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Bonneville SE saddle bags

24K views 38 replies 31 participants last post by  Michael Bryce W 
#1 · (Edited)
Heresy, I know! 'Bags on a Bonnie? That's the equivalent of placing mailbags on Secretariat, connecting a trailer to a TVR, asking Aston to carry his Martin(i)!

I collect my late model, low mileage Bonnie SE this weekend yet the compromise with the Queen (not that Queen, my Queen!) was that we might be able to transport in a reasonable manner rain attire, namely her Barbour Peplum, a bit of dainties I've not inquired as to the content, and perhaps a bit of Scotland, particularly the 12-year-old single.

I say all of that to say I need bags on the Bonnie. What sort of bags hast thou encumbered thine Bonnie with? In short, what fits? What's your set up? What works, and how cheap was it? Do I need those U-shaped bars to prevent the launching of me single malt into next week's chat?

All help appreciated. From both the 'umble pilot and the Queen. :)

Cheers

Rich
 
#2 ·
Rich, I went through the same search. In the end decided soft panniers suited the Bonneville best. Tried the Triumph pannier stays and Oxford pannier bags. I hated the result ... couldn't find a way of keeping the bags firmly mounted. Cheap and cheerful didn't work, so went expensive : a pair of Krauser panniers. These are excellent quality and a firm fit.

 
#3 ·
It's not sacrilege at all. I commute with my Thruxton and I often need to ride with bags (laptop, work clothes, rain gear). I have a set of Pony Express bags, but more often than not I toss my Cortech saddlebags on the bike only b/c they're bigger.

I might sell my Pony Express bags though. Hmmmm. They 'look' the part, but I don't use them.
 
#5 ·
I mounted a set of Tourmaster medium size "slant bags" on my T100. I'm using the MC Resources rack and bag rail setup, with my bags mounted under the saddle and strapped to the rails. I realize now that I could have used the regular "straight" bags, but at the time I was worried about clearing the shocks..........that turned out to be a non-issue as the racks hold the bags out from them. I think that the "straight" bags would have looked a little bit better, but some of my friends think that the "slants" were the way to go. The setup has worked just fine, the bags don't "flop" and are fairly rigid with the "stiffener" they are provided with.

Just the "wayward" opinion of the "village idiot": Jim
 
#6 ·
Lovely set of saddlebags, Roadtrip. Very nice looking ride as well. We were considering a day trip up from a London visit one year until the weather presenter said, "Blizzard conditions, winds up to 60 mph...." Me hats off in salute to ye. We don't get that type of weather much here in the Deep South of the States.

I appreciate the solutions you've presented. I'll be looking at each and every one. A quick glance, I do like the lot and see why each was chosen.

Are there problems you have encountered with yer bags? Saddle, I should say, as in saddle bags. (No offense meant to the lasses here) Catching a bit of the tire, rubbing, etc?

I'll be installing, more than likely, the tall factory back rest for the missus. She's under the impression I install more throttle than I do concern for her sliding off. With that in mind, what bags do you lads/lasses recommend?

Cheers

Richard
 
#11 ·
I have the short Triumph backrest on my T100, for pretty much the same reason. Frankly, I have it there more for my own confidence level, as she is a pretty inexperienced pillion rider. IMHO, the short one looks better on the bike, but I would prefer not having anything there. In any case, thats one reason I purchased the bonnie as my "other" bike, as it has a much better pillion seat than my NineT.
 
#8 ·
Rich, if I were looking for luggage AND pillion backrest like you just said, I would go for a topbox which will double as your backrest. There's a topbox rack by Fehling which offers Givi monokey fastening points, then you have the whole monokey range to choose from, and you can get a topbox backrest for most of the boxes. You can also fit a generic rack and mount a monokey universal plate to it which gets you to the same place.

re. the Krauser bags, they are very secure and there is no rubbing - quality bags! I think it's the same make as Hepko & Becker also featured in this thread.
 
#10 ·
River Road Momentum saddlebags in the braided style. Just the right size and look for a Bonneville if you have to have storage space (but there isn't a lot of storage space in them). Works with a Givi rear luggage rack.
 
#13 ·
Hello all

I am from India and we don't have a lot of options of saddle bags. I have got soft bags made by a company called Rynox. They are suitable for my requirements and are relatively inexpensive - roughly $70.

They aren't water proof but have covers which are in essence very big shower caps and hold my full face helmet comfortably along with other luggage.

Hepko and Bekker have recently been made available in India by someone I know but they are very expensive - roughly 8-10% of the bike's cost.

What Triumph owners across the world may not be familiar is an item called the saree guard. It basically prevents the pillion's loose fitting clothing from getting entangled in the chain / moving bits on the rear of the motorcycle. It kinda doubles up as a saddlebag support and I have fabricated a mirror image to fit on both sides to support the bags.

cheers

ps - sorry for putting 4 pics in one post. hope thats allowed :)
 

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#14 ·
We use this set of Gears saddle bags.
They're not overly expensive, and have held up well for me since 2009. I was also concerned about room for my wife because we bought the Bonnie to ride two-up on. You can see our set-up in the pics below. Since we'll travel up to about 700 miles a day my wife likes to lean back, so that's why we have the ugly sissy bar. It looks terrible, but it keeps her happy and riding with me. I also use these MC resources stays to keep the bags out of the rear wheel.
We were on the road for 7 days that trip, we stayed in a different hotel every night. I think we did a pretty good job of getting everything packed :smile2:
To be honest, no matter what size bags you get, you will fill them to capacity and beyond.

Here is our entire set up from a trip we took two years ago though the Dragon. You can see her foot and leg placement and the distance to the pipe when fully loaded.


They're still pretty tidy and out of the wind.


You can see the bags from the back in this shot.


Like I said, I've been happy with this set up since 2009. We've put quite a few miles and have been though every type of weather except ice. The bags do come with a rain cover, but I never rely on those things. We pack everything in those roll-up Space Saver bags. They serve two purposes, they keep everything dry and they compress clothing to save space.

Hopefully that helps some.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I thought the same for a while, until I got British Army canvas panniers on my BMW R100S, and jeez, wondered how I did without them...

So one day I tried the panniers on the W... Doesn't look bad at all, especially installed over the seat as saddlebags... :wink2:
 

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#16 ·
Good posts.

I have bags on year-round and am on my third set of throwovers (Tourmaster, then Kuryakyn, then Givi) in 56k. all eventually frayed over time, at the zippers or other stress points.

The Kuryakyn bags, by far, held up the best, the Givi bags were the worst by far. HTH.
 
#18 ·
#19 ·
First of all, the malt. A 12 year old is good, but not good enough, you really need to stretch to a 15 year old, such as a Glengoyne. Going beyond that is not sensible. The curves of price and pleasure meet around 15 years. As to bags. Iron and Resin, if you are a sort of Enfield, BSA M20 man. Iron and Resin pannier bags. The dogs bollocks. The wife, the mistress, whoever, will have to make do with one change of smalls. But the real deal factor outweighs that minor problem.
 
#25 ·
I've got the same kind and was thinking of dyeing them black, but then again, I'm fearful that they'd look worse since and I'm at the age where appearance isn't a big deal anymore, convenience is.

One of the reasons I like the Bonnie is it's simple look. Yet, a windshield and bags, while destroying the bike looks, enhances the comfort and convenience of the ride.

The bags don't carry all that much stuff, but unless I'm going on a long trip, I really don't need all that much room.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I too have a set of Krauser C Bow Soft Street Bags. Indeed expensive. Worth it? No question.
What led me to purchasing the Krauser's was my first set of luggage; Givi SV200 Silverbag soft saddlebags which I got for under $200 CAD. Bought them before heading out on a 3 day trip. Apart from the price and storage capacity, the convenience ended there. Had to constantly fiddle with electric tape and Velcro straps to secure the bags to the frame so they wouldn't scratch the frame (which they did because they flopped around no matter how tight I secured them). There was no way of preventing the bags of making contact with the shocks, which in turn scratched them, frayed the bags and never gave me peace of mind. Would of had to purchase a set of luggage racks. No way to lock the zippers, and having to take off the seat and undo everything (sometimes in the dark) and redo the next morning. Not to mention, checking all the straps at every stop. Needless to say, they didn't cut it, so once again, the web hunt was on. As the saying goes, "Buy once, buy right." really applies here. Trying to save money with the Givi's just made me regret it and costing me more in the end anyways.

The Krauser's racks takes 10 min. to install/remove. You can chose black or chrome racks and they're hardly an eye sore when the bags are removed (especially in black as they blend with the seat). The bags have a backing that slides on and off the racks and lock in place with a key. Fast and secure with no fiddling. A handle on top of the bags retracts when not used. You can use locks on the zippers. I tested pillion compatibility with my wife and it's all good. Nothing moves or makes contact with the bike. Aftermarket shocks with reservoirs, no prob. They come with a shoulder strap to attach both bags and a pair of waterproof inner liners. As far as looks go, they compliment the bike as much as luggage can. They do look and feel high end. You can get them with the Hepco & Becker logo if you prefer, it's the same kit. This is a kit that has been a joy to use for daily, weekend or even an afternoon ride, but where these would truly shine is on a long roadtrip, just for the no hassle routine of taking them with you to your room or tent. The only grippe I can muster about the Krauser's is wanting a little more storage capacity. Then again, they make me pack smarter.
Hope this helps anyone that's on the fence about this great product.
Safe travels.
 
#27 ·
I've posted these before but I'll do it again here. I wanted the simple look of the factory softbag rails but more lateral support so I welded tabs onto the bottom of the factory accessory rack and made some custom rails that look somewhat like the factory ones except they have a laterial support piece. I then put some dollar store cutting boards into some military surplus canvas bags which i waxed and mounted them to the racks. The wax is mostly estectic and to keep the canvas from getting saturated.. my stuff goes into dry bag liners.


racks come off in a 5 min...

Psy

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