Triumphrat

dazco · 06-02-2007

I was worried if i got bags it would be a pain to find a way to mount them securely. But it turned out to be a breeze to fab some brackets. The bags were cheap but are great. Worlds better than those Jafrums i returned. These willie and max bags are the smallest ones and don't hold much, but they're big enough for me and look better to my eye than huge bags. The faux leather is nice looking and the bags look better than i thought they would.

The brackets i made are nothing more than two pieces of aluminum screwed together to form an "L". The back where the hole to screw them to the fender brace is rubber backed to prevent any marring of the chrome. Instead of going to the trouble of tying the bags down i decided to try a simple solution which worked out great. Velcro. You can see the velcro on the bracket and on the back of the bag in the pics. I found 4'x2" of velcro at OSH hardware with industrial strength adhesive backing for $9. This was my only expense, as i already had the aluminum and rubber etc. Oh, well, that and $2 for longer screws because the stock ones in the fender brace weren't long enough. Now i just throw the bags on and the 9"x2" strips of velcro secures them very tightly. The bags have zippers by the way and zip on and off of the mounting straps. They have handles so you unzip them and you have 2 pieces of luggage to take to your hotel room.

I thought about using a second aluminum piece from another fender brace bolt to form a "U" instead of the "L" bracket for strength and to give a second mounting point to prevent back and fourth movement at the screw. tho the rubber mount should prevent that. But i wanted a simple as possible mounting system so at hotels i could unscrew them fast and easy to remove the whole setup so i can ride w/o it if i decide to spend the day in a particular city. I still may if these don't prove strong enough, but i think they will.

Sorry bout the blur....

tba-golfer · 06-02-2007

Nice system!

You've earned yourself a Corona or two...

:upthumb:

dazco · 06-02-2007

These days all i can afford is coors lite. But i sure will drink a coors lite or 2 tonite. Not because of the bags tho......because these days i prefer being closer to the comatose side where the world is a bit more tolerable. :wink:

Can't wait to take a few days off on the latter side of a weekend and pack them bags and head out somewhere nice. Maybe a northern cal fishin' trip.

But back to the subject of mounts........after making these i'm kinda puzzled at how expensive simple bag bracing can be when they're so simple and cheap to make ! i could have made more full on brackets like the "U" type and it would have been about the same amount of work and $. And even if i had to have bought the materials i had it would have still been in the under $20 range.

specialrider · 06-03-2007

Cool fix. Well done. They look very nicely proportioned on your machine.
Cheers
sr

speedblastr · 06-03-2007

There you are ! I would agree nice looking job. Good idea ,the rubber backing on the L bracket attached to the rear mudguard fixings. (No scratch.)-Contact cement? Looks easy to make. Bags drape over Fender under seat? Bags-I haven't looked them up but how much $$. On a light note: hope I haven't slighted you in any way, on any of my posts or put you on the pan .(If I did I apologize)It's been an incredibly stressful year . Trying to monitor my Negativity on the forum......By the way what are you guys catching out there Bass...Black Crappie....When I went to phoenix to visit in-laws 2 yrs ago we went up in the Mtns.(Theodore Roosevelt Lake) and those Crappie (not sure I'm spelling this right) Were every bit as big as my hand or larger we were catching left and right. Dan (In-law) seemed to think we weren't doing that well,all I can say is a bad day fishing out there is a great day hear! We filled 1/4 of a 50 gal hefty bag or better. There were some Monsters, good eating. :-D By the way those bags compliment your bike nicely,the braids and the front & back angles. :upthumb:

[ This message was edited by: speedblastr on 2007-06-03 09:49 ]

Normandy · 06-03-2007

When the bags are loaded and you hit bumps on the road the bracket will bend. You will need thicker aluminum or, even better, steel.

dazco · 06-03-2007

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Contact cement?

Yep

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how much $$.

$88 OTD

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I haven't slighted you in any way

Huh? No, not at all !

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By the way what are you guys catching out there Bass...Black Crappie....

largemouth. Sometimes if the trout are biting we'll throw spinners and thats pretty fun. But i don't like fish, especially trout. So if i fish them it has to be with a friend who eats trout because you can't catch and release like bass cuz they die too easy. Bass on plastics is pretty fun tho, and i C&R most of the time.

Quote:

When the bags are loaded and you hit bumps on the road the bracket will bend. You will need thicker aluminum or, even better, steel.

I agree, but i have some very thick aluminum pieces at work i'll probably use to replace the main supports. I didn't use them in the 1st place because i noticed them after i'd already made the first one. They are about a 1/2" thick, so i'll probably use them. I won't need the bags till the summer, so i'm in no hurry. I should probably make a "U" shaped setup too to be safe i suppose. But yea, you're right.

speedblastr · 06-03-2007

Great. Trying to work on my profile and signature it's under contruction.Largemouth and trout are a heck of a lot of fun to reel in.,What test line are you guys using?About all I care of the fish ,Walleye,perch,Blue Gill, Crappie and the rest can get thrown back in,too gamey for me.........BAGS $88.00 and some sturdier fixtures as I gather in the making.....That'll work....... Have a good one. :hammer:

[ This message was edited by: speedblastr on 2007-06-03 15:17 ]

mag10 · 06-05-2007

nice looking bags.

and I believe that we can now see Daz's previously secret liscence plate numbers in that picture.