beetlebags or factory saddlebags

I have the Triumph panniers with Easy Brackets, which make the naked look easy to achieve. I agree that you can reinforce them with a little aluminum. There's a thick piece of plastic on the inside face of the bag which makes it rigid. However, the rivets don't attach along the bottom so the bottom of the bag warps away from the rigid plastic plate. Three rivets fixed that.

Since I don't tour, I don't load them up much so they haven't warped. No question, the Corbin bags look great and if I wanted a bagger for touring, I'd have them and a matching top trunk.
 
Chromehead,
LOL... Yes, I want her to have something better, but Corbin doesn't make bags to fit the Honda NightHawk, which would probably be a huge money maker because there are literally millions of them out on the road. I live about an hour from the Leatherlyke place, so I'm hoping they will be able to set her up. PLUS.. My Corbins were "only" $900 as I bought them about a year ago before Corbin raised their prices even more.

Yes, I do have the license plate relocation bracket... and yes the rear turn signals are rubbing on my bags. I found a small set of rear turn signals that mount to the license plate bolts that I hope to have on there real soon.
 
The winner is ... factory leather saddlebags. I guess I'm just not a Beetle Bags guy — that and the $1800 pricetag and five-week turnaround have scared me off. Thanks for all of the help.

The dealer tells me that I'm looking at 2.5 hours to install them and a summer screen. That sounds high. I thought I might try the factory saddlebag mounts at the start, and then switch to Easy Brackets down the road if I find that I want to be able to take them on and off. I'd do it from the start, but I'm a bit uneasy about drilling holes in my new $800 bags.

Any advice — are the saddlebag brackets something that a hack could self-install? And am I wrong to be intimidated by the Easy Brackets. The labor cost alone would pay for them...

Thanks.
 
I think you made a good choice. It almost killed me waiting for my corbin bags I am happy with them. I was happy to see that you didnt go with they leatherlykes. I had them on my Vulcan and they worked great but feel like R3 deserves an upgrade.
 
chromehead said:
Any advice — are the saddlebag brackets something that a hack could self-install?
Click to expand...

If I could take them off, you can put them on.

And am I wrong to be intimidated by the Easy Brackets. The labor cost alone would pay for them...
Click to expand...

See above. It's EZ. Mount the EZ Brackets to the fender and put them on. Hold the bags up to the EZ brackets (after removing the stock brackets). When you have them in the right place (like where they were with the stock brackets - not touching the mufflers, not too far forward) mark the backs of the bags. Remove EZ's. Line up the bags with your marks. Drill holes. Attach EZ's to bags with bolts.
 
Last edited:
Doug, you've been my sunsei through all of this. Much appreciated.

I looked at the factory bracket at a dealer and the bags are very well supported from the side and from the bottom. I'm a bit concerned about the tradeoff of the Easy Brackets, lacking support underneath the bags. Seems like I'm just asking for trouble, i.e,: sagging, misshapen bags. I know you haven't experienced this. Anyone else?
 
Great thread

I have also struggled with this. I hate my factory leathers. They don't hold their shape. Already had one replaced. Not quick to remove. Corbin's are nice but you loose the Old School look of this hot bike. I am going to take mine off and go with RatBoy's approach.
 

Raymond:

Just go down to yoyr local sheet metal shop and get some .015-.020 aluminum sheet and cut inserts to fit inside and under the lid. Then get yourself some stainless steel studs and fasten the sheet aluminum inside the bags. Tha will cure the sag. I too like the old school look of the OEM leather bags. You can cut the aluminum sheet quite handily with a hand nibbler or a plasma cutter.
 
Corbins

I know you have already made up your mind and this is probably for nothing but you shouldn't have had to pay $1,800 for the Corbin's. The dealer should have been able to give you a 10% discount without pressing too hard. And if you went with the solid color Corbin's they should have started at $1,499 (-roughly $150=$1,349 plus tax). And the turnaround time on mine (in March) was less than two weeks.
Dennis
 
Appreciate the push Dennis. But I think the factory bags are the right move for me. I'm really attached to the look of the bagless Rocket, and it seems that a set of Easy Brackets may give me the best of both worlds. Once I buy the Easy Brackets, the pricetag isn't that far from the Corbins. But I'm enticed by the potential to have it both ways. Hopefully I won't regret it.
 
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