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Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Pensacola, FL
Posts: 55
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Custom Saddle Bag Support Brackets
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. ![]()
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