When I had to rebuild my 2016 Harley-Davidson Road King engine, I took the downtime as an opportunity to customize the bike. With the SW-Motech TRAX ADV hard adventure motorcycle luggage, could my Road King become an adventure bagger?
My job as a photojournalist requires carrying a lot of gear: cameras, a drone, and stands for strobe lights, plus all the traditional belongings you need for long-distance trips, like clothes, raingear, tools, etc. For years, I’ve been filling up my Harley’s stock saddlebags and a big Condition 1 trunk. It looked weird, but it worked. Not perfectly, though.
On the road, I met a lot of guys riding their adventure bikes with aluminum cases, which looked bigger and more conveniently shaped than the Harley saddlebags, which are styled with angles that create unused areas when packing things. The SW-Motech adventure cases seen on Harley Pan Americas looked to be far roomier and rugged.
When my workhorse was getting repaired at Ramjet Racing Performance Cycles in Arizona, I was informed that Bare Knuckle Performance sells a Pioneer Adventure Bag System that includes brackets and two SW-Motech aluminum side cases. Despite the $1,799 price for the system, I was hooked and threw down my money.
The conversion wasn’t simple, though. The existing saddlebag brackets, which needed to be removed to fit the new bags, also serve as the bike’s muffler hangers, so the Bare Knuckle brackets necessitated changing the exhaust pipes. Eventually, I also decided to change the rear fender, the license plate support, and the taillight.
See all of American Rider’s product reviews here.
I chose the largest cases, with a capacity of 12 gallons (45 liters) each, opting for the black finish rather than plain aluminum. I also decided to add the matching topcase from SW-Motech’s catalog ($580), which attaches to a Harley Tour Pak support rack bracket via a universal adapter plate. Combined, this sturdy and waterproof luggage set can carry 34 gallons (128 liters) of cargo. On top of that, I can strap on additional luggage if needed.
SW-Motech also offers accessories to augment their luggage. I bought two universal base plates ($49 each) that mount on the TRAX cases and added a 0.5-gallon TRAX canister setup ($74) to the left-side bag and two 20-oz. bottles (now discontinued) on the right bag so I can safely carry additional fuel and water.
The luggage is secured by locks that open with one key. There are three locks for the lids and three to detach the cases from the bike. The bags can be removed in seconds and brought inside for security, and the flat bottoms of the SW-Motech cases let the cases stand on their own without falling over, unlike Harley’s stock saddlebags.
When I initially came up with the idea of mounting adventure-style cases to my Road King, some of my riding friends laughed at me. No one had seen a similar setup before, and most thought it was a silly idea and promised an ugly-looking bike.
But after seeing my finished project, they completely flipped their opinions. Everywhere I go, this customization is appreciated by fellow riders. The size of the cases fits very well with the size of the bike, and I’m proud of the way it all turned out.
This project wasn’t cheap. By the time the bags, brackets, fender, taillight, exhaust, painting, and accessories were installed, my bill rose to more than $7,000. But it was worth it to me. I have much more room to transport all that I need, and the system looks great on my bike.
It’s not just a Road King anymore; it’s an adventure bagger. All it needs now are dual-sport tires, but none are available for my Harley’s wheel sizes – yet!
