Chase Harper Aeropacs Tail Trunk and Aeropacs II Panniers.
My first serious motorcycle luggage was a set of Chase Harper ET-4000 soft saddlebags that I tossed over my Kawasaki KLR650 in 1995. After packing them to the hilt I set off for 10 days of camping along the back roads of southern Utah. They were my reliable catch-alls for traveling for many years after that. I?ve used other bags since retiring them, many of them reviewed in these pages, but when it came time to outfit my Yamaha YZF-R3 I chose Chase Harper again. And for the same reasons I bought my ET-4000s?simple, effective design manifested in high quality materials and construction.
The first piece I chose is the Aeropac Tail Trunk ($92.25), with 19.6 liters of interior room. Sewn from industrial grade ballistic nylon with a urethane coating, the bag features a zippered top panel with a mesh interior pocket for odds and ends. On top is a bungee setup for spillover from the main compartment. The Aeropac?s shape, with slightly bulging sides to increase interior room, is held constant by a plastic insert. Chase Harper didn?t scrimp on the sewing for the Aeropac, double stitching the zipper, binding the inside seams and bar tacking stress points?just like my old ET-4000s. The Aeropac attaches via four bungee cords with adjustable hooks, and it has stayed in place on the R3?s skinny tail over 2,000 miles with the help of slightly tacky, non-marring material on the bottom. I did have a bungee slip in its adjustable hoo...