Given the Adventureâs uniquely shaped tank and seat, I have been hunting for a small(ish) tank bag. Iâve had numerous street bikes and have always enjoyed the luxury of a nice tank bag. They also all happened to be magnetic. Of course, a plastic tank precludes the use of magnets so it would have to be a strap-on model. Many have expressed their satisfaction with the Wolfman Enduro Tank Bag, and some have said itâs still a little too big when the trails get technical. Also, $80 is a bit steep for a small tank bag, that I may or may not like, so I continued my search. Thank goodness for Google. I finally found what I was looking for and was pretty sure it would work. Behold â the $25 tank bag: Yes, itâs an ATV tank bag. But you know what, since itâs specifically designed to sit on a hump type ATV gas tank, it fits PERFECT on the Adventure! I was happy happy!! Now all I had to do was figure out the best/easiest way to mount it. The bag has a loop that wraps around the tank filler neck, and you simply screw the gas cap down on it to hold it in place. Well, as you know, the neck is kind of recessed on the Adventure tank so it didnât work out quite as well as I hoped. Not to worry. It will work, itâs just little bit of a hassle. I eliminated the âhassleâ by adding a strap and buckle, which runs down and through the frame. These can be gotten cheap at any decent sporting goods/climbing store. You only need less than a foot of nylon webbing strap. I guess you could even ziptie it if you wanted to. The next challenge was to find anchor points for the side straps. (The ends of the side straps have a hook) This was just a huge stroke of luck. I just happened to have some of these ¾â EMT conduit hangers lying about and they are the perfect attachment point for the straps (which are adjustable and elastic). I bolted a pair of these to the frame and you have the perfect amount of tension to hold the bag in place. They are unobtrusive, and sit flush enough against the frame to not interfere with anything. The bag wraps around the tank well. Is padded inside. The zippers have nice long pulls. Construction seems good. Iâm really pleased on how it all worked out. I think these regularly sell for around $30, but through some dedicated searching, I found a sale with free shipping. Heck, you may be able to find these at your local ATV shop. Nobody stocked them here in Vegas. The only negative things are that the map pocket is small (but so is the bag) and thereâs no waterproof cover. For 1/3 the cost of the Wolfman bag, Iâll still take it.
....I would have sold you my new KTM 640Adv tank bag - never been a fan of tank bags, especially strap & buckle types. Nice work.
Bugger!! Thanks anyway. It actually turned out better than I hoped. Not quite a penny-tech solution, but I try to save it where I can. Next thing is to road test the new custom windscreen I made. Good news is that it's not supposed to be over a hundred degrees the rest of this week...
