Living On Jesse Luggage!

Al Jesse leans on one of the bags that made him famous and a legend in the adventure motorcycle community. His hi-tech CNC and cutting machines behind him.

While planning for adventures this summer and fall, and still working on the upcoming television show, I continue to connect with old friends and new.

This week I had the pleasure of reconnecting with Al Jesse, the principal of Jesse Luggage Systems, makers of the best aluminum/hard luggage on the planet. Trust me, it may sound like hyperbole or overstatement, but I assure you it’s not.

For some twenty years Al and his crew have manufactured 100% made in America products out of a facility near Phoenix, Arizona. While the basic concept of the luggage has remained the same, and most of the tens of thousands of Jesse panniers they have sold that don adventure motorcycles from every major brand are still in use today, I learned that Al has changed the design elements of the luggage more than 100 times.

Al just can’t sit still and leave enough alone. He has to make continual improvements. I know. I’ve been using “Jesse Bags” for more than ten years. Even though there is nothing wrong with any iteration of the bags, I get a chance every so often to update my bags and take adventage of these improvements.

Al Jesse with me in front of the FORKS Van which sports the cover image of my book—a beautiful advertisement for the design and durability of his products.

I could go on about the improvements such as the dynamic mounting system that allows for the repositioning of the bags, or the lid hinges that stay put and don’t fall on your fingers. But I’ll hold back. And I won’t tell you about new products and advancements like thin solar panels affixed to the luggage that will charge devices, or the reinforcement panels designed to strengthen the tail and mounting components of the new Africa Twin. But I won’t.

What I will tell you is that I love spending a morning with one of the legends in the adventure motorcycle community.

You can find Jesse Luggage at your local motorcycle dealer, or directly from the Jesse Luggage Systems website.

My Jesse Bags have been through hell and back over the years. Here they are on my bike fully loaded in Paros, Greece, one of the most beautiful Greek Islands while Giorgakis of Giorgakis Motos takes a welder to my forever receding a problematic kickstand.