Custom Saddle Bag Support Brackets

[Tonckawa]

I basically made a couple of support brackets just like a lot of people I have seen do it. I first went to Home Depot and bought a couple of 1/2" steel tubes ($6 and change each) and a propane blow torch ($12.95). I took some very stiff wire and shaped it to the area where the bags were going to be hanging.



I then marked a tube where I would be bending it. I marked it with a sharpie and then used a whole punch to put small holes to mark cause the heat would melt away the sharpie marking. I first heated the end to bang flat for the hole to drill to mount to the bike. Then I heated each area where to bend and bent it to the shape of my wire template.






Of course I took the tubeing over to the bike and measured up there are well. Once I had it all in the right shape I wanted and two flattened ends, I heated up each area again RED HOT and then dropped it in a big bucket of water for fast cooling which hardens the steel. I buffed out entire tube with a wire brush on my drill press. Grinded the flat ends and any rough areas. Drilled holes on flat ends where necessary. Primed with blackish grey primer then 2 coats of glossy black.



Now the hard part. I also bought 3" long, 5/16" machine bolts with washer and nuts. I took one bolt out at a time from the bike and replaced it with the 3" bolt. I used a gripper tool to get behind the fender and work it through the hole.



Of course the bolts were too long so I tightened them all down, cut off about 1/4", filed it smooth and then put the cap nut from the original bolt on the end so the saddle bags would not get scratched.



My wife even helped out by measuring the bags so they fit right and stayed off the exhaust pipe.



and after it was all said and done, bags are mounted and works and looks great.