Topic: New (to me) saddlebags!

[Gordon]

Just got them Monday night, and stayed up way too late mounting them.  I felt like a kid on Christmas morning, and couldn't go to bed until they were on the bike.

It's going to take a little while to get used to the new look, but I think I really like them.  I've wanted some cargo space on this bike for a long time, but never came across anything that looked right, was all-weather, didn't interfere with the stock pipes, and is relatively secure, until I found these. 

What do you think?











Looking at that last pic I can see they still need a little tweaking to get them parallel to the lines of the bike.

[andy750]

Very solid Gordon. Are they Bates bags? You are right about needing tweaking - the last pic shows they are slightly off alignement - more horizontal. Not that it matters but usually the rear indicators fit on the outside of the bags at the back - this is why your bags are hanging out that little bit extra. Ive seen them more pressed against the bike when the rear indicators are placed at the rear.

Saying that they look ok. Very practical and def good for carrying stuff. On my K4 I recently fitted a rear chrome rack and can now carry small coolers, bags, laptops etc etc...dosent look as good as naked but its practical and thats what my K4 is for (unlike the cafe bike  ).

How do they feel when riding? Any wind drag? Or on corners?

cheers
Andy

[Gordon]

Yep, they're Bates.

The turn signals are actually mounted on the saddlebag frame, but in that picture it kind of looks like they're still in the stock location.  It's not the signals keeping the bags from being mounted closer to the bike, though.  There's enough space to pull them in a couple of inches on each side, but then I wouldn't be able to open the seat.

The ride to and from work this morning was the first time I've ridden with them, so I don't know about the drag issues yet.

[medic09]

I'm envious!

I've got a beat-up pair similar to those, and they worked well for my 130 mile round trip daily commute.  I've been thinking about refurbishing and reinstalling them.

[UnCrash]

I have the same bags on my tourer, though yours look much better in black with nice chrome trim. 

Here's how they're mounted.  Sorry I don't have a rear view. 



The rear turn signals are integrated into the bag, and they're pretty tight to the frame.

My seat doesn't open all the way, but it does open enough to pull the battery.  I just have to put something in there to keep it propped up.  I would sacrifice some seat opening to pull them in a little more, but that's just me.

They do look purdy!

I carry a brief case with laptop and papers on many days between home and work.  It fits perfectly in the bags.  I can even do a small grocery run!

Looks great mate.  I hope you enjoy them.

[Gordon]

The only real down-side to having them is I've just lost my main excuse to my wife for getting out of picking up groceries when I get off work.  I brought home a gallon of milk this morning and she got this look in her eye...  

[upperlake04]

 I see Uncrash's pic but not Gordons'   
    And my post count says leet    WTF

[Gordon]

I see Uncrash's pic but not Gordons' 

May be a browser issue.  Here's the direct links:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/gordopolis/2008-06-10_00001.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/gordopolis/2008-06-10_00002.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y70/gordopolis/2008-06-11_00003.jpg

[Gordon]

    And my post count says leet    WTF

That's odd...  and kind of cool!

[upperlake04]

 Yes, odd.  Thanks for the links, I tried them and get the timed out screen. Will try again later.

[Gordon]

Ah, you were at post 1,337.  I'm guessing that was a little homage to "leetspeak" added by the forum programmers.

[dustyc]

Looking good.  I'm getting a set that are very similar from Mr. Blasty(sorry Medic).  I got a set of Shoei hard bags a few months ago and didn't think the lines on my 77 were right with them, so they're now on my neighbor's '76 and he says he's spoiled with having storage.  They look alot more "right" on the earlier style to me.  I've got some bicycle panniers that are nylon that I've been using and can't wait for a little extra room and lockability.  The trade off is that I can take the nylon bags off in about a minute -probably a bit tougher with the hard bags.

Do you guys with these mind posting some close up pics of how you have them mounted?

[medic09]

Looking good.  I'm getting a set that are very similar from Mr. Blasty(sorry Medic).

My father would say "use them in good health!" 

[Gordon]

Do you guys with these mind posting some close up pics of how you have them mounted?

This is about the best picture I could get in that confined space. 

There are only two mounting points.  The front mount attaches to the top shock bolt, and the rear attaches to the original turn signal location.  There are two bars on the rear mount that form a triangle with the saddlebag frame.  There's a lot of adjustment room available with this system to get the ideal fit, but when everything's tightened down securely it's surprisingly sturdy.  I measured with an old bathroom scale that I keep in the garage, and I have to put 80 pounds of downward force on one just to get it to flex about two inches.  That's far more weight than I can ever see putting in these. 

[dustyc]

Thanks for the pic.  I'll save it for when the bags get here. 

And thanks Medic.  I'll continue to keep an eye out for a set for you. 

[Gordon]

I was very excited to come across these.  I see nice saddlebags all the time on ebay or Craigslist, but hardly ever any that come with the correct mounting gear for an sohc 750, and even fewer in such good condition.  These even came with the stock style turn signals (possibly removed from a previous 750 they were mounted on), so I can keep the original signals assembled and ready to install if I want to pull the bags off for any reason.

With just the two mounting points for each bag, I can easily remove them and put the stock signals back on in about five minutes.   

[medic09]

Thanks for the pic.  I'll save it for when the bags get here. 

And thanks Medic.  I'll continue to keep an eye out for a set for you. 

Thanks!  I may just rehabilitate the ones I have in the garage.  For now I do the grocery shopping with the Triumph Sprint.  If there's a lot of groceries, then the wife comes and we use two bikes. 

[Gordon]

Thanks!  I may just rehabilitate the ones I have in the garage.

What kind of condition are they in?

[78 k550]

look's good.

Paul

[Gordon]

Another thing I was a little concerned about was horizontal clearance and squeezing around cars to make a right turn at a red light (one of the most enviable traits of a motorcycle in traffic in cities where lane-splitting isn't legal ), but my bar-end mirrors actually stick out a couple of inches farther than the bags, so no problem there!

[medic09]

Thanks!  I may just rehabilitate the ones I have in the garage.

What kind of condition are they in?

They're really not so bad.  Just kind of ugly looking.  They need some previous mounting holes filled, and some paint.  The brackets are make-shift, but they work.  I would want to improve those.  A friend had them on the bike when I got it two years ago.  I used them for about a year.  Very handy.

[upperlake04]

  The style suits the bike.  Nice    I'm wondering with all the available adjustment you didn't just put them on straight the first time?     Anyway, I fixed them for you. 

[TwoTired]

Hey Gordon,
Can you still open the seat fully, to get at the tool kit, etc?

[tramp]

looks much better

[clarkjh]

Nice looking bags.  I love mine but have them off for major repair.  Trying to repair some earlier fixes as well as modifying the lights.  I try to post some pics of the cracks .  Also plan on making a mold and building a new set of fiberglass bags this winter.

James