Good points Bill and Jon. I have thought about that, too. I think the total weight comes into play. There is a big difference between my 10-20 pounds of shoes, clothes, spares, tools, etc., and 60-100 pounds of touring gear. The bike probably doesn't even notice the former, at least a heavier bike like mine, but the latter could certain set up some extreme stresses. The same goes for the balance question. Within reason, the little automatic compensation the body does is not even noticed, but compensating for a big imbalance would probably become fatiguing over a long ride.

Regards,
Raymond