I used to be a big fan of tank bags for my motorcycle travels, that is until I bought a KTM 890 Adventure. A tank bag just didn’t look right on it, and I got used to having the additional room to move around.
Enter, the Mosko Moto Gnat. A handlebar bag that stows away all those small items you’d otherwise have in your pockets. Lip balm, ear plugs, sunglasses, mobile phone etc.. There’s a place it in the Gnat. Or so I thought. Here’s my 17,000 mile review.
Mosko Moto Gnat at a glance
Price: £57 / €70 / $69
Time tested: 8 months
Miles tested: 17,500 (28,00km)
Testing conditions: Europe/South America on and off road
Mosko moto Gnat handle bar bag rating
Functionality: 3/5
Durability: 5/5
Value for money: 3/5
Where to buy: moskomoto.com
The good
- Stylish design
- Good organisation
- Cable hole for charging
The bad
- Expensive
- Not waterproof
- Capacity smaller than it looks
- Some rough edges
- Tricky mounting (on some bikes)
I tested the Gnat on my 2019 SWM Superdual T. It was the bike I’d specced for trading around South America. Wearing a Knox Urbane Pro jacket, accessible pocket space was limited, so the Gnat was bought to fill in this gap.
The route took me some 17,000 miles from Bogota, Colombia, to Ushuaia, Argentina, up to Iguazu, then down to Uruguay via Brazil. I traversed some of South America’s most inhospitable terrain, and fierce weather.
In short, it was a thorough test. ***spoiler alert*** The Gnat held up very well.
Design and build
If there’s one area where Mosko Moto products excel it’s in design. The Gnat was no exception here, and its one feature made it stand out above the likes of the Giant Loop’s ZigZag handlebar bag. The Onyx colour way is particularly appealing.
True to the Mosko Moto build ethos, the Gnat is robust. I experienced harsh wind, rain, sand, cold, and multiple get-offs, but the Gnat was unfazed. The only real indication of what it had been through was fading due to the extreme UV it was exposed to in South America.
This robustness though, adds weight, and although the bag isn’t heavy at 230g or 0.5lbs it is bulky for its capacity.
I also found that there were a few rough edges. Mostly where the velcro had been sewn on. I ended up scratching up my hands a few times, but Mosko aren’t the first to suffer that problem.
The last thought on the design and build, is that it isn’t waterproof. Not only that, there isn’t a single water proof pocket at all. For the most part, the Gnat does a good job in the rain, but in heavy rain, or all day rain, the moisture eventually seeps through. Just something to bear in mind before you go sticking your precious documents in there.
Features
The bag has compression straps on each side, so if you aren’t filling it, you can cinch them down and make the bag a tad smaller. This kind of thoughtfulness is common in Mosko Moto products.
I’ll call it over engineering though, since the bag is so small anyway, the compression straps barely save you anything at all, while adding to the cost, and weight of the bag.
Other features include a soft fleece lined zippered pocket for sunglasses, a USB cable entry point for charging.
Mounting the bag
Viole straps are all the rage these days and Mosko Moto has jumped on that bandwagon by including two with the Gnat. These thread through the mille-like webbing on the back of the bag, and then around the handlebars.
I like these straps for a number things, especially on bicycles, but I actually found reusable zip ties better for mounting the Gnat. They are smaller and don’t leave bits sticking out that need tucking away.
The bonus is I get two two small viole straps to use on my bicycle.
The bag generally mounted up well on my Superdual with its low fuel tank and fat-bar style handlebars, but I did still have to tilt the bag up when refuelling.
On the Kawasaki Versys with a cross bar arrangement on the handlebars, mounting wasn’t so straightforward as the crossbar limited the angle of the bag. Just something to bear in mind if your bike has that style of handlebar.
Organisation
How much organisation do you need when it comes to a 1 litre bag? Tons, according to Mosko Moto. The level of organisation will make even the most OCD Motorcyclist happy.
On opening the bag, there are elasticated hoops under the hood to store pens or other cylindrical items. The main pocket has multiple smaller mesh pockets, which I used to store lens wipes, ear plugs, and some tiny Allen keys for bleeding the air from my forks.
In the main pocket itself, I often had a 10,000 power bank, and also used it to store small miscellaneous items.
Then there’s the fleece lined pocket, which I believe is meant for sunglasses. Mine didn’t fit, but my girlfriend (who bought the same bag) managed to get hers in there. I wanted to use this pocket for phone, an iPhone 12 mini, but didn’t fit well.
Accessibility
The main reason to use a handlebar bag to have easy access to all the small items you need on a frequent basis. Whether you think the Gnat does this well or not will depend on how much you fill it.
I found that the front fleece-lined pocket easily accessible on the bike with or without gloves on. The main pocket, when full wasn’t easily accessible when sitting on the bike even without gloves on, and required two halves to probably close the zip even when not full.
With use a one item in each pocket though, accessibility improves and both were usable with gloves on, but the main zipper being so long still wasn’t easy to do up on handed even when lubricated.
Capacity
This is where the Gnat falls down for me. In theory 1l sounds like enough for handlebar bag and I’ve coped with less in the past, but due to the multiple compartments, and extra features, using that litre of space well is difficult.
If you have a large phone (and they are all large), you are going to struggle getting it in and out. My sunglasses didn’t fit in the front compartment. My iPhone 12 mini did, just about.
I think this is one where it depends on how you are going to use it. If you use it on a dirt bike going for blast in the woods, just to carry some keys and change. It’s going to be great. If you’re continent crossing, and not wearing an adventure suit with their multitude of pockets, you’re going to find it wanting.
Final thoughts on the Mosko Moto Gnat
All-in-all the Gnat is a great accessory. It’s well designed, stylish, and has a number of features not found elsewhere. It’s not perfect. Its impressive organisation comes at the cost of easy storage and space, and its fancy features and robustness add a little extra weight.
None of those are deal breakers. What might be for some are the price. At around 70 bucks in your chosen currency, it is more expensive and offers less capacity than Giant Loop’s Zigzag. It’s more stylish than the zigzag for sure, but is it better? I’m not sure.
I’m still using my Gnat as I travel around Europe, but it’s debatable whether I’d buy it again knowing what I do now.
That being said, if Mosko Moto came up with a Gnat 2.0 which perhaps added some waterproofness, or improved the main pocket, I’d certainly be interested.