motoPockets Review

We all carry around a lot of personal stuff these days, often small things that are easily dropped and seem to multiply like tribles—wallets, keys, cell phones, reading glasses, sunglasses, lip balm, sunscreen, garage door openers, etc. Lacking center consoles and sun visors, there just isn’t a good place on most motorcycles to keep this stuff at hand, so it tends to disappear into your luggage like spare change in a couch. What we need is a portable zippered pocket we can stick or mount in an easily accessed spot on the bike, like the inside of a windshield, on the handlebar or inside luggage lids. Make the pocket easy to remove when you want to bring everything with you off the bike (like a purse with a gender-neutral, utilitarian appearance), and just as easy to remount on any of your motorcycles when it’s time to ride.

Enter the motoPocket, a simple but rugged Cordura nylon pouch that comes in several shapes to fit inside the lids of top cases and saddlebags, inside windshields or on handlebars, or just about any place they’ll fit. All but the handlebar model attach using Velcro-like hook-and-loop fabric sewn to the back of the motoPocket so you can attach it onto strips or large pads of self-adhesive hook-and-loop stuck on the bike. Each motoPocket comes with the adhesive hook-and-loop pad or pads you need for one application; extra adhesive pads are available separately so you can stick the motoPocket to more than one place on the bike, or on multiple motorcycles. The handlebar motoPocket attaches with four hook-and-loop tabs (they’re specially designed for cruiser “T-bars,” but it will attach to anything you can loop the tabs around) and since it and the windshield motoPocket are for outside use they’re both waterproof.

For the inner side of long and skinny saddlebag lids, there’s a long and skinny motoPocket that attaches using wide strips of hook-and-loop, and for top case lids there’s an appropriately shaped one that adheres to a big pad. These non-waterproof luggage motoPockets come with either netting sides so you can see the contents, or solid Cordura for more durability and to keep skinny stuff like pens and screwdrivers from poking through. Get a netting one for one saddlebag and a solid one for the other. Installation is as simple as removing the backing from the adhesive pad or strips and applying them where you want to stick a motoPocket. A tool is provided for the large pads to help smooth them out. Let it cure for 24 hours and you’re good to go.

The adhesive is one of 3M’s strongest, which Bob Allen, founder of Adventure Pockets, says was originally intended for ocean-going stand-up paddleboards and the inside of motorcycle windshields. He has samples in his backyard that have had continuous exposure to the sun and a sprinkler system for almost two years now and the pads are still secure. Removing the larger pads can be done with a pair of pliers followed up with 3M adhesive remover. Adventure Pockets hasn’t tested the adhesive on painted surfaces; probably not a good idea if want to remove it eventually.

Adventure Pockets sent enough motoPockets to completely outfit a full set of luggage, handlebars and windshield (ranging in price from $35.95-$45.95 each). The saddlebag pockets unzip ¾ of the way around and measure 15 x 7 inches, and the top case pocket is 10 x 8. Both have double zipper pulls and will hold about 2-3 inches worth of stuff in thickness. I keep my Cycle Pump and accessories in the top case motoPocket so it isn’t constantly bouncing around in the bottom of the case, and the saddlebag pockets are perfect for travel odds and ends. I strapped the handlebar bag to the side of my luggage rack. The only one I didn’t try was the windshield bag. I like being able to peel them off when they aren’t needed, or to take them inside a restaurant full of stuff.

The trouble with stuff, like the trouble with tribles, is that it multiplies and disappears. Go on, get organized—get a motoPocket.

For more information call (209) 498-3206 or visit adventurepockets.com.