When it comes down to it, there are a number of necessities you simply can’t leave home without. Here at Sport Rider, rather than loading our riding gear’s pockets to the brim, we typically throw our necessities in a backpack and head out for the day. More often than not though, this typically means we have a virtually empty backpack slung over our shoulders that we have to take off each time we need to grab one of the goodies inside; it’s not a huge hassle, but there surely are better options—a tidy tail bag being one of them.
Enter the Cortech Dryver Tail Bag, a 3.4-liter bag that measures 11.5 inches long, 10 inches wide and 5 inches high, and features adjustable mounting straps, an easy-access main compartment, internal organizer pocket and neoprene padded handle. The outer shell of Cortech’s latest tail bag is composed of water-resistant, molded, 170-gram jersey-knit material which can be easily cleaned with water and a mild soap, and retains its shape when empty or full. Inside, the bag boasts a soft, brushed nylon lining; a rain cover is included and can be fitted to assure your cell phone and other goodies inside don’t get water damaged (we didn’t get to test this however, considering the dry weather we have had in Southern California of late).
In order to put the Dryver Tail Bag to the test, we mounted it to our 2011 Kawasaki Ninja 1000. The mounting process was easy, and simply boiled down to finding decent mounting points. The adjustable straps can be stretched to the turn signal stems, or in our case, to the license plate bracket. On the Ninja 1000, we went one step further and routed the front straps through the passenger grab rails; doing so was easy and only required we remove two bolts on each side. All told, mounting the bag took no more than ten minutes. The most important thing, as we discovered, is to take your time and look over the bike thoroughly to find the absolute perfect mounting spots. Trust us, the extra five minutes you spend finding the perfect location for the straps is worthwhile, as it gives you the utmost confidence that the bag won’t go bouncing down the road on your first ride out.
Once mounted, we were able to load up the Dryver Tail Bag with all of our necessities and, as expected, everything fits easily. Especially nice about the bag is the internal organizer pocket and straps that keep your goodies from bouncing around. Fit and finish of the bag is exceptional as well; it is clear that Cortech thought everything out before putting this bag into production. For instance, the neoprene pads that prevent the plastic buckles from scratching our Ninja 1000’s paint are a great feature, as are the Velcro bands that enable you to tie down the additional bit of strap that would otherwise be flapping around in the wind.
At the end of the day, we found the bag ideal for carrying a phone, wallet, keys, tool pack, notepad and writing utensils. We also find the bag ideal for carrying things like a camera, since we can pull it out, grab a couple quick videos on the bike and throw it back in the bag for the ride home. The one thing that slightly disappoints us though is the rather low weight capacity—said to be just five pounds. We didn’t have any problems staying under the limit, but if you intend to carry any heavier items, plan accordingly.
After numerous miles on the back of our Ninja 1000, the Dryver Tail Bag is still mounted as firmly as ever and there is never an indication that the straps have loosened. And thanks to the bag’s sleek design, our Ninja 1000’s good looks aren’t forfeited with the bag on the back. SR