Saddle Bags

[roscosmom]

I'm looking into buying saddlebags for my GZ. What would you guys recommend...throw over or brackets? I plan to only drive in town and back roads (sight seeing). NO Interstate and NOT over 55mph. The throw over bags state they can be tied down to the bike. But I have no idea which is better? Help!

[jonathan180iq]

Throw over bags use the brackets to support them. The brackets would be what you tie the bags to.

The only other option would be hard cases, which, like the ammo cans that you can read about here, require a different mounting style.

[roscosmom]

i was looking on ebay and the item said throw over bags...tie right to your bike??? doesnt show brackets in the picutre? thats why i was confused? thanks

[jonathan180iq]

I think the seller is assuming that you already have saddlebag brackets.

[roscosmom]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 0071002129
if you copy and paste you can see the add...it says no need for brackets with these throw over saddle bags. thats why i was asking if throw over were ok...

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by roscosmom

if you copy and paste you can see the add...it says no need for brackets with these throw over saddle bags. thats why i was asking if throw over were ok...

Even though the bags are "throw over", most people, who want to leave them attached all the time, take OFF the rear seat, shorten the yoke and throw them over the fender but UNDER the (reattached) rear seat.

Unless you get solid "bags" what are bolted to the frame, I would NOT use any kind of bag without the support brackets. I have seen what happens when something gets tangled in the spokes. It is NOT pretty.

[Orpheus]

I'm no expert, but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night...

That having been said, I'd recommend that you get some kind of saddlebag brackets whether the advertisement says you need them or not; the seller doesn't have to worry about what happens when one of the "no bracket needed" bags actually does get stuck in your rear tire and you go sliding down the road. As I'm sure other members here have said in other threads, you don't need to buy the expensive brackets that Suzuki sells (although I got them as a present so I didn't have to pay for them). I'd imagine that you could rig up any of a number of VERY inexpensive brackets using only hardware from your local ACE/Home Depot/Lowe's/whatever. I"ll search the intergoogle for a while and see if I can find any ideas that you might be able to use. Those do look like some nice bags, but I think 14" might be a little too tall (if the description above the picture is correct); the Suzuki ones are 12" and I burned my right one a little bit on the muffler a few weeks ago. I'd say that you'll want to look for some that are only around 10" high (which is what the caption underneath the picture says) if these are actually the 14" high, but it's probably just a typo. Otherwise, these seem like they'd be a perfect fit on a GZ.

[roscosmom]

Ok, Thanks Guys!

[Graydog]

One more thing Rsmom,
The length of those bags may give you a problem. 14". I have 12" slant bags just like the ones you are considering and they barely fit. I swear another inch and it wouldn't work. I already had some 15" long bags and they were impossible to put on the bike. These bags are made in 9.5" length and 10' length. I would suggest them even over my 12" bags.

[finallyinthesaddle]

Originally Posted by Graydog

One more thing Rsmom,
The length of those bags may give you a problem. 14". I have 12" slant bags just like the ones you are considering and they barely fit. I swear another inch and it wouldn't work. I already had some 15" long bags and they were impossible to put on the bike. These bags are made in 9.5" length and 10' length. I would suggest them even over my 12" bags.

Ditto on that. My bags are also around 12" and I couldn't get them to clear the muffler without having them way too high for the leather connector to hold them there. Luckily, I was planning on rigid-mounting them anyway, so I could pretty much put them wherever I wanted. I would have liked to have had them a little lower than they are, though. You can see a pic in the Member's Rides, or whatever its called, under "New Accessories.