[alanmcorcoran]

The seat provides some holding power, but it mainly covers up the laced connectors. The bags basically hold eachother on by being connected to eachother and gravity. (If it was me, though, I'd just put the seat back on.) Look for shallow bags - and I'd recommend the non-leather variey, and you may find some that will mount directly to the saddle supports rather than to a connecting piece. (I have leather bags and effing with the buckles, the useless shape and the non-waterproofness of them makes them not such a great idea.)

Look for other posts about installing the saddle bag mounts. It's doable, even if you are mechanically challenged (like me) but it's kind of a pain in the ass. You'll need small hands and something to keep the nuts from spinning inside the fender. Suspending the rear wheel (via a shop or homemade jack) can give you a little more clearance - and I think someone mentioned screwing with the shock absorber offset can also help.

Above all, measure carefully the drop between the trim on the rear fender and the exhaust pipe. Subtract two inches and that's your max bag height, unless you want to weld/tack aluminum or something else to the bottoms.