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Side view of the Fandango tank bag on a Suzuki V-Strom 650

Motorcyclists have ridden off-road as long as they have pointed their wheels down paved roads. The term road should be used loosely to describe the rutted and muddy mess that riders took the early Harley Davidson and Indian motorcycles down. Despite this long history of on- and off-road riding, very few motorcycle accessories are equally at home on your bike in the dirt and at speed on the road.

No matter the terrain, carrying capacity is always in demand aboard our two-wheeled machines. Luckily, my Suzuki V-Strom come stock with cargo rack. Tying small items such as wallet, keys and camera to that rack is senseless. These items can stow in a pocket, but sometimes that option isn’t comfortable or pockets are in short order.

That’s where a tank bag comes into play. Tank bags come in many shapes and functionality. Some have so many pockets that you lose items in them simply because you can’t remember which pocket they are in. The shear number of pockets makes it difficult to get those small items quickly when you need them. For example, it should be easy to locate and pull out your wallet to fill the gas tank without getting off the motorcycle.

The accessories that get used day after day on my bike are simple, functional and water tight. A product that does all of these things well is few and far between.

The Giant Loop Fandango tank bag is a rare combination of simplicity and functionality that is equally at home on the road or on the trail. The Fandango has one large compartment that is accessible via a sealed zipper. The bag simple design of the bag makes it down right cavernous with a single Velcro divider for organizing contents. I keep the divider all the way to the back of the pocket. This is just wide enough to hold my cell phone, wallet and a small camera where I can get them quickly.

A clear plastic map pocket tops off the Fandango tank bag package. The pocket holds a folded map. Again a simple waterproof zipper protects the contents against the elements (see critiques below).

Removing the Fandango tank bag is simple. The single zipper makes the fuel cap easily accessible.

A third zipper runs along the bottom perimeter of the bag to attach it to the base. This simple design allows quick removal of the bag when needed. Upon removal of the bag, a cutout allows easy access to the fuel cap to keep the adventure going.

The base attaches to the bike with three straps. A single strap goes around the frame, under the triple clamp. The remaining two straps attach to the frame or other solid point on either side of the bike. I found the perfect attach points around the GIVI crash bars on my Suzuki V-Strom. In all, it takes a couple minutes to solidly attach the Fandango Tank Bag to the bike.

The Fandango was originally designed for use on dirt bikes. This means that when attached, the bag isn’t going anywhere. When I first attached the bag to my V-Strom, the triple clamp strap was a bit short. It worked, but left me nervous with the lack of remaining strap.

I ran into Harold Olaf Cecil from Giant Loop at the Vancouver Motorcycle show. Upon sharing my critique, he walked out to the bike to actually check it out. Apparently, their design evolved to fit larger bikes and I had one of the original (more dirt bike-oriented) straps. He was nice enough to pull the base off of a bike at the show and swap it out. Great customer service goes a long way with me. Giant Loop won me over in this area.

Simple, single compartment keeps everything organized in the Fandango tank bag.

The other critique that I have is that water can find its way inside the bag. The “truckers tarp” material and waterproof zippers are 100 percent watertight. The seams between the zippers and fabric allow the slightest amount of moisture to get through. The map pocket is especially susceptible to moisture and a wet map is a useless map. Giant Loop does provide seam sealer with the product and I highly suggest it be used. A couple minutes applying the sealer makes moisture a non-issue.

Giant Loop is a fairly new player in the motorcycle luggage field. This small company based in Oregon is definitely worth looking into. Their customer service has been quite impressive and the product is solid. They are passionate about their product and it shows.

The Giant Loop Fandango tank bag is available in three colors: black, orange and yellow. It sells for $149.00 at www.giantloopmoto.com. You can also find it through their dealer network.

The question of why I ride a motorcycle is asked quite often. It seems that the answer would be simple, “because I like it.” My weekend rides don’t elicit that question from onlookers near as often as my daily commute. People understand the weekend joy rides in nice weather. The aspect that they don’t get is the daily motorcycle commuting through whatever weather Mother Nature throws down upon us.

People are curious when they see someone taking a different approach to an everyday task. The other day a work colleague watched me putting on all of my winter riding gear and asked, “is it really worth it?” I actually responded from inside my HJC helmet with scratches on the face shield from constant use. I answered, “heck yeah it is totally worth it.” The steam rose from my helmet in the evening darkness under the dim lights of the parking lot. I then threw a leg over my warming motorcycle and headed for home along I-5.

That question sat in my head as I entered the freeway. Why do I like to ride so much? Why am I so passionate about motorcycling? Thoughts raced through my head as I scrambled across the backed up lanes of I-5 before settling in the carpool lanes at cruising speed. I definitely like the fact that I’m now passing thousands of cars and trucks simply because I have a motorcycle and can use the carpool lanes. The ease of maneuvering the single-track of my bike through congested Seattle traffic is definitely on my list of reasons that I ride.

That reason is good and all, but that alone wouldn’t make the added risks of riding pay off. Actually, I’ve always enjoyed adding a bit of risk to life. Climbing trees, jumping bicycles from ledges down steep hills, skydiving and training horses have all been things that I’ve enjoyed. Many poeple would hear that short list and say that I must enjoy motorcyling because I’m an adrenalin seeker. As much as that rush feels good, that doesn’t account for my passion for motorcycling.

The passion comes from deep within. So deep that those around me can’t help but get drowned in it. Motorcycling is a big part of my life. In fact, that might be the very reason for this passion of mine. I just simply enjoy living life.

A life well lived should have stories. The stories are comprised of the good, the bad and the “oh my God I can’t believe that just happened” moments.

Life on a motorcycle is a life of adventure. Like any good adventure, there are stories to be told. The good comes from a well planned ride through scenic areas and discoveries of unique places. There are stories of the bad from the near miss in traffic, or the time I learned the true value in late cornering for motorcycling. The holy crap moments can stand on their own or be a combination of the good and the bad. Sometimes these moments come when watching other riders learn a new and valuable riding technique.

The joy of life and adventure is the reason I ride. Sitting around a camp fire with fellow adventurers through life is always filled with great stories. That’s because they find their own path through life. A single track path blazed on two wheels that always leads to a good story.

A life of adventure is a life well lived. On two wheels there is always adventure. I just hope that I can take the good, the bad and live to tell the story. That is why I ride. Motorcycling is an endless pursuit of the next great story.