The Northwest Rider

Only the least fortunate of us have been in this position.  It is 7:00AM. I am standing over my V-Strom, which is now lying on the asphalt at the park-and-ride where I have been practicing low speed turns for the last 15 minutes. A pit is churning in my stomach as I work up the courage to lift the bike and begin my examination. I envision dents, scrapes and an assortment of bent pedals and broken levers as I heft the Strom back onto two wheels.  Just two weeks prior, I had installed a brand new set of Caribou hard cases. I am equally concerned about the money I spent on that purchase, as the right case and steel frame are now pressed firmly between the crushing weight of my motorcycle and the pavement.  I wasn’t going more than 2 miles per hour when I nudged the front brake and spilled my bike onto the asphalt. But the clumsy nature of this type of dismount coupled with the sound of 460 pounds of metal and plastic grinding against the rough pavement has me convinced that there will be damage, and plenty of it.

To my surprise, and thanks exclusively to the resilience and durability of the Caribou luggage system, my V-Strom is unscathed, aside from a light scrape at the end of the right hand guard. The case and its supporting frame held my bike sturdily above the damaging pavement below.   Where it made contact with the parking lot surface, the case sustained a small scuff, its badge of honor, for a job exceedingly well done.  Aside from that, the motorcycle, the cases and the Caribou steel supporting frame were completely unharmed.  At this instant, not only have my Caribou cases justified their purchase price (nearly $1000.00 including shipping.) They have, in fact, paid for themselves by preventing damage to the rest of my motorcycle.

And so began my love affair with Caribou Luggage Systems, thoughtfully designed, meticulously engineered and flawlessly fabricated.  Motorcyclists will appreciate every design detail, from their efficient use of space to their perfect alignment with the existing lines of your motorcycle.

Installation is straight forward as the product is delivered with clearly illustrated instructions.  It is during this process that you will first appreciate the value of your purchase.  Caribou has not created a ‘one size fits all’ solution.  Rather, a custom racking design has been engineered for each make and model of bike, taking advantage of available mounting locations to assure efficient use of, and complete integration with, your motorcycle’s existing structure.

The cases themselves are available in sizes ranging from 35 to 40 Liters. Installed, system width spans between 35″ and 38″ depending on case size selected. Once assembled, the entire system weighs approximately 35 pounds.  Built to military specifications, they won’t leak, rust or dent and are impenetrable to dust and chemicals.  These cases, customized by Caribou to provide the utmost in motorcycling functionality, carry a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty.  You break them, they replace them. 

For technical information and more in-depth review, click on each image below:

For the record, limitations do exist.  Caribou side cases come in a black, matte finish only.  In addition, 40 Liter cases installed on the V-Strom 1000 can limit passenger foot-room for riders wearing boots larger than size 10.  I did not have issues with either.  The matte black finish is uniform (without the ’swirls’ sometimes seen in polymer products of lesser quality) and foot room was ample for my passengers (all size 10 or below.)

Boulder, Colorado based Caribou Luggage Systems was started by Roger Pioszak, the company’s President, based on 25 years combined experience in engineering, machining and metal fabrication. Originally founded in 2003 to design motorcycle exhaust units, Caribou has focused exclusively on luggage system design since 2006 and offers a variety of rack and case configurations for BMW, Suzuki, Kawasaki and KTM motorcycles. Caribou is a small company doing big business. Roger employs 2-4 people throughout the year and ships, on average, 80-90 luggage systems per month.

For more information, visit the Caribou Luggage Systems website at www.cariboucases.com or contact Roger directly by phone (303) 786-8947 or by email at roger@cariboucases.com.