In the past I have used a variety of magnetic mount tank bags on my bikes. I have always gotten minor blemishes or scratches from frequent use but never really cared since my bikes were always well used and not free of blemishes anyway. Since I got the VFR and it is so clean and scratch free I decided to not use any magnetic bags on it. I recently purchased a Givi TankLock T480 tank bag with a mounting ring to use in its place.
For those unfamiliar with the Givi TankLock system it currently includes three different tank bags, a mounting base, and a bike specific ring that matches the bolt pattern of the fuel filler ring on your bike. They have the Large bag, T480, that 14 liters (expandable to 22 liters) and includes a top map pocket with a formed cutout for a GPS or spart phone. They have a medium bag, T489, that is 14 liters (expandable to 18 liters) and has a map pocket but no GPS holder. The last bag is the TPH02 Tank bag that is small, semi hard sided, and has a phone cutout/holder. It is 4 liters. They do not list a tank adapter ring for the 5th gen bikes but since the filler has the same bolt pattern as the 6th gen I just bought that which they do list.
I am overall very please with the quality of the bag itself and the mounting hardware. I think the side pockets are not as well designed and useful as they could be but they will work well for earplug, pen, and small item storage. I think the port or cutout for the GPS could have been made a bit larger and actually had a foam block insert that was perforated like pelican case foam inserts are that allows you to remove just what is needed to properly secure and cradle your device. Zipper quality is good and the material is thick and tough. It holds shape well and seems to be very well constructed. The mounting setup looks a little dodgy at first glance but it locks solid and I have not had the bag move around, come loose, or give me any cause for concern so far. It turns out to be far more solid than it looks really. It is very easy to remove and reinstall for fuel stops in fact I would say it is far easier than a magnetic bag since you have to line up and place the magnetic bag each time. Since the mounting point for this system are fixed you just drop it on and take off.
First the ring itself takes just minutes to install and is very straight forward. As you can see it is pretty low profile and leaves very little on the bike with the bag off.
Here is the bag itself with the GPS shown in the cutout for it. Also shown is the bottom side with the locking ring arrangement. You can see that I moved the ring all the way to the most forward position. This moves the bag as far forward on the tank as it will go.
Finally a couple shots of the bag on the bike. As you can see there is nothing touching the tank itself. Nothing to scratch the paint on the tank.
Now I wanted to be able to power the GPS on long trips and also wanted to be able to recharge my phone in the tank bag while traveling. I did not want to add a lot of wire or connections to the bike so I wanted one simple power lead from the bike to the bag so that the chargers and plugs could stay in the bag. One simple connection would allow me to unhook the bag and carry it into a building with me at a stop for security.
I purchased a waterproof power port bulkhead from an RV supply house. It is designed for mounting on the roof of an RV and is a two wire (hot and ground) setup. It came with both the port and a plug with a short bit of wire lead to hook up. I chose to mount it on the front right corner of the tank bad out of the way. I cut a small hole for the wire and the port plug. I then punched 4 small holes for the screws that would attach it to the backing plate I made. Once all bolted down it is quite secure and tucked away.
The backing Plate
The inside with the trim panel back in place and covering the backing plate.
I will be giving it a further test this weekend with a 1400 mile trip and I will report any updates. So far though every sign points to this being a very solid and useful addition to the bike.
