Great question about the weight on the rack and up high, I had similar concerns when we loaded up. I was pleasantly surprised to find very little impact from the added weight. We had about 30 lbs maybe a bit less between the T bag and backpack. My wife and I made a good wind break from the front and the only time I noticed a little tug was in high mph cross winds while in a corner and low on fuel. With a full tank of gas I didn't notice it at all.
I'm a thick guy and weigh 227, my wife weighs...... Much, much less . I had one saddle bag filled with tools, my chaps, and a few water bottles. The other with my wife's chaps, purse, and our rain suits. I think the overall weight of the bike and load was very well managed by the suspension. I did take time to set my preload from the stock setting of no preload to 19 clicks for the trip. The preload change made a huge improvement from the stock setting and I believe helped manage the load on the back.
I was more concerned with bending the rack or scratching the paint with a rogue strap than I was handleing issues after the first few hours of riding. We each brought 3 days of clothes and a pair of sneakers. The saddle bags don't really hold all that much, as I discovered when we started test packing.
Yeah, we left enough room to buy a few shirts each. We also packed clothes in a large plastic trash bag which proved to be a good idea as we did encounter rain.
I would load up the same way again with no concerns.
. I had one saddle bag filled with tools, my chaps, and a few water bottles. The other with my wife's chaps, purse, and our rain suits. I think the overall weight of the bike and load was very well managed by the suspension. I did take time to set my preload from the stock setting of no preload to 19 clicks for the trip. The preload change made a huge improvement from the stock setting and I believe helped manage the load on the back.
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