#Panniers

While there’s something to be said about the convenience and cost-effectiveness of being able to toss a set of soft luggage on your motorcycle when you need it, the time comes when you realize that what you really need is a set of hard bags. Since they are bolted or locked to your motorcycle, they are significantly more secure from theft. Then there’s the weatherproofness that can’t be matched by soft luggage. If you’ve done any extensive touring on your motorcycle, you’ve most likely encountered the disappointment of opening your soft luggage to find that you didn’t have it securely closed before that last rain storm, and now, you’ve got to find a laundromat to dry all your clothes.

If you ride motorcycles long enough, inevitably you’re going to want to go on a motorcycle trip. And when you decide to go on a trip, you’re going to need stuff. The challenge becomes finding a place to store all that stuff. Behold – soft luggage. Granted, most of you know the definition of soft luggage, but if not, each bag here has some kind of textile exterior and is not constructed from a hard-shell plastic or metal. Now there are a million and one options when it comes to bags to fit on your motorcycle. Here, we’ve picked a few different ideas to suit a wide-ranging field of motorcycles. All are at least water resistant, and only one is motorcycle-specific.

Continuing our lists of Top 10 Motorcycle Holiday Gifts for you or a loved one, this week’s list focuses on items ranging in price between $200 and $500. Here we’ve compiled a bevy of items for both the rider and motorcycle alike. Whether the gift is for a person or a two-wheeled companion, either way, we’re sure with one of these items the recipient will be happy. We tried to cover a broad spectrum of riders and machinery, but narrowing the options to just 10 was no easy task. If you have a suggestion for this list, or simply want to add something you really want, say so in the comments section below. Who knows, Santa might grant your wish this year.