Ducati Monster Forum

Hey All,
Looking to get a good tank bag, and have been doing some research and gone to a couple shops.  I saw in someone's blog a while back that they took off the tank cowling, fastened some magnets to the shell, and pesto, now magnetic bags are an option.  I don't think I want to go to that trouble at this point.  For strapped bags, I have not seen one that straps real nicely / neatly into a Monster (696).  Anyone have one, on the larger side that works really well?  Looking for some suggestions.  Thanks.  In the meantime I will look through older posts on this question.

Nelson Rigg has several options that work very well.

I have one of their expandable tank bags with the magnetic attachment. I love it. The magnets were strong enough that they eventually ripped through after 2+ years of use and they replaced them..no questions asked..with an updated version. They definitely stand behind their product.

The bag has quick release clips that can accommodate any of the three attachment options should I choose to go a different route in the future.

Great product and terrific customer service  [thumbsup]

 I used a Tankloc bag from Givi on my M1100S Monster and really liked it. Quick and easy on and off, expandable with good capacity, and now that I have a different bike it is available with the mounting hardware for a good price! Like new condition as well. And it doesn't touch the paint!

Hard to beat the clickloc stuff.  I run SW-Motec bags and have nothing but great stuff to say about them.  I use the day pack version on the tank and can fit my heated jacket and my cold gloves, sunglasses, wallet, phone keys and visor cleaner when fully expanded.

If I don't expand it the little thing easily fits all the above stuff I just change the heated jacket for a wind block layer (perfed leathers).  

The tail pack hold enough for three days travel.  

Had to add:  With the tiny gas tank it is real nice to be able to pull on a string and detach the bag.  It also comes with a locking pin and the zippers will lock together as well.  Does not stop a knife but it does stop a quick grab and run.

+1
I have the SW Motech Engage tank bag for everyday and the Trial when I need more space. Easy to lock and unlock, and to swap between bikes.

I have Wolfman Explorer Lite tank bag and really like it. It's a 13 L bag expendable to 16 L

I bought to be used on my TE630, but I often use it on my Monster... and I think it fits my monster better due to the bag's flat and wide bottom that sits well on the Monster wide tank (the TE630 tank is narrow).

I've had the Ducati Performance bag for a few years now and use it quite a bit when commuting on my bike.  It takes a little time to mount it on the bike and remove it but it conforms to the shape of the tank and fits tightly.  I've never had any issue with it damaging the paint despite many thousands of miles.  Refueling isn't too much of a PITA, just unclip the rear strap and lift the bag up enough to get at the fuel filler cap.

I have the DP rear seat cowl bag too but having that on there makes swinging a leg over impossible so I kind of favor the tank bag.  Haven't gone anywhere where I needed the storage capacity of both bags but it's nice to know I could if I wanted to.

I probably have the same Nelson Rigg expandable and I use it all the time. I carry my rainsuit almost every day, lunch and all kinds of misc shit.
Bigger is better, it's a bit overwhelming when expanded but that feature allows overstuffing, zip closed and I can usually 'unexpand' the bottom zipper portion to keep it from being too tall. Held up amazingly well, includes shoulder strap to carry.

I've got a Givi tankloc.  I mostly like it, but for some reason it comes with a bunch of extra strapping that doesn't tuck away anywhere useful.  Lots of room.

I used a cheap strappy type before.  Nothing wrong with it except the sun beat the unholy hell out of the fabric.

I picked the biggest Givi I could find on the interwebs, so had to order it from Italy as it wasn't available from US merchants at the time.  It came in a reasonable amount of time, but I didn't order it in August.

Thanks guys, so much great information.  I am looking these all up.  There are a couple of Nelson Rigg models I am considering, but will continue to look

 I use these two Nelson Rigg bags. The bags are nice and comparable with other brands I looked at. The only issue I have with them are the very flimsy attaching buckles that are used. I broke a set simply tightening the bag down. Customer service replaced the straps quickly but I feel the straps that come with the bags are not adequate. There are other optional straps that are available but I might just try out a Kriega bag instead.

(http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn165/dsamRus/IMG_2045.jpg) (http://s304.photobucket.com/user/dsamRus/media/IMG_2045.jpg.html)

I mostly use the one on the rear, which is a bit larger.

I've got  a Wolfman explorer lite also.... I think it is the best looking of all.
But I'm biased.

I installed the SW Motech tank bag before trips to Colorado and Rhode Island.  I wished I'd have gotten it years earlier -- fantastic bag.

Good info here

i got one of those that just twists on to the base thats secured with bolts to the gas cap
heres some pics, sorry they are all iPhone pics but you get the idea.
bag is expandable as well, and when its off the bike the base plate is not terribly bad looking, but i found that i don't use it as much as i thought as i would so for the time being its off the bike.
on my other bikes i use a magnetic one, but w plastic tank i can't use it on s2r
(http://i61.tinypic.com/10crg3r.jpg)
(http://i60.tinypic.com/54gdpy.jpg)

I bought a Cortech Super 2.0 18-Liter strap-mounted tank bag from a local shop this weekend for my S2R.  It's *awful*.  The bag itself is ok but the base that you strap to the bike is hideous and needs to be removed to fill the tank.  That's going back and I ordered the small Nelson-Rigg bag, which looks much nicer and is still cheap ($53 from Amazon).  If that doesn't work well, I'll probably go for the Wolfman (at 3x the price).

Man, I miss the tank on my 1st-gen SV650.  In addition to not swelling, the small Tourmaster magnetic bag I had was awesomely simple and easy to use.  Straps suck. :-(

Givi and SW-motech have bags that mount on a ring attached to the gas cap.  More ugly than magnets, but less ugly and annoying than straps.  The Givi tankloc is relatively unobtrusive without the bag on.

I looked at those (online) and wasn't impressed.  They're both much more expensive than magnetic or strap bags.  Instructions for some of the SW-Motech tank bags (possibly an old version) require drilling holes in the bag to match the tank plate.  Both of them seem to perch rather awkwardly on the tank, almost like they're hovering.  And the Givi have a non-removable strap that you're supposed to use to secure the tank to the bike.  It doesn't even appear that the strap can be tucked into the bag when you're carrying it off the bike.  Granted I haven't seen them in person, but those were all reasons I opted not to buy one.

I had forgotten about that strap.  I don't use it, and had rolled it up at the front out of the way.  I would cut it off if it offended me as I judge it to be unnecessary.

It is a little visually distracting when viewed from the side on the Monster tank... but I don't spend a lot of time looking at my bike from that view with the tank bag installed, and I swapped for an ST tank that has a flatter top.

You mentioned spending ~150 on the Wolfman, that puts you in the price range.

I've ordered a Nelson-Rigg bag from Amazon for $53 shipped. If I'm not happy with that, I'll probably go with the Wolfman, but I'll take another look at the Givi.

 I have a tankloc bag that I used with my M1100S and was quite satisfied with it. I have tried others and the Givi was the best functional unit. I now use it with a homemade tail platform on my Bimota. For a tank bag  on the Bimota I use an Eclipse Tankbag and it works really well, especially with thicker straps. I couldn't use the Givi on the 'Mota as they do not make a mount for the tank.

I have the electrified SW-Motech version.  Will never use anything else.