Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories That saddlebag topic again

Oh well my leather saddlebags on the Speedmaster were not such a good buy and they are starting to fall apart. So who has any suggestion what would be a good buy for the Speedy. It needs to be able to hold a fair amount of kit.

Saddlemen Jumbo Slant Drifters?

I don't have any pics here at BA.com but the website is www.saddlemen.com

Kevin, do the Triumph brackets work well with the Saddlemen, or did you use different ones?

Bob, I use the EasyBrackets, and really recommend them. Functional and when removed they leave the bike clean-looking.

How about some locking ones? Hardbags or I think now Leatherlyke now has bags for the America/Speedmaster. I probably would not reccomend the Willie and Max bags I have. Workmanship is not all that great.

Roadwasher,
I tried the Triumph soft bags. they were OK at best.
Not waterproof, and you cant lock them. I have the Triumph rack with back rest. My plan for this spring is to remove the back rest, and mount a Givi top case. Not sure what size yet. Givi cases are water proof, and lockable. My buddy has a BMW r800st with Givi bags & top case. they are at least 15 years old , and still look great. I know that a top case is a big change from bags. I just like the fact that the case locks. they also make a plate for quick removal, a back-rest, and brake-lite kit. Having owned a few BMW's with hard bags I really cant get used to soft bags.

I'm running a set-up a lot like what you show on BA
I think the pack is from road-gear.
Only problem is when the wife rides along.
She carries more crap than I do
With a tail trunk on the luggage rack we both will have plenty of room.
Mark

Brent sells some suh-WEET looking hard bags



I'd buy a set if I didn't think it would land me in divorce court


I can picture these bags with a set of pipes
that come out a few inches beyond the ends of the bags,
with turn ups and white walls.
Hoo hoo hoo!

http://www.newspeedmaster.com/html/hard_bags.html

I'm afraid to click the link to see what the price is.

OK I clicked. thats about half what I thought they would run. Will they fit the Speedy?

Those sure are some nice looking hard bags. Hopefully someone will have a set bolted on come this Georgia Rally.

Here's my bike back when it was wearing Saddlemen Drifter slant jumbo bags.


I like the bags just fine, quality and size were great but having the yoke over the rear fender just plain sucked and the idea of paying for Easybrackets then trying to make them work with my bags didn't appeal. Then I solved the problem by dumping the bike.

Here's the bike now with the K-Drive bags supplied by the insurance company.

These bags are just as big as the jumbo slants, but come supplied with their own custom brackets and an easy, reliable clip system on the back of each bag which allows the bag to be lifted off in a few seconds, and also to be locked onto the bike so noone else can take your bags home. If studs aint your thing you can get them without too. These bags are "artificial leather" so you won't have to oil them every couple of days etc. They're sold by Brent at www.newspeedmaster.com

If you want a lockable quick release system I reckon you're much better off getting brackets and bags that are MEANT to work together, rather than getting separate brackets and cobbling them onto the bags, then hoping the bags are strong enough to hold their own weight on the mounting points you've cut into them.

Well guys thanks for all the impute and I have ordered this set as they are available right here in South Africa and the price was very good compared to what I have seen 2,500 South African Rand = 336.577 US Dollar

Dang Matt,

Here I am being vane about Vera's bat'trees white writing showing. Looks like the inspection/tax sticker on your ride really stands out . What was it? A median where you wiped the saddlemans off, slow speed too as I recollect? Good review on the KDrives as you have had them now for some time.

What Matt is saying in a round about way is that the saddlemans have to be reinforced as do most saddlebags when you mount them to the EZ brackets. We didn't discovery the saddlebag backing plate issues until one day long ago. Not the tale of the Demonic hedge but instead a tale of 12 packs and a motorsickle bat'tree.

Easybackets & Hepco Becker Bags

pics

more pics

still more pics

Auburn bags are the best I have found so far. The leather is the best quality I have seen they are stitched heavily and if taken care of hold up very well. The pricing is middle of the road. about $300. I lucked into mine on Ebay for $30 used but look new. Stay away from those "good deal" bags on Ebay for $35 to $99 they are thick leather but don't hold up. The leather is not strong and the dye rubbed off when I saddlesoaped them prior to waterproofing. Always use Snow Seal to waterproof it doesn't clog the poors in the leather. It is beeswax based. Heat the leather and rub in. Many other products fill the poors in the leather and cause them to rot.

I have always done that right away. I go to my local glass shop and get some black plexiglass and make a backer for them. about eighth inch thick is fine best to put a couple rivets at the corners so the bag stays tight to the backing.

plastic from liquid laundry det. jugs or plastic gas can or pool clorine etc.. makes an excellent reenforcement to put on the inside of the leather bags to help them keep thier shape if the bags has no such support already.

Hi mac,

I'm also doing some research on leather bags and like the look of yours and particularly how wide but not too deep they are. Can you give some more info like, how old are yours, I expect they would keep there shape with the easy brackets wouldn't they, are they real leather and easy to look after etc?? If you can give me any other info I'd appreciate that as well. Basically your experience with them would be much appreciated. thanks mate

Got mine here. Lots of good choices, both in leather and artificial leather. All are American made.

http://leatherneckjim.safeshopper.com/index.htm?586

those K-drive bags are attractive options. I note they are available from other online vendors ...for those who want to get the best deal out there.

I'll get back to you Sunday night, tomarrow. My America is parked at the office, not the bike I'm riding today.

Sorry it took so long getting back to you. These are expensive bags, I think I've got $800 US in them, that includes the Easy Brackets. They are made in Germany and very superior quality. I bought them in the summer of 2003, as you can see they have held up very well. They are made of farely stiff saddle leather and have kept their shape well. The leather is water proof, I just wipe them down with a damp cloth to clean.

They are 32 inches wide, mounted accross the bike. Each bag is 20 inches long, 10 inches wide, and about 12 inches deep. They are 30 or 31 liter bags. They are lined with thin foam and the mounting or back side are a thick plastic of some kind, no reinforcing required to mount Easy Brackets. I am going to try a link to a slide show, wish me luck.
Hepco Becker slide show

gidday mac. thanks for the info buddy. I found their website and really liked what I saw and guess what, they have a distributor in Aus. I emailed them for info and they are going to send a full information pack by pdf. Thanks for warning me about the costs too. You know, it's always the same way, I see something I like and then bamm check out the prices. Anyway, like I have said before, I prefer to go for quality even if it takes longer to save for it. I also really like the top bag. You'll notice that the German site calls them hand bags. Sorry, I hereby declare that anyone who refers to that bag, will call it a top bag or such and the word "hand" is forbidden forthwith . So if I get this info pack I'll let you know how much. I'll also put money on it that the TOP bag will be about $400AU or so. Very nasty prices but very nice bags.

here's where i got my bags: http://www.ccsaddlebags.com/

Glad to be of help, if you decide to go with the H-B bags you won't be sorry. Good luck.

Matt showed pics of the K-Drive bags on his bike. They look very good, although I'm more the plain than studded type. Has anyone else tried these? The mounting and lock system seems to be very well thought out.

I'm not ready to give up my small Triumph bags yet, but a locking bag that could easily be removed seems pretty cool. My next ones will definitely not have a yoke.

I got my black studded K-drive bags yesterday and put them on this morning. I will take some pics later after I get the bike cleaned up and looking her best.

I got a smoking deal on em (at least I think so) $379.00 and free shipping.

I wish I had not bought those cheapo Triumph slant panniers with the bike when she was new. They just dont wear well at all.

These bags are the cats meow. The Black studded variety especially enhances the already natural attractiveness of the inherently beeeyootifus Black Speedmaster. The lock on and off click feature is nice. Plenty of space in there...lots more than those puny little Triumph slants.

There will be no more trying to cram stuff into those little things and then stressing the already weak straps.

Stopping at the supermarket for some groceries after work will now not be limited as it was before by lack of capacity.

Looks like I will need to relocate the passenger pegs forward as these bags are bigger. But thats not a big deal. No more throw overs. I got a K-drive catalog and they mention optional clamps to put on the brackets to keep the bags from sliding forward. I will have to send them an email on those....not a big issue but I can see that the bags can slide on the bracket forward due to inertia and a couple of clamps added would prevent that. The bags are attractive not leather but nonetheless very clean and good looking and water proof easy to clean. They should hold their shape well...the back side of the bags is firmly rigid and the rest of the bag needs no reinforcement.

I highly recommend these as an non hard bag option.

I will post some pictures from different angles later on.

Lots of good suggestions. I like Saddlemen's # 5390 Jumbo Slant CRUIS'N Saddlebags: 17.5" x 10.5" x 6" (2200 cu. in. capacity per set). River Road makes a decent fake leather set of bags in several nice styles. Givi makes some great
luggage too. Givi makes great everything.
I want some at least 8" wide, so I can reinforce the back side with aluminun sheet and mount EasyBrackets on the inside. (yes, it can be done.)
Also check with Brent. He's got some great "high end" side bags and cases.

I got a pair of Dri rider expandable bags then modified them so they were throw overs. I like to pick them up and go. They are strapped in behind the bracket. A bit twitchy but it stops them going walking. If you can't fit a helmet in them they are too small. Has anyone seen a tank bag for the BA?
Cheers