Chase Harper European Tour 4000 Saddlebags
CHASE HARPER EUROPEAN TOUR 4000 SADDLEBAGS
CW EVALUATION
Small stuff? No sweat.
USUALLY IT’S THE SMALL THINGS THAT grind you down, the petty little annoyances that can make strong men weep with frustration. Take, for instance, touring with saddlebags as your only luggage. Most designs are little more than suitcases, and have about as much room for storage outside the main compartment: that is, none. So every time you need some small item, you’re forced to root through your belongings like a hamster. And if you’re unlucky enough to unpack in a high wind, you can end up chasing your skivvies down the interstate.
While the European Tour 4000 saddlebags from Chase Harper (725 Union St., Santa Barbara, CA 93103) won’t guarantee you a life of ease, they can free you of the annoyances associated with most other bags, by offering all the small-item storage you’re liable to need. Indeed, apart from the cavernous main cargo hold, each black, urethane-coated Cordura bag provides a 13.5-by-2-by-1 1-inch side pocket and a removable, twocompartment pouch.
As a result, more than one-fifth of each bag’s near-cubic-foot capacity is given over to small-item stowage. The side pockets easily swallow maps, winter gloves, light sweaters or vests, and a rainsuit, while the pouches can hold billfolds, sunglasses and the myriad tiny items you need out on the road. Zippered openings provide quick access, so that the biggest annoyance facing you is simply remembering where you put things. Consequently, you can spend more time making time, instead of hunting for things parked by the roadside.
Even with so much of their capacity devoted to the small stuff, the toploading ET bags still offer more than enough room for a week’s worth of gear. And, when they’re lightly loaded, the bags retain their shape thanks to ABS plastic stiffeners. There are also ABS shields on the outside, to prevent shock springs
from wearing on the fabric, and a thin, dense foam, to keep the coarse Cordura from grinding away at your bike’s finish. Small things, but thoughtful touches any rider can appreciate.
Likewise, mounting the ETs is no big thing. Each has two 2-inch-wide nylon straps that Velcro together over the top of a bike’s saddle, while four other nylon straps (two per bag) with Fastex buckles loop around a frame tube, footpeg carrier or the like, and clip to matching buckles at the front and rear of each bag. It’s simple, secure, and just one more example of how Chase Harper expunged most of the more common annoyances from its bags.
Most—but not all. The ETs can stand up to short, intermittent rain showers, but they spring leaks during a prolonged deluge, mostly through the zippers. Chase Harper offers optional raincovers ($22.50), and they’re a good investment for the wet-weather traveler.
Otherwise, the ET 4000s ($ 179.95) are about as grief-free as a pair of saddlebags can be. They’re capacious, easy-to-live-with soft luggage, with appearance and manners that are buttoned down tightly. In short, they’re excellent traveling companions, ones that sweat the small stuff-and the big stuff, too-so you won’t have to. 0
