tail bag dilemna

[epofHouston]

So I have a cortech sport saddle bags but I don't like the look of it. My house has a iron gate and the bike with the saddle bags can barely fit through it. I have to ride up on it just right in order to go through it without the bag scrapping against the gate.

I just bought a tourmaster tailbag (couldn't afford the cortech tail bag) and took the saddle bags off. I like the look of the tailbag on the bike but now I have problem getting on the bike. I'm 5'7" and the bike the stock heights. I can't swing my leg over the tailbag without hitting it. I tried to straighten out my leg and go between the tank and the bag but my shoe would leave a mark on the seat. The best way for me is to lay on the tank and try to swing my leg over the bag. It looked retarded Im sure.

Any vertical challenged rider has this same problem? Just want to share my experience.

 

[elrusoloco]

I have a similar problem on a much bigger bike (Kawasaki C-14). I have taken to mounting and dismounting by leaving the bike on the kickstand, putting my left foot on the left peg, putting all my weight on it - this is the key part, you want to make sure that the kick stand and the peg are up to the weight - and swinging my right leg up and over or through to the other side. Once you're mounted, put your feet down, kick up the stand, and off you go. Learned this by watching my brother get on his giant BMW R1200GS Adventure, which is like climbing a ladder.

 

[CooperFZ6]

I'm 5'7" and I get on the bike the same way. The bike is on the kickstand, and, I put my left foot on the left peg, stand up and swing my right leg over, without hitting anything on the bike. I'm 49 now and a little less flexible than I used to be, so, I have to get on the bike this way. It's easy. When I'm on the bike with the kick stand up, I'm a little better than tip toes with both feet on the ground. At a stop, with the bike slightly tipped to the left, its an easy flat food stand with my right foot on the foot brake.