Saddlebags or luggage rack

[Rocketman]

Not a bad idea. My 8 year old has very little meat on his derriere, so I'm more concerned about his comfort over a 10 hour ride from NY to WVA (if it were just me, I'd love those Cortechs-they look fantastic!). Since none of these luggage packages are available in retail stores by me, it's hard to tell how they'd fit without actually ordering them and trying them on. And I don't know if I can send them back if they don't work well.
I'm not even sure my son would be able to reach around the saddle bags at all to reach the foot pegs. I guess I have about a year to figure this out. Have to shop for chaps, rain gear and the like as well. Good thing I have time. Hope to see you all next Summer. I'm sure we'll chat plenty before that. Larry.

[cberkeley]

Check out these guys

http://motodirectusa.com/

Their prices are good. I'm about to try them for a jacket. If I like their product, they'll get a whole lot of business from me.

[Jethro]

Not a bad idea. My 8 year old has very little meat on his derriere, so I'm more concerned about his comfort over a 10 hour ride from NY to WVA (if it were just me, I'd love those Cortechs-they look fantastic!). Since none of these luggage packages are available in retail stores by me, it's hard to tell how they'd fit without actually ordering them and trying them on. And I don't know if I can send them back if they don't work well.
I'm not even sure my son would be able to reach around the saddle bags at all to reach the foot pegs. I guess I have about a year to figure this out. Have to shop for chaps, rain gear and the like as well. Good thing I have time. Hope to see you all next Summer. I'm sure we'll chat plenty before that. Larry.

The Cortech bags do come with awesome, soft, gel pads to go over the straps, I still don't know if I would want to sit on it, but a child that doesn't weigh much may not be bothered at all. If I have the time, I'll take some more photos of the strap setup. I am 100% sure they will fit your bike without any problem.

And for referrence, I think that www.newenough.com has a very good return policy. Check them out, they may not have a problem with taking them back, you'll just have to pay shipping.

[Planecrazy]

Back to the original question (are EXL bags quality?), the short answer is "yes!" I have a tri-bag magnetic EXL that I bought from Moto-DirectUSA (through Ebay), and the bag quality seems to be quite good, magnets work great, and the people are courteous and easy to deal with. They seem very willing to back their products should a problem arise. Now that they have their own website I will always check them first before going elsewhere for products they sell...

Regards,

[Nerobro]

I LOVE my EXL tankbag. I will be getting saddlebags from them.

[shamer]

I went the cheap route earlier this summer & spent less than $100 on saddlebags & sissy bar luggage off of eBay. I spent about $100 on the luggage rack/sissy bar combo that was s'posed to be for my bike but I think it was for a different year as I had to build little brackets to extend a few inches on the rear mount. Let me just say, you get what you pay for when it comes to quality & eBay luggage BUT they worked adequately for me - just be sure you willing to apply liberal amounts of mink oil!

Here's some pics from my trip back in July:




Here are the bags & rack up close:

[wharrah]

great minds must think alike...

wow... your bike is set up a lot like mine...! Nice taste!

and, when it comes to the question of 'saddlebags or luggage rack', I say... why not do both??

[shamer]

Thanks, Wayne! Yours looks darn sharp as well. Are those badges vintage? (I just scored a set of late '60s badges that I'm adding to my tank this winter during it's repainting).

Anyway, IMHO you almost need both rack & saddlebags if you're doing any seriously long trips.

For this trip I had clothing for 2 weeks, rain gear, tools, sleeping bag, sleeping roll, a tent (the one in the background of that second shot), and even a stash of food & a quart of oil! But a sizable chunk of real estate was dedicated to my camera gear (digital SLR, tripod, 3 lenses, etc.) as well. It made for quite change in the feel of the bike at first, but I got used to it pretty quick & after a few hundred miles I forgot how it felt before it was loaded. I have to say that despite the fact that I went cheap, everything held up pretty well over the nearly 2000 miles I rode - especially considering I got caught in some of the worst rain I'd seen in quite a while.

The page linked below shows the sissybar bag that you see in the first pic of my post above. I picked it up for $35 off of ebay (brand new!). It's the one on top left with the detachable duffel. I wasn't terribly impressed with either the way it looked or the quality of the stitching - but at $35 it was no brainer for a penny pincher like me:

http://www.jpcycles.com/catalog/2006...alog/0456.html



Later!

Shawn

[ShirleySerious]

I ordered a saddlebag from motodirectusa and it should arrive tomorrow. Anyone had any good experiences with that company? The bags seemed like a real bargain, but lets hope it fits my bike alright.

[Planecrazy]

I ordered a saddlebag from motodirectusa and it should arrive tomorrow. Anyone had any good experiences with that company? The bags seemed like a real bargain, but lets hope it fits my bike alright.

Several of us have had VERY positive experiences with MotodirectUSA, and most importantly the people there seem to REALLY be concerned with customer satisfaction and service. I think you'll be pleased. I bought a magnetic EXL tri-bag from them, and I've been very happy with it to date.

By the way, I'm serious, and don't call me Shirley!;-)

Regards,

[ShirleySerious]

Several of us have had VERY positive experiences with MotodirectUSA, and most importantly the people there seem to REALLY be concerned with customer satisfaction and service. I think you'll be pleased. I bought a magnetic EXL tri-bag from them, and I've been very happy with it to date.

By the way, I'm serious, and don't call me Shirley!;-)

Regards,

Whoa there really are a lot of members in the area!:shock:

Yep, that's where my handle comes from. Some people think my name is Shirley, but I don't know any guys named Shirley!

No gripes about Motodirectusa yet, but they charge a lot for shipping for something that ships in one day.

[Nerobro]

In that PM I mentioend we have a few members around here. 1980GS1000E, FirstTimer, Skreemer, Rab1dw0lf, Blender, JoeNardy, Planecrazy, Plasterdog, and I are all within 40miles of chicago.

[Pharkmeh]

wow... your bike is set up a lot like mine...! Nice taste!

and, when it comes to the question of 'saddlebags or luggage rack', I say... why not do both??

Geebuz... thats a really nice lookin bike m8...

I love the 1000S ... but I know the missus would prefer the ride on that....

ohhh my... I feel a 2nd bike comin.....:shock:

thx fur da pics guyz


Phark

[Planecrazy]

Whoa there really are a lot of members in the area!:shock:

Yep, that's where my handle comes from. Some people think my name is Shirley, but I don't know any guys named Shirley!

No gripes about Motodirectusa yet, but they charge a lot for shipping for something that ships in one day.

I don't recall what I paid for shipping, but MotodirectUSA didn't have their own website at the time (they sold everything through Ebay) and I think the shipping charge was "in line" with what I would have expected. I DO remember being impressed that they shipped so quickly - that was a definite plus!

By the way, I thought you were a girl and never questioned the screen name until I saw your avatar ... then it became obvious (to me, anyway)! If you haven't already checked out the "Galena" thread you ought to check it out and maybe join us for what will be a very nice weekend of riding and hanging out! Greg probably mentioned it in his PM.

Regards,

[MissFabulous]

Check out these guys

http://motodirectusa.com/

Their prices are good. I'm about to try them for a jacket. If I like their product, they'll get a whole lot of business from me.

Let us know how it goes with them. They have a ton of dirt cheap gear! Hope you post something to the Buyer's Links section - thanks!