Blaze Review

[Joslyn Moreci]

Soid like to start by saying ive had these bags installed since 300 miles and now have almost 1100 miles. That out of the way its not a super long term review but ive used them quite alot and have been pretty impressed. As everyone knows, these are the same bags sold in the Yamaha catalog only without Yamaha badging.

Install was very straightforward, took about 30 minutes with only hand tools. Fitment is good as the bags compliment the lines of the bike well in my opinion. The rail system feels a little cheap but looks nice. Despite seeming light duty, ive had no problems with loading the bags down so they are apparently up to the task. I suppose this lightness is actually a benefit in a way as the bags and rails add very little weight to the bike. The brackets and rails are aluminum and the bags are some kind of nylon/textile. Motech calls it "ballistic nylon", whatever that means. Bags are light feeling but seem tough. All zippers are smooth to operate and have rubber pulls so they dont jingle. Even un-expanded there is lots more space inside than i was expecting.

The top load zips open generously making it pretty easy to load them. The side pockets are rather small and i find them mostly only useful for spare change and a second pair of gloves (i like to keep my warm gloves with me in case it gets chilly in the evening after work). I can also cram my helmet skirt in a side pocket if needed. They are semi solid so they hold their shape well even when empty. The bottom of the bags slide on the rails and locks down with a quick disconnect cam buckle strap, the top uses a large velcro strap across the pillion seat. I worried during initial install that this may not be too secure. I no longer have any concerns about this as ive done several freeway blasts (up to the ton, but not sustained) and one 3 hour afternoon ride down country roads averaging 50 mph with lots of turns and the bags didnt budge.

I typically use these bags so as not to wear a backpack for the daily commute. So most of the time i only have a few small items with me. On occasion i have loaded them pretty good for random needs. Please dont laugh at the examples i give, this is just to show the day to day usefulness. I on one occasion found that a 6 roll package of the extra thick charmin fits gracefully in one bag. Last week i bought $50 worth of meat for a BBQ and fit it all in the bags. Every week i need to bring water to work to keep my little fidge at the shop stocked. Id hate to have to drive the cage just for a case of water. So for reference, i put 24 16oz bottles of water, one monster energy drink and an apple for breakfast split between the two bags. They didnt mind the weigh at all. No sagging or anything worrisome. In all this i have yet to need to unzip the expandable section to increase capacity. So in summation while these may not be the best long haul/touring set up available, they are a great option for the city commuter. Lightweight, easily/quickly removable and enough room for most errands i run.

There are some small details that id like to point out that i think are nice little touches. One is the little reflective piping on the sides of the bags helping increase night time visibility. Another is the fact that the bags both have a handle and one handle has a velcro wrap on it. I think is is cool because if i ever took any overnight trip and checked into a hotel, the bags will attach to eachother at the handles when removed (which is quick cuz its one velcro strap and 2 quick connect latches) making them into a sort of little suitcase that is easily handled with one hand.

Anyway, for a lightweight saddle bag set at a reasonable price i am very satisfied with these. My only complaint is the strap across the pillion seat looks a little goofy. I may have to find a way to route that under the seat eventually.

So, small status update. Its been almost 7 months. Bags are a permanent addition. Only removed when bike is being washed so i can get everything clean. Now at just under 4,000 miles and the bags are still holding up great. No rips, tears or frays. Zippers are still as smooth as when i bought them. The only sign of wear whatsoever is the embroydered motech logo has faded slightly. I LOVE these bags!

Just curious as I haven't used mine much yet, how much weight are the good for - more specifically, pounds/kilos per each bag? I think the manual says 13lbs per bag, but I wondered how much you can get away with. Thanks

As long as you aren't filling them with lead bars, I think you will be fine. The amount of water he mentions above is probably near 13 lbs, but that is about as heavy an item as I could see fitting in them. I've used them for food, clothes and water on my camping trips with a few tools in the bottom. Never worried about them for a second. I even dropped my bike on uneven ground yesterday and I can't see any damage and the bars were fine.

13 lbs of clothes/gear per bag sounds about right for 1 hollow metal tube and a velcro strap. And 26 lbs total is a lot of stuff. A sturdy seat bag might be a better spot for something heavier. And my monster Nelson Rigg seat bag, that mostly sits on the back seat, needs a bit of rearward support. That's where the SW Mo luggage rack comes in handy.

Another useful tidbit, as of today i tried washing the bike with the bags on. I pulled out the inner rain bags and left some unimportant stuff in there. There are not rated water proof and come with inner bags for rain use. That being said i went nuts with the water hose just to test tye water resistance. Even sprayed right at the zippers. NOTHING inside got wet at all. Water was just beading up and running off the outside. They air dried in about 10 minutes. These damn bags keep impressing me.

The other thing I've noticed is that I don't believe these bags are compatible with tail tidies. I'm afraid the bags will cover too much of the turn signals. I wish the supports flared out a bit more the help keep them clear of the signals, but as it is, the bags push up against them a tiny bit.

I've got at least 5000 miles on my SW Motech bags, and they still look and work great! Love them! I've got a tail tidy on mine and i think it looks great with the bags on there, but i do use an integrated brake/turn signal.

I have a cheap amazon tail tidy on mine, with a motodynamics integrated tail light. Still needed external signals to stay legal in Germany so I added some flush mounts that are meant for fairings so they don't stick out much and don't interfere with the bags.

I don't need both tail and side bags, but on this bike I plan to get the SW-Motech Alu-rack with the mounting plates for soft tail bags like a Kriega or stick with my Nelson Rigg 1040ST. Expands to 30 liters.

I keep my rain suit in it and I can still fit over half a basket of groceries. Empty it'll hold a full face helmet and change. Even with my rain suit in it I can pack easily 3 days worth of clothes, a change of shoes, and my tablet and assorted electrical cables and chargers for same.

@rick @Bigturbomax @chademinent Can any of you gents post a pic of how the support bar mounts to the passenger pegs? Im wondering if a FJ 09 specific Blaze system will work with our FZs. Thanks a bunch!

The left passenger peg support is off my FZ-07( wider bolt spacing and longer in length)... The right one is off the FJ-09( small bolt spacing and shorter in length..also the FJ-09 one kicks way further out...

Thanks for the follow up @norcal616. I was able to download the PDF instructions for both the FZ and FJ; The mounting plates are very different. A huge bummer cuz I found a used Blaze system off an FJ that's rediculously cheap. Looks like I'll have to pony up to get the right equipment. Thanks again!

I've had my Blaze bags for a little over 2 years now, maybe 25k miles. The fabric has faded from sun exposure, the rail slots are both torn at the ends where the tips of the rails poked through, the clutch side bag's zipper is failing ... honestly, it makes me feel that I should have just gotten hard bags to begin with. That being said I think these are probably the best soft bags you can get. You can do like I did and pair the bags with a short length of looped coated steel rope and luggage locks and you can lock both the bags shut and lock the bags to the bike pretty easily.

For 2+ years of use, they were worth the price of admission. Gonna get Shad's SH23 next year though and retire these for good. Might even sell em here on Classifieds on the cheap if anyone wants em. They still work just fine, but they are worn and I'm ready for tougher bags since I commute 70 miles a day now.

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