Carrying Adventure Luggage Off-Bike

Published Sunday, July 2, 2023 by Bryan

I know I'm twenty years late on this, but either "the algorithm" is echoing my searches back at me, or it really is the case that everyone else also bought a used R1150GS ±Adventure this year. So I think it might still be worth sharing this method I developed for carrying the OEM Adventure luggage while off the bike.

A large silver-colored metal box is suspended from a length of paracord wrapped around some protrusions near the top of the box.
These cases don't have handles, so I made my own.

The clever folks here can probably piece together what's up from just this photo. It's two simple pieces: a length of 550 paracord, and a section of 3/8" ID braided tubing.

A large loop of paracord passing through a small bit of tubing lays coiled on top of a metal box.
The handle, detached from the box.

Tie the ends of the paracord together in a nonslip not, then thread the doubled paracord through the tubing.

The paracord loop zig-zags across the top of the metal box, looping through or over hooks at each corner.
It's easily attached and detached.

With the tubing near the middle of the paracord, lay it diagonally in the middle of the top of the box. Thread one end of the paracord through the nearest cargo hook. Then take that end across the top, and loop it around the opposite cargo hook. Now take the other end of the paracord and do the same thing in the opposite direction on the other end of the box.

Tada! You have a handle right in the center of the box. It's even sort of an ergonomic orientation. I tied my paracord short enough that it takes just a little force to pull the second end over the cargo hook. That means it doesn't fall off when I set it down. It's probably tight enough that it would ride down the road just fine, but a big reason I developed this solution was so that I wouldn't have to worry about a handle whipping around in the wind, so I always take them off anyway. It's a tiny amount of volume to pack.

After three weeks of riding, where I used this method to carry the boxes, fully loaded, in and out of lodging almost every day, nothing seems the worse for wear. Cargo hooks, latches, and hinges are all still attached, intact, and functional. I expect to keep using this method on future trips.

Hope someone else finds this useful!

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Categories: Motorcycle