Saddlebag Mounts

[MapMan]

Great job. Maybe you and your family should go into business together.

[racemom91]

Found them on ebay - china made I'm sure - but they are holding up well.  We initially welded a small, 1.5" ledge on brackets to support the bottom of the bag and on the inside we sandwiched the bag between a thin sheet of aluminum and the exterior bracket for added rigidity - I rode 280 miles saturday and another 100 on Sunday - no problems whatsoever!

[seanb]

Great looking Bike!! Love the bags. What kind are they?

[racemom91]

Well, of course we had more trouble...two of the original paint colors on the bike had been discontinued, took the painter (http://www.v-edge.com) a while to mix matching substitutes, but once he was able to dial it in, got the bags painted in no time.  My aunt happened to be coming through his area and picked up for me on Monday.  She made it to northern Indiana yesterday.  I met her, got the bags, drove back to the shop where my husband (Tom) and son (Tucker) stayed late helping me get them mounted and the lights wired up.  I think they turned out awesome!  The pictures could be better, it was dark by the time we got done - but you all get the idea.  The bags are wired to be turn signals and running lights - they get get brighter as turn signals also - pretty simple three wire.  Tucker left the existing plug-ins for the standard turn signals (in case I ever need to take bags off) and then spliced in up under the seat and ran to the bags.  Any questions out there feel free to call:  260-868-0123 - talk to Tom or Cheryl - we'd be glad to help.

Super huge thanks to George (painter), Tom (husband), Tucker (son) for all your help!

And, for the person who asked about bag size:  these are 22" x 14" x 8" - barely fit and you have to be really careful if you are leaving the existing turn signal - 1" clearance (approximately) above exhaust.  We did put a steel plate underneath the bag, so far nothing has gotten hot enough to not be able to touch it.

Oh yeah - and Scootworks: you still suck!

[TripWire]

Have the bags mounted but I wish I could mount them a bit lower.  Currently I am 2 1/2 inches above the exhaust and everything is keeping cool but is there a way to go closer?  Is there a heat shield material I could apply to to the top of the exhaust or bottom on the bag that would let it set on the exhaust?  Any ideas out there?

[Ironraven]

Well done!  Looks really good and solid without ruining the overall look.

[TripWire]

HiPlainsDrifter - Thanks for the eBay tip, picked up a set of Alamo Chubbies for $51.

[Moonblaze]

I have a question :

What is the measure for the biggest possible saddlebags which would return between the back lights and the solo seat ?
I have drifter 800cc year 1999

20" length ?
11" height ?

Thank you for your help, i dont want to buy saddlebga too big but i need big loll

[racemom91]

AT LAST!  Bags and mounts are holding up really well with no movement towards fender!  Of course I have to thank Tom (husband) for all the welding!  And finding the laser shop! And, well, once I got everything "mocked up" and ready to go, well he kind of wanted to take over my project....I think I scared him with the thought of me using his tools.....lol!  Anyway, after some tense moments, my bags are in fact mounted just the way I want them - - now paint and powder - then wire the lights (remove the factory ones) and I'll be a happy camper!  More pics when it's all the way done!

And SCOOTWORKS:  YOU SUCK!!!  I did in two weeks what you failed to do in 4 months!!!  And I didn't lie to anyone, even once, in the process!!!!!!

[racemom91]

Ok, first I mocked up a paper drawing, double checked my spacing to make sure everything was to line up right.  Then made a cardboard pattern and bolted to bike - squared and trued, made sure everything was level, which means I have to weld in a "stand off" between the plate and the lower bolt I am using.  Local laser cutting shop cut my brackets this week.  I had to "tweak" just a bit to make sure everything fit and lined up right (and I still need to have the shop make the changes in the computer so if I ever need to cut them again they will be perfect) - welded stand-offs on to space out from the fender - again checked level and square, added a small ledge to the bottom of the plate to give the bag some support, as well as a plate inside the bag so the bag is "sandwiched" between the bracket and an interior plate.  Brackets are steel and with all the hardware weigh in at about 12 pounds.  Bags are bolted on and I'm riding it home tonight.  If all goes well with the test ride, I will be sending the brackets to be powder coated and the bags to be painted before end of business tomorrow.  WISH ME LUCK!

I'm gonna try to attach my project pictures below......

[HiPlainsDrifter]

Found them on ebay. 50 bucks + 15 bucks shipping! I looked them up and cost at dealership is close to 500$. Shows that you can find deals on there if you are careful and look long enough.

[jamman]

OK verified the brackets are $99 plus shipping ..

Where did you locate the Kawi bags ?

[jamman]

Looks nice ! How much were the brackets and the bags ?

[HiPlainsDrifter]

I bought a set of the Ospry mounts this spring and mounted leather kaw bags. Alamo chubby I think. They work well. With my spring seat set up I put washers under brackets to space out far enough to clear fender rails. With the stock seat they just bolt on to the outside of seat bracket. The hardest part was getting them, UPS lost the first set and vendor spaced out the replacements for a couple weeks, so it took a month to receive!

[Scot66]

What about the mounting brackets that Osprey Limited sells on their website? Has anyone purchased these?

http://www.saddlebags.net/store/p/1-Traveleer-Saddlebags.html

[chief]

Drawings of your mounts would help too. We will post on the mods/tips section of the web site to benefit others!

Good luck.

[racemom91]

Oh, where to start?  I bought my bike a bit over a year ago and my only complaint is storage!  I put off getting bags because I have an awesome paint job that I really don't want to cover up, but finally decided I would get hard bags and have them painted like the bike.  Painter is ready and waiting, bags have been in my garage for months.....bag mounting hardware been on order from SCOOTWORKS since February!  They always seem to have an excuse why they aren't done.......cancelled order today!

I will be making my own mounts.  I have already designed an initial prototype out of plastic and will be making a "mock-up" version this week - - then the husband will need to find me someone with a waterjet table - I'm thinking I want this to be all one piece, not the bolt together crap scootworks sells.  I'll also be putting a small ledge - about 2" off the bottom to help support the bag from the bottom, especially since I'll only have about 7/8" clearance between the pipes and the bottom of bags.  And I was thinking 1/4" aluminum would be much lighter than steel......

ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!  I'll post pics when I get the whole project done!

Thanks for any help you can give me!