Hard Bags vs Soft in a Crash

Your going to be sliding across the pavement and there is no other option. Whats going to better protect you and why ?

Arguments can be made for both. Speed is the equalizer, I could see if you were traveling fast maybe say 30mph or faster the hard bags may do more damage to the frame and rear of bike, catching on the terran, where as slower hard bags may act as a brace.

I could be wrong just my experience

of course, hard bags prevent your foot or leg getting caught between the pavement and the bike.

what I've just learned the hard way, is sometimes it gets caught between the pavement and the hard bag.

still, for many reasons, hard bags fit it for me.

Get your leg caught under that hard case & the next sound will be your lower leg bone(s) snapping.

Doesn't take a lot of speed just a hard case going down on the back of your calf.

I have heard that if you rub a hole through the pelican caribou case that they replace it free. (?)

+1

I biffed saturday with soft bags on my xr650l . A transition from gravel to pavement, in a curve to much front brake to much throttle and a bald rear tire. I am trying not to be a squid but some times it is so much fun to push my limit. The hold downs for the bags were damaged my mirror broken , rashed my side cover and bark buster but the bag kept the bike off of me.

Interesting question, but it seems there are a lot of variables at play and I don't have any experience with the large aluminum panniers. I did drop my ST1100 once in the sand, which left me with my left foot and calf caught between the bike and ground, so the bag did not provide any clearance. Fortunately there was only light bruising on my calf, but it did make me think about what could have happened. I ordered a pair of SIDI boots when I returned home.

I crashed twice with Givi hard bags (different bikes, different bags), both slides, slow speed. In both instances the bags held up and prevented the bike from falling on my leg. As a matter of fact, the bike continued sliding on and I was on the ground. Some damage to the bags is better than damage to my leg. Bike was 1200 Bandit, which is pretty heavy.

Mount the bags on a Volvo, soft or hard won't matter...
no need to thank me. :huh

If you want protection put front and rear engine guards on the bike.

LOL

I have only crashed one time, 29 years ago, on my very first street bike @ 18, a Yamaha 650 special. I was out drinking and riding with a friend who owned the very same bike, at night hauling ass down a long dark road coming up to a stop sign. I miss judged the stop and skidded/glanced into the side of my friend doing 18 mph, dropping him in his tracks and me sliding 30 feet across the pavement into a curb.

We both rode away from the scene with just some broken bike pieces and me some tore up blue jeans. Because of the size of the crash bars back then on the bike, saved me from getting caught under the bike in my slide. I couldn't imagine soft bags saving me much that night, and I have always wondered when people argue that soft bags are better if they have actually ever experienced something of the above, or what brought them to their decision. Maybe other then to sell a specific soft case product as better.

What I wonder is how often do you catch your hard bags on something that causes you to crash? I've caught soft bags a few times, and they just give way enough to let you ride on--catch a hard bag and I imagine you might have a problem.

I could actually see a hard bag working better in the deflection department. A stick or branch protruding into a soft case where it might just bend or flex against a hard case. I have never had that happen to me but anything is possible ,

First of all..... why would a leg or foot be more likely to get ground down to the bone under hard bags than under soft bags?

I've actually considered, but have yet to follow through on....., Riviting a protective a piece of steel/aluminum braced rubber bumper onto the lids of my Givi bags where the lid meets the ground. Between my RennTech engine guard up front and the reinforced lids at the back, the bike (and my leg/foot) would be better protected than if the bike were naked.

Like many things in life, it probably depends on the particular situation. I was thinking of sideswiping a wooden fence, like I did once at low speed. With soft bags it just took a pocket off the bag--with hard bags I imagine it might have caught on the fence. Same worry with a tree or fence post, or even lane splitting, but I'm getting off topic here...

That's a good point though, until it actually happens or you have been there and done that. We will never know. Thanks for sharing

Not necessarily true. "Believe it or not, they may be MORE dangerous than helpful." By James R. Davis at
http://www.msgroup.org/Tip.aspx?Num=023. A Honda chief engineer testified that "thus far we have created, tested, evaluated various experimental devices; however, we have yet to come up with a ... practical as well as effective device that would protect the leg."

The 1981 Hurt report ended up to similar conclusion about crash bars. "The reduction of injury to the ankle-foot is balanced by increase of injury to the thigh-upper leg, knee, and lower leg".

I vote for soft. At low speed soft bags are less likely to break your bones. At high speed it doesn't matter if bags are hard or soft. You will get hurt anyway. You can't beat physics.

Good riding gear with armor and a knee brace...

Your really reaching.

I have slide done the interstate, with a front engine guard, did ok. I have put a bike on its side, off the tires with front and rear guards.

You would have trouble convinving me engine guards are bad. Hard bags will act a little bit like a rear engine guard, for a couple seconds.


Also I have trouble seeing the argument that hard bags are bad.

This is one of those things that could go either way depending on the circumstances of the accident in question. You are going to get responses from those who have had an injury due to hard bags and from those who the hard bag saved from injury.

Nobody can say either way that one is better than the other 100% of the time.