Small Motorcycle Tail Bag (Waterproof and Mine).

As any Grom Clone motorcycle owner, your first thought when you get your bike is where you will keep your Monster Drinks! My Boom Vader Gen 2 motorcycle is small. Even though my BD1250-10 model Boom Vader came with a luggage rack, it still is small, like the bike. So I knew I needed a small motorcycle tail bag for my Monster Drinks, and it had to be waterproof too.

Well, I am trying to lay off Monster drinks or caffeinated sodas, which is weird for a night-shift working fool like me to say. However, I need a tail bag, a real place to keep my motorcycle tool kit, my spare auxiliary fuel bottle, and, let’s not forget, snacks.  

This body doesn’t run well, missing a meal—poor little motorcycle.

My Motorcycle Tail Bag Size Issues.

Regular Motorcycle Tail Bags Are Too Big.

Well, I say mine, but as I said, this had crossed many Grom Clone motorcycle owners. The motorcycle is small. Again, I opted for the BD125-10 version of the Boom Vader, a Gen 2 motorcycle, because of its body shape. 

Its little tiny luggage rack on the back is part of that body shape. I was figuring I would remove it later to clean up the motorcycle lines when I do a fender delete mod, but right now not sure if I”m going to. I do now want to keep the luggage wrapped for storage.

So first concern, I want a motorcycle tail bag that fits my luggage rack. So small it is. There are excellent motorcycle tail bag setups I found, and this one is awesome:

Author’s Notice: This page contains affiliate links, for which I may earn a commission by their use. Also, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases.

Click For Current Small Motorcycle Tail Bag Price.

You can fit the kitchen sink in that bag!

Now, I joke that I want to take the Boom Vader off-road and go camping with it, and a big tail bag like that might work out. I could put in all my camping supplies, but for day-to-day riding, too big.

That is the problem; when people think about on-bike storage, they have stuff they want to store, like lots of stuff. So most motorcycle tail bags are designed to hold a lot of things.  

Even more modest-sized tail bags are designed for regular-sized motorcycles. My Boom Vader is a small motorcycle.

Small Motorcycle Tail Bags Are Really Small.

When I did a recent group ride, I saw people handing fanny packs off the front and the back of the Grom motorcycles. FYI, felt like the only one there with a Grom Clone. When I looked closer at the fanny packs on the back, they looked like actual motorcycle tail bags.  Just super small.

Those tail bags were too small. As I said, they looked like fanny packs and carried almost nothing.

Tail Bag Size Issues Worked Through.

So finding a tail bag both small enough for my motorcycle and big enough to carry the items I want will be a trial and error process. Glad I pick online items with free returns. 😀

Motorcycle Feature I Need.

I want a waterproof tail bag. Not to be snobbish, but having items in the pack and water collecting in the bag is nasty. Feel mold will overcome anything I store in there.

So either the tail bag had to be waterproof or came with a way to make it waterproof.

First Tail Bag Solution I’m Trying:

I ordered this small tail bag online, and it seems OK.

Not too tall.

Click For Current Prices: Small Motorcycle Tail Bag Waterproof.

The size isn’t too big for my motorcycle’s luggage rack and doesn’t seem to take away from my Boom Vader’s looks.

So overall, the size is OK.

Motorcycle Tail Bag Construction.

This tail bag is cheap, really low priced, for what I was looking for. Being frugal, of course, it’s not made of leather or any metal parts, and the bag is all nylon and plastic.

The nylon and plastic construction isn’t a big hang-up; a large part of my motorcycle is all plastic. Plus, I wear textile motorcycle jackets( Wear A Motorcycle Jacket All The Time? ); they, too, are made of synthetic fibers.

Nylon material needs little care in the future and has some water resistance depending on construction.

Tail Bag Storage Space

This small tail bag has a single small storage area. No compartments, or dividers, just one large area. 

I read in the product description that it’s expandable, and it is. A zipper around the base is used to add additional space to the bag if needed. I like the current height of the bag, so going to keep that zipped to keep the low bag profile.  

But having the ability to expand the bag a little for some extra sto4rage room is a nice feature.

Motorcycle Tail Bag Mounting System

The tail bag came with two nylon straps with quick-release clips each.  

The clips allow for quick installation and quick removal. However, the rapid removal part is thinking it’s a big temptation for people who want to steal your bag.  

FYI, I came up with a solution that might slow bag theft; read on to how I installed the tail bag.

I planned to wrap the mounting straps about the luggage rack a few times and clip in the quick-release clips.

How I Mounted The Tail Bag And Mod I Did.

Well, I thought quick releases would allow someone to release and run with my bag quickly, so I was wondering how to make this a little more theft-resistant.

I was thinking about gluing the quick releases or somehow melting them, but I figured I wouldn’t do this. There is an expansion zone on the bottom of the tail bag, and you have to adjust the length of the straps to utilize the extra bag height. This zone creates more room. I didn’t want to lose this feature, so I did not modify the nylon straps.

The nylon straps were routed under the motorcycle luggage rack, wrapped a few times around the bars, connected to their quick-release buckles, and cinched down. Loose ends I pushed through open loops in the straps to minimize them flapping in the wind.

Again, I didn’t cut these loose ends since an excess strap is needed to expand the height of the tail bag.

My Tail Bag Theft Prevention Mod!

There is a little Velcro flap on the front of the tail bag. No instructions came with the tail bag, but the flap looks designed to go around a motorcycle luggage rack bar.

I took this flap and extended it out. I popped off the Boom Vader motorcycle seat and lined up the flap with the motorcycle seat locking pin.

Cut a small hole for the pin, lined up on the pin, and reinstalled the seat.

The tail bag now has an attachment point that isn’t as easily accessible as the nylon straps. Real Chonda thinking there. 😀

Bag Space After Installation.

I don’t have my tool roll together, primarily small items I keep under the motorcycle seat(tape, wire, screwdriver, etc.). So I couldn’t do a real test of carrying around everyday motorcycle tools. Still, I did pick up a large item I wanted to take on rides: A spare motorcycle gas bottle.

This fuel bottle is 30 ounces, and you can check for current prices: Spare Fuel Bottle.

Since this is the most oversized item I plan to carry, I had it already, so I had to do a few tests. Can the fuel bottle fit in the bag, and can I close the bag with no problems?

Well, it worked. The spare fuel bottle fit. Glad it did since I already cut a hole in the bag’s flap. I wasn’t able to return this item. Now hoping trail tail bag #1 becomes my permanent tail bag for my Boom Vader.

Tail Bag Came With Waterproof Cover.

Now the bag itself doesn’t seem waterproof with the zippers exposed. Still, the tail bag has a silver waterproof ‘shower cap’ item. This item is stretched over the bag covering all the seams and zippers when you want some form of waterproofing from rain.

It’s OK, functional but the bright silver coating looks weird. Figure it adds to the motorcycle visibility when riding in the rain. Nice thought, isn’t it?

I wanted to show off the waterproof cover for this tail bag in bright sunshine. The silvery coating makes it stand out. In hindsight, I wonder if the reflectiveness of the waterproof cover can help keep the tail bag contents cooler.

Now that I look at the photo I took, it appears like I was carrying a giant baked potato on my small motorcycle’s rear rack. 😀

Quick Snack Run And New Tail Bag Test

The tail bag isn’t huge, but I just turned a small rear rack into a nice travel trunk for my motorcycle. I planned to fill it with a small motorcycle tool roll and a tiny spare gas bottle, but I decided to buy snacks on one of my rides.

I visited one of the local farms near the Delaware river, one of my favorite motorcycle rides through Bucks Country. The farm is Trauger’s, Farm Market. Located in Klintnersville and if you are in the area, stop in. The produce and snacks are local (Pa Preferred). Just stop in; well worth it.

So on my trip to Trauger’s Farm Market, I picked up two packs of Whoopie Pies and little chocolate milk to wash them down.

Look how all these snacks fit in the tail bag. I had to loosen the mounting straps and unzip the zipper at the bottom of the tail bag to increase its height, but it did well and still looks good.

Not a bad purchase, and cheap for what I got. You might want to check it out.

Bag I ordered: Motorcycle Tail Bag Backpack Waterproof.

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Small Motorcycle Tail Bag Testing Continues.

I plan to continue testing this tail bag since, for a Boom Vader, this bag is perfect in size. I plan to update you about what I like and dislike about the bag.

If you have this bag or another tail bag, please leave a comment.

If you are convinced you already like this bag from my post, and the price is excellent, here is a link to the most current price:

Thanks for reading along, and I hope you leave feedback.

Ride Safe, Ride Fun!

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Boom Vader Gen 2 Upgrades