I recently purchaced my first street bike a 98 f3, I plan to do some light touring probably no longer than a 2 or 3 day weekend trip. What would be the best luggage for this type of trip, i was considering a givi box but i cannot find a mounting kit for the f3.

 

My wife and I didn't want to make any changes to the bike as far as brackets or hard cases or trunks. When we would get somewhere, we wanted to be able to ride the bikes without all the extra stuff on them. So we went with soft luggage, Saddlebags. We chose the Coretech Sport (I think that's what they are, I look tonight to confirm) In the following images we're loaded for a 2 week road trip. Between the saddlebags and soft luggage on the rear seat, we had plenty of storage. Try to avoid a backpack, because after several hours (read more than 5) they get real uncomfortable. These are how they look loaded for our trip for the Indianapolis Moto GP races. Hope this helps.

 

I don't like the Givi system, my mate has one on his bike & it looks good, but you can't beat a soft system to cram that little bit extra.
Here's my set up, its a Ventura rack & bags, you can either have just the one bag or get two which then zip together. The rack itself comes off in minutes.

With the smaller bag:



And with both attached (note the Sheep skin seat cover, great for those long rides)

 

I noticed a larger tank bag on the purple bike, does it get in the way while riding?

 

I have breifly researched the ventura system, I am under the impression that they are difficult to get for the f3 in the US

 

The only time it gets in the way is when it's raining and you're trying to tuck down. Other than that, it's not a problem. Our Cortech Sports are expandable, they get wider with a zipper that allows an extra 1.5" wider. We've not needed to expand them for any of our trips. No one needs that much stuff.

 

They have a USA distributor that should be able to tell you (ventura are a New Zealand company)

Distributor Details
Distributor: Ventura Motorcycle Accessories Inc
Address
Street: 6925 216th St SW, Suite E
Suburb:
City: Lynnwood
PostCode: WA 98036
Contact Details
Email: info@ventura-mca.com
Phone: 425-672-4500
Fax 425-672-4503
Website http://www.ventura-mca.com

Here's the link page:
http://www.ventura-bike.com/distribu...&countryid=USA

 

Go the soft luggage I toured Europe with Oxford saddle and tank bags, water proof, safe and so easy to take on and off, the givi systems are ok if you want luggage on your bike permanently, pain to put on and remove, looks ugly as well.
Have a good trip

 

+1 on the Coretech saddlebags Idodirt suggested. What I use, and it give plenty of space on the rear of the seat to strap a duffle. I also use a Nelson-rigg tank bag and love it. Between the two I usually have a good amount of space for a weekend trip.

 

I've got the cortech sport saddlebags and tailbag along with the super 10 tank bag. Have plenty of storage for long trips.