Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories Looking for Saddle Bag Suggestions (not Viking)

So I finally broke down and decided to buy some saddle bags ... I prefer the clean look, but I need the convenience.

I ordered a set from Viking, and they have let me down constantly for a month. The bags were out of stock, so I signed up for an in stock notificaiton. I got an email a few days later that they were in stock, and ordered the same night (April 28). Well, the bags did not ship, and I have not been given an excuse, just constant claims of "stock issues". I've been told 4 times the bags would ship "within two days", and 4 times I have been lied to.

Needless to say, I'm demanding a refund and will never order from Viking Bags. While polite, their customer service us beyond awful ... I'd rather spend a day on the phone with Comcast ... but I digress.

So now I need some suggestions. The catch? I'm very picky. No studs, no tassles, no buckles, no fancy ...I generally find bags to be an eyesore, so something clean and simple is a good fit.

These are the bags I ordered. I love the way they look except for the name plate on the side. I also liked that they are rigid but leather wrapped (not shiny).

Any suggestions?

Interesting, that is the exact same bag and exact same situation I am in with Viking, false shipping promises etc. I really wanted that bag and I've been much more patient with this order than I would normally be. Ordered from Viking on 4/29/14 when they happily took my money. I've spoken with them on several occasions. I called again Monday and gave them "my" timeline. Ship by Monday the 9th or I'll request a full refund from Paypal.
Interestingly on Tuesday the 3rd I received tracking info from UPS that the package has shipped and is scheduled to deliver on the 9th. We shall see!

If you go to there website there has been a price increase on those bags. I ask if that was the issue, oh no sir.
I've talked with others who ordered from then, no problems and love the bag and the pricing. I have to assume we just hit them when their container from China was still at sea

You may want to consider Leatherlykes. They have two types, Traditional (bling) and Contemporary (clean) and different sizes. For a SPM, you'd be looking at the Cruiser model.

I have the Cross County bags on my Rocket that are 6 years old and have served me well.

http://leatherlyke.com/

Well ain't that some sh*t there, Mike? Sorry to hear you're dealing with the same lack of service from them. Glad to hear yours are on the way, but I'm beside myself that they're shiping out of order.

I just sent another strongly worded email to them. If I don't have my money by Monday I'm submitting a claim.

Thanks for the suggestion tdragger. I checked out their product line and unfortunately didn't see any that spoke to me :-\ I appreciate the suggestion though!

Can't you get them from a shop that stocks them?

The Willie and max saddlebags fast eddy sells are really nice. I have mine mounted on easy brackets for quick on/off.

Quick update since I know everyone's on the edge of their seat ...

Mike, after hearing your bags were shipped on an order placed *after* mine ... I sent a rather long scathing email to Viking Thursday ... and another one after not hearing from them Friday.

I told them their options were ship the bags overnight Monday and refund my shipping plus 10% for my troubles ... or refund everything and cancel the order. If neither happened by EOD today I would be submitting a claim to PayPal.

Well I got a refund of $80 or so and a tracking number today. Looks like they took option A. We'll see if it was actually shipped overnight.

I tell ya ... after this charade I better LOVE these bags. I'll never buy from Viking again, that's for sure. I'm still a little sore about having their name plate on the bag. Maybe we can find someone to make some Triumph badges instead?

Did you get yours yet Mike?

Supposed to deliver tomorrow according to tracking, as I stated earlier I ordered on 4/29, when did you order?
These are planned for the Bird. Oh yeah I'll be looking to replace that name plate no matter the shipping delay!
I have LeatherLykes on the America, great bags,average aesthetics but I bought em for a song back in the day.

Hello boys. Now when you get them baigs in, and you get bold enough to take a peek at how them name plates is mounted (bet its a rivet or tab), get a pic of it, cause I has a idea. I has made some really cool polished aluminum standoff style plates with thinner black anodized aluminum badge plates. Has some on Lola . Will post pics some day, maybe when I gets loose from this orthopedic boot and walker.

I ordered April 28, just a few hours after getting an "In Stock" notification email I had signed up for. It's worth noting, their site doesn't let you submit an order for back ordered items. So they'll only take your money when the item is "In Stock".

So ordered April 28 ... In Stock ... Ships June 10. 43 days for an item ordered the day it was in stock.

So that looks like a negative on shipping overnight. Scheduled delivery Friday. Amazon has spoiled me ... I forget we still drive things all the way from California.

Well I still consider free shipping (they charged $45! for ground!) and 10% on top of that to be a victory of sorts. I figured they would just refund my cash at this point and send the bags to the next guy. I half suspect they opted to take the hit and send the bags because they knew it would pain me to advertise for them ;-)

There heeereee !

Sorry to hear of this problem, guys. BUT, I gotta say those ARE just about the best lookin', and yeah, VERY "cleanly" designed saddlebags I've ever seen.

(...and so maybe this delay was worth all the hassle you guys went through)

The quality is top notch. You will not be disappointed. Probably the best bargain on a set of hard bags I've found.

Removal of the Viking logo is simply two tiny screws, that logo is the cheapest thing on the bag. A thin piece of plastic that looks like it can from the dollar store discount bin
I'll be ordering a set of easy brackets as I want to be able to easily remove them. The mounting hardware that came with the bags is "ok" I'm sure with a bit of ingenuity and a spacer or three you could make these work.
Just holding them up to the bike they look real sharp.
For the money I'm very pleased.

It's good to hear of the high quality. I've heard good things about this brand and they looked solid in the photos.

I ordered the quick disconnect kit, maybe that will make installation easier?

Keep us updated with how the install goes!

I'll likely do mine this weekend (assuming they arrive in time Friday).

Yes, some pics with them mounted please. They look good enough to replace my current leather bags.

The bags finally arrived Friday. Wow am I glad this ordeal is over.

Mike was spot on ... the quality is very high. Nice looking and nicely built. A leather-wrapped hard bag is the best of both worlds IMO. The name plate is the cheapest part of the bag, and almost does it an injustice. I'll have to find something to replace it with.

I installed them along with the quick disconnect brackets today. I took some photos and such, so I'll post those and some install notes in a bit.