| January 17, 2024
The Rig 9800 is Ogio’s large-capacity gear bag with 7500 cubic inches of cargo space and iFOM (Integrated Foam) padding incorporated throughout the bag.
By Keith Dowdle
Made to fit helmets, boots, leathers and more, the Rig 9800’s main compartment features an adjustable padded divider, and a separate zippered compartment over the main cabin where you can pack street clothes and toiletries. It rides on what Ogio calls the Sled (Structural Load Equalizing Deck), which, in addition to providing a super strong mounting point for the oversized wheels, also serves as an anchor point for several compression straps that hold the load nice and tight. This monster gear bag comes in 13 colors, from incognito black to dancing bananas on a sky-blue background, and you can have your logo or custom text embroidered from the factory.
The Ogio Rig 9800 Travel Bag weighs 14.2 pounds, according to Ogio, and comes with a lifetime warranty and 100% satisfaction guarantee.
The Ogio Rig 9800 Travel Bag is well-built, sturdy and weighs 14.2 pounds. It is quite large, so it is susceptible to oversized luggage charges.
Ogio Rig 9800 Travel Bag | Lowdown
Standout Feature: Super sturdy globe-trotting gear bag used by virtually every moto journalist we know.
MSRP: $329.99
Sturdy construction
Spacious main compartment
Easy to maneuver
Pricey
Susceptible to oversized luggage charges when filled to the brim
Ogio Rig 9800 Travel Bag | Rider Analysis
I think I’ve owned every Ogio backpack, travel bag and gear bag that they’ve ever made. Spending 25 years with Team Honda, we always insisted on Ogio travel bags, even when certain team sponsors could have provided similar equipment. Similar but not nearly as durable—and when you travel through airports every weekend, your travel bags need to be sturdy and strong.
Sturdy and strong pretty much sums up the Ogio Rig 9800. You can feel the quality of this bag from the moment you remove it from its packaging. Unlike my old (but much loved) Ogio gear bag, this one has more rigidity, which translates into more protection. Using the Rig for recent international press intros, I found that it accommodated my usual packing method—and provided easy access combined with more security.
It offers a generous 7500 cubic inches of cargo space and rolls around on oversized wheels with plenty of ground clearance.
When packing my gear bag for airline travel, I start by putting my helmet in a high-quality helmet bag to give it just a little more protection, then stuff my goggles and gloves inside my helmet. I prefer to put my helmet at the very bottom of the bag near the wheels. I feel like that end of the bag provides more protection, and I’ve been lucky so far in that I’ve never had a helmet damaged during travel. Knock on wood. The Rig 9800 has a separate folding helmet pad that can be placed anywhere in the bag, so I was glad that I could still place my helmet in its usual spot. Next, I put my boots in the top section of the bag, and on top of those, I lay my padded riding gear with the legs and arms toward my helmet. I use the pads from my riding gear to further protect my helmet.
It’s always important to have a moto backpack on press intros (Ogio makes some nice ones, by the way) because most of the motorcycles we test don’t have saddlebags, and I always need to carry my GoPro, mounts and snacks for the ride, as well. So, these things go in my gear bag, too—all of this stuff has to fit into one checked bag (we don’t fly first class and our tickets usually only allow for one checked bag). The Rig 9800 fits all my riding gear, plus the top compartment has plenty of room for street clothes (and we typically need five changes of clothes on these trips).
Ogio is essentially the industry standard when it comes moto travel.
Once it’s all in, I use Ogio’s military-grade compression straps to cinch everything tight, ensuring that nothing inside can move around during long international flights. In addition to the high-quality materials used throughout this bag, the Sled on the Rig 9800 is what really sets this bag apart from the other bags on the market. The Sled is an ultra-hard composite material that almost always ensures that the bag is sitting upright. The super strong carry handles on top of the bag also help ensure the bag stays upright because they provide a natural pick-up location that almost forces baggage handlers to use them. The heavy-duty, oversized wheels and telescoping handle make rolling the bag around airports and hotels a breeze, so it’s big but not cumbersome. It feels reasonably light for such a large bag.
You can certainly find cheaper gear bags, but you won’t find one that’s as sturdy and strong as the Ogio Rig 9800. I love mine, and based on almost every moto-journalist friend I have using the same bag, it’s hard to argue with what works.
