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Reason for editing: Last Edit: March 28, 2009, 08:38:36 AM by pcarrell

Welcome to the forum!

Fisrt, lets start off with you probably don't want to drill holes in your fender.....for more reasons then you know.  That fender.....it's plastic.  It won't take much weight AT ALL before it starts cracking.  That would be bad!  Also, mounting to the fender means your stuff is going to be bounced around a lot because the fender moves with the wheel, unlike most bikes where it's attached to the frame.  That is the one downfall of the CycleArts Engineering setup if you ask me (more on that later).

There's two main solutions that I've seen.  There's ghost brackets and maw Kawi brackets, and both have advantages and disadvantages.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I can tell, if you run ghost brackets you'll still have to run the Kawasaki brackets to make it all work.  So why would anyone do that?  Because you can quickly unlock your bags from the bike and take them with you.  Thats handy for checking into a motel room on a trip.  You can read more about them here: http://www.ghostbrackets.com/component/option,com_frontpage/Itemid,1/

The factory Kawasaki brackets are what I run.  The down side is that once you bolt them on, the bags stay with the bike.  The up side is, the bags stay with the bike!  You get a little bling too, since they're chrome.  They're also extremely robust.  You're not going to overload these puppies!  You'll rip out your leather bags before these brackets even break a sweat.  I'd say that you could easily use these same brackets to mount hard bags if thats in your future.  They will slightly distort the shape of the skirt around the seat of the Corbin covered solo seat I've noticed (see pic below).  They come in two parts.  The first part ( http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/detail.cfm?Category_ID=115&manufacturer_ID=161&product_ID=2777&sblid_name=Kawasaki_Fire_and_Steel__Saddlebag_Mount_Struts___Vulcan______Drifter_for_Kawasaki_Vulcan_1500_Drifter&sli=KawasakiVulcan%201500%20Drifter&model_id=22 ) attaches to the back of your seat mount bracket, and the second part ( http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/detail.cfm?Category_ID=115&manufacturer_ID=161&product_ID=2779&sblid_name=Kawasaki_Fire_and_Steel__Saddlebag_Supports___Vulcan_____Drifter_and______Drifter_for_Kawasaki_Vulcan_800_Drifter&sli=KawasakiVulcan%201500%20Drifter&model_id=22 ) attaches to the first part.  Once mounted, they're for the most part outta sight, outta mind.  If you do get a glimpse, they're chrome, so it's all good.  To give you an idea, here's a couple pics of my own setup (with different bags) from different angles: http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Drifter/IMG_0559small.jpg  http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Drifter/IMG_0508.jpg  http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Drifter/IMG_0507.jpg

There are some other alternatives of course.  You could fab your own bracket.  I imagine it would end up looking a lot like the factory setup.  You could modify a set of easy brackets, but that would be a good amount of work.  Or, you could do a modification on the CycleArts Engineering (they may be willing to help you....Flat Top & Hoss are real nice guys: http://www.freewebs.com/cycleart/vulcandrifterpartspricing.htm ) 800 setup (see: http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/caesaddlebagkit.html ).

Thats about all I know of.....hope it helps!

(Disclaimer: Many of these parts you can find at other sources for maybe better prices.  I simply picked these sources because I knew where they were located on those sites.  I have no affiliation with any of these merchents.)

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Posted by Lou257

- March 27, 2009, 21:32:05 PM

Hello everyone,
I's asking for some help since I'm a newbee. I have a 2003 1500 drifter with a solo seat. I am looking for all the required material to install saddle bags on my bike. I do not want to drill any holes in the fender. Would some one please recommed all the mounting hardware and a set of bags that will fit and what company would be good to order all this from.

Thanks,
Lou
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