably.

Gary C,

I have the Givi XS318 bag and I'll tell you its a nice quality bag with lots of room and an integrated rain cover and I purchased it with high hopes, especially for long distance rides.  I figured I would use it to put my more valuable stuff and things I might want to get to easily when riding if I pulled off to the side of road.

On my recent 3 day trip, it didn't end up being used as I envisioned it, it actually ended up in my rear Givi hard trunk, a bag that fit in there and I could take out to use that space for my helmet and carry into places when I stopped...why?

First of all, there is no real easy and workable attachment method included without modification or adding some customer attachment points.  It has some nice attachment points that can be zipped up and hidden when carrying or using as a tail bag but there is no real way to attach it as you would like. I did you put it in the tunnel and it pretty much stays there but I want to know it is firmly attached and not rely on my legs to hold it in place.

The other issue, as mildew stated, is with it in the tunnel, it eliminates the ease of the step through design of the Silverwing.  Now it becomes more like getting on a motorcycle and swinging your leg over the seat.  In my case for this trip I had saddlebags and a tail bag and drybag on the pillion seat and I found it virtually impossible to get on the bike with everything loaded on. I had created  a good mounting system with some roof rack clips I found that allowed me to clip it to the passenger footpeg mounts, but you could not do this after getting on and if you mounted it in advance it was impossible to get on easily.

Therefore, it never ended up as a tunnel bag for me.  it does make a good size bag to sit on the seat in back and it might work if you have nothing or no one on the back and can get on the Swing like a motorcycle.