6 Must-Have Honda Motorcycle Accessories

Honda has been the best-selling motorcycle manufacturer in the world for over half a century. While smaller companies might choose to specialize in a certain kind of bike, Honda's catalog is as diverse as it is massive. It makes everything from heavy cruisers and touring bikes to kids' dirt bikes and mini motorcycles like the Grom. Honda has a reputation for balancing performance, reliability, longevity, and value–which is no doubt a major part of the reason that it's been so successful over the decades. It's also managed to maintain a position at the forefront of motorcycle technology and engineering, offering unique features that can't be found on bikes from any other brand.

That said, not every Honda motorcycle comes stock with everything that a rider might want. There are still plenty of accessories out there that can help Honda riders customize their bikes to their own specific needs and riding styles. Some of these accessories are first-party add-ons that are designed and sold by Honda itself, while others may only be available from third-party manufacturers, stepping in to fill a need that riders might not be able to get elsewhere. There are hundreds if not thousands of these accessories floating around out there, but there are a handful of must-haves that will improve the experience of just about any Honda motorcyclist.

There are several different kinds of cargo bags out there. Saddlebags, tank bags, and tail bags are all options that are readily available for most kinds of motorcycles, provided they have the prerequisite space and can handle the extra weight. Some tank bags attach to your bike using magnets, but most kinds of cargo bags use a system of straps that can be fastened to your bike using buckles, Velcro, or snaps. There are also hardshell cases that are usually attached directly to the frame of some bikes. All of these systems have the added benefit of helping you to evenly distribute the weight of your cargo so that it doesn't affect the way you ride your bike.

Any of these will add a significant amount of storage to your bike, which makes getting items home from those little trips to the store a whole lot easier. Honda sells a handful of tank and tail bags, but there is a much larger range of options available from third-party retailers. The Nelson Rigg Commuter Sport Tail Bag has a 4.8 on Amazon and should make for an easy addition to most bikes, though the company makes other sizes as well. It extends upward for when you need extra storage, is waterproof, offers UV protection, and molded EVA panels that help the bag keep its shape," "Overall, the Commuter Tail Bag is a great piece of luggage that's well made, versatile, stylish, and reasonably priced," said Rider Magazine in their review. "It's also backed by a lifetime warranty."

Some people only like to ride in the summer and spring months when the sun is shining, and they can feel the warm breeze whistling past. Others use their bikes as their daily ride and prefer to get around on two wheels, no matter the weather. Bikes don't offer the same environmental protections as a car, but good cold-weather gear and accessories goes a long way.

Heated grips are an excellent addition to any motorcycle. The necessity of keeping your hands outstretched on your handlebars means that they don't benefit from the protection of your windscreen the way your head and body do. A good set of fleece-lined winter gauntlets will help, but an extra heat source will go a long way toward keeping the feeling in your digits.

Honda itself makes heated grips that are specifically designed for its own motorcycles. There are third-party options as well, such as the Koso AM111030 Apollo Heated Grips. You might be able to find a wider variety of sizes and materials among these if you're going for a certain look or texture. However, this is an instance where it may be better to go with an OEM part that perfectly fits the handlebars and is designed to easily connect to the vehicle's electrical harness.

A motorcycle phone mount is another accessory that you might want to consider adding to your Honda. There are Bluetooth helmets and accessories that allow you to make and answer calls as well as listen to music or GPS instructions, but it's tricky to see what's on the screen when your phone is still in your pocket. There are a few reasons why being able to see your phone is useful, but the most important is that you'll be able to have your GPS map open in front of you. This way, you can see the turns coming before the digital navigator reads them off to you. This takes a lot of the anxiety out of riding to unfamiliar places, and it can help you to ride safer.

There are a variety of different options out there. You can even 3D-print one. That said, phones aren't exactly cheap, so it might be worth investing in a mount that offers a bit of extra security and protection. Ram Mounts is a manufacturer that has a reputation for sturdy construction. It makes several motorcycle mounts with adjustable metal U-bolts or pincer claws that are designed to fit just about any size handlebars. 

The Quick-Grip XL is a particularly popular model with a reputation for security and stability. "On the road, there is so little vibration or movement it feels like the phone screen is built into the bike's dashboard," said Adam Binnie in his five-star review of the mount on MCN, "not least because the mount itself is quite minimalistic in design and all the clamping hardware is hidden behind where you can't see it."

The best way to store your bike in the winter months is to keep it inside a garage, but not everyone has that option. Even if you can park it under an overhang to protect it from the worst of the elements, you'll still want to keep it covered when it's not in use to protect it as much as possible from dust, pollen, bird droppings, and ambient humidity. These offer protection from the sun which can help to prolong the life of your motorcycle's paint, plastics, and upholstery as well. They also have the benefit of hiding the exact make and model of your bike from would-be thieves. You can always bungee a tarp over it, if you're looking to rig together a solution from stuff you already have lying around, but a good weatherproof cover, is more effective, more convenient, and looks a lot nicer.

You don't really need anything fancy when it comes to covers. You just want to make sure that they're the right size for your bike so that they fit fairly well. Those who keep their bike parked on the street might want one with reflectors that help keep them visible to other drivers. It's also not a bad idea to get one with some sort of easy to use fastening system that will ensure the wind doesn't carry it away. 

There are plenty of options on Amazon that with all of these features and more. You can get the Seceles Heavy Duty Motorcycle Cover for around $28-$35.depending on the size you need (S-XXXXL). It's made for all seasons and has reflectors, buckle fasteners, and cutouts for tire locks. It has a 4.4 out of five on Amazon with customers praising its waterproofing capabilities, durability, appearance and value.

One of the sad truths about motorcycles is that they're much easier to steal than cars. They don't have locked doors to keep would-be thieves out of their cabins, and they're light enough that they can be loaded into a truck or van.

Most stock locks on motorcycles only lock the handlebars at an angle. This makes it harder to wheel them away since they can't move in a straight line, but there are other types of independent anti-theft locks that can add layers of security. The best for home use are chain locks like the Kryptonite Keeper 712 that you can use to attach your bike to some kind of fixed anchor. This means that even a bike that can be lifted, can't be carried away. There's no guarantee that you'll have a good anchor when parking your bike out in the world, though, so you might need something different.

Lever locks work by fixing your brake lever to your right handlebar, thus keeping your bike's front brake engaged and taking away any maneuverability on the front end of the bike. Many of them, like this one from BigPantha, are affordable, portable and efficient. Another option is a disc lock. These fix your rear wheel in place. Some, like the Oxford Alpha XA14 Disk Lock, even have an alarm built in that goes off when someone tries to tamper with it. MCN chose this as the best motorcycle security alarm on the market. Of course, none of these are 100% foolproof, but they each serve as valuable deterrents and are at their most effective when used in concert.

A good motorcycle trickle charger is another accessory that every Honda motorcycle owner should get. Motorcycle batteries typically have a lower capacity than car batteries and they can die much more quickly. This is particularly common in the winter months, when the cold weather causes batteries to discharge faster and motorcycles have a tendency to spend a lot more time sitting idle.

There are a number of smart battery chargers out there that can not only recharge a dead battery, but that can detect when it's full and automatically switch to a maintenance mode that trickle charges the battery to keep it full and healthy.

The Noco Genius 1 is an excellent choice for the batteries found in Honda motorcycles. It's a battery charger, battery maintainer, trickle charger, float charger, and battery desulfator. All you have to do is connect red to red and black to black, and the charger takes care of the rest. It has a 4.5 out of five-star rating on Amazon with over 53,000 where customers praised its functionality, ease of use and value.

I've been riding Honda motorcycles for over 15 years and have purchased and used several accessories for them. Honda makes a wide range of different kinds of motorcycles, so there are some model and type-specific accessories that may be popular among certain subsets of the Honda riding community that may not necessarily be viable for all Honda riders. In constructing this list, I researched the most popular add-ons that people purchased for their bikes and then chose the six that I felt would be the most useful for the widest variety of Honda riders, whether they ride a cruiser, a sports bike, an adventure bike, or anything else in the company's vast repertoire.

Once I had a list of all the different kinds of accessories that I wanted to include, I looked up the options that were available from Honda itself, as well as the most popular third party options. I made recommendations based on build quality, utility, and affordability. I only chose highly rated products that received good reviews from independent reviewers, or from consumers on aggregate rating sites like Amazon.