Saddle Bag Saga

[ctdair]

The day the trike was delivered I immediately pointed out that the bags were mounted crooked. I told the dealer that I didn't know of any way that they could straighten without drilling extra holes and that would be unacceptable and I wanted a new body installed. They procrastinated and wouldn't commit to a course of action. Took trike for 1,000 mile service and didn't even look at the bags after picking it up till 2 days later

(had been working 12 hour shifts for the past 2 weeks) low and behold the bags had been straightened. I was horrified when I removed them and saw the extra holes. Dealer was notified and went to general Manager level. It was agreed to remove a body from a new trike on the floor and replace mine. I did not have them reinstall the bags. I now have installed My self using the See Through Braz no drill mount. What a long and painful process to get to this point.

 

[DblTrbl]

I feel you pain!!

I've been through all of that and more. However, the makers of my trike kit, replaced my body and floorboards due to the labor involved in sanding, prepping and repainting...

Hope you are satisfied with the final results.

 

[HDB0B]

Damn they were way off .... maybe they just got the right and left bags swapped? :xzqxz:

 

[rhino 2]

I seem to remember on another Trike Forum a year or two ago...:Shrug: That some dealers were putting them on crooked also... Bad instructions and/or the Template for the drilling was off....:Shrug::Shrug:

 

[ctdair]

Yes I had read that before my saddle bag install and shame on me for assuming dealer wouldn't screw mine up.

 

[desertclassic]

That is a yuk for sure. I have had 2 things to occur at the dealer and they took care of it with no issue. I guess if you buy 5 bikes from and send them 11 more could help. I had the 07 ultra bumped up to a 103 kit, on the test ride the rear cylinder exploded, lots of damage. After the Harley rep got all the info it was determined the piston was defective. Result new 96ci built at the factory with the same serial # stamped on the engine. It was then built back to a 103ci.

When I bought the triglide, I had all the add ons installed at the time of purchase. The fender film was done at a non Harley body shop, upon return, the body shop put the film over all the dirt on the fenders and body. The Harley dealer caught it and the body shop redid the film.

I know a lot of people have issues with the dealers, at this point I have not.

Jim

 

[Mykneesbehurtin]

How in the H%&* did they get them off that far.Before i bought my trike a friend of my wife asked me if i would install a set of those bags on her trike,had never seen them installed but by following the instructions and careful measuring they cam out great.I just cant bring myself to install any item on my trike that requires drilling holes in the body. That's an expensive part to replace in case of a screw up and i am worried about stress cracks.But that's just me.

 

[ctdair]

Bags now installed with a no drill kit from http://seethroughbraz.com

 

[Mykneesbehurtin]

Plus that's a lot of money for such a small gain of questionable storage,they seem to be made fairly cheap IMO.

 

[rhino 2]

How in the H%&* did they get them off that far.Before i bought my trike a friend of my wife asked me if i would install a set of those bags on her trike,had never seen them installed but by following the instructions and careful measuring they cam out great.I just cant bring myself to install any item on my trike that requires drilling holes in the body. That's an expensive part to replace in case of a screw up and i am worried about stress cracks.But that's just me.

If it can be done wrong, Someone' Somewhere at Sometime will get paid do it wrong'' But think it was done right!....:Shrug:

 

[Sunman]

Wow! Hard to believe they were off that far! What a screw up

Sunman!

 

[ctdair]

Plus that's a lot of money for such a small gain of questionable storage,they seem to be made fairly cheap IMO.

I agree expensive for what they are. Many comments on the web on how handy they are for phones , glasses , water bottles , small snacks. Wife and I agree the are convenient.

 

[MikeyTX]

Plus that's a lot of money for such a small gain of questionable storage,they seem to be made fairly cheap IMO.

I am with you on that. They look just so out of place and ruin the lines of the trike.

 

[ctdair]

Long Journey to get to today , Dealer really botched install and then botched the attempt to correct. They installed a new rear body section to satisfy me. Installed SeethruBraz velcro kit , it was ok but most likely due to surface contamination I didn't properly clean I had it peel off a couple times. SeethruBraz sent replacements no charge ,they are definitely a great company to deal with. Reading other posts about people who used the plastic type of velcro like ez pass , i purchased some and it seemed better with not peeling off. However it wasn't holding the bags themselves well , never had a problem riding solo but they seemed to get knocked of when a passenger was riding. It was worse when riding in 90 degree plus weather. I took about 4 hours of marking and double and then triple checking and checking again and checked one more time and finally drilled and mounted the Harley hardware.

Pictures to follow shortly.

 

[ctdair]

Sorry for poor pictures and I don't know how to rotate.

 

[Colleydog]

Somebody is trying to tell you not to put those on there and your not listening...lol, however I am with some of the other posts, think they make the trike look bad, not sure why you would want them, but that is why they make different things, glad it worked out for you.

 

[HDB0B]

Long Journey to get to today , Dealer really botched install and then botched the attempt to correct. They installed a new rear body section to satisfy me. Installed SeethruBraz velcro kit , it was ok but most likely due to surface contamination I didn't properly clean I had it peel off a couple times. SeethruBraz sent replacements no charge ,they are definitely a great company to deal with. Reading other posts about people who used the plastic type of velcro like ez pass , i purchased some and it seemed better with not peeling off. However it wasn't holding the bags themselves well , never had a problem riding solo but they seemed to get knocked of when a passenger was riding. It was worse when riding in 90 degree plus weather. I took about 4 hours of marking and double and then triple checking and checking again and checked one more time and finally drilled and mounted the Harley hardware.

Pictures to follow shortly.

Mine have been rock solid!!! You have to pick the right 3M product! VHB = Very High Bond https://www.itapestore.com/3m-dual-lock-sj3552-by-the-yard.html

Harley needs to supply a MUCH BETTER Template with the bags for drilling. You are not the first Dealer botch job.

 

[TGCarol]

Hi Al. Sorry you had to go through all that. They did a terrible job :xzqxz:

I rotated your pictures for you.

 

[Rev J]

My bags were on the trike when purchased. I think they are way too expensive for a little bit of plastic and fake leather. Mine were installed correctly but I would have preferred the non-drilled install. Having said that they are convenient for small items and wife likes them. Not use about the longevity but time will tell.

 

[Sidecarbill]

So you drilled holes in the body anyway? Wow :Shrug:

 

[Gorilla]

As far as longevity. I've had mine on for 5 years. They look just like when I put them on 50k miles ago.

 

[ctdair]

Mine have been rock solid!!! You have to pick the right 3M product! VHB = Very High Bond https://www.itapestore.com/3m-dual-lock-sj3552-by-the-yard.html

Harley needs to supply a MUCH BETTER Template with the bags for drilling. You are not the first Dealer botch job.

That is the tape I used , no problems with the vhb peeling it was actually the velcro to velcro connection that was not holding well. Knowing that the template was off I made my own reference marks and centered the holes and leveled the center lines. It would also be possible to get the bottoms straight but while marking the top per instructions the bags could rotate and cause the top hole to be off and then the bags would still be crooked. I cut a 3/4 spacer and held between the bags and the fender to keep bags parallel to the fender while marking. I do think the bags are overpriced but what isn't from Harley. They are handy for quick access storage , I would miss them if I had left them off.

 

[TheXCepsion]

Agree

Plus that's a lot of money for such a small gain of questionable storage,they seem to be made fairly cheap IMO.

I wanted a set of those saddlebags for my Trike, until I investigated the pricing. Very little extra storage for what I thought too be a very high price indeed. ( $400 plus ) ??? Decided quickly against ( unless someone has a set they wish too part with? lol

 

[Texan]

...... I now have installed My self using the See Through Braz no drill mount. What a long and painful process to get to this point.....

Dang good choice utilizing SeeThroughBraz products. I've been using their stuff for years now. Al and the gang are great to deal with.

8~\o

 

[Jack Klarich]

I wanted a set of those saddlebags for my Trike, until I investigated the pricing. Very little extra storage for what I thought too be a very high price indeed. ( $400 plus ) ??? Decided quickly against ( unless someone has a set they wish too part with? lol

http://www.boardtrackerharleyonline.com/harley-davidson/trike-saddlebags-84031-11

Check here before you buy

These guys have the best prices I can find with free shipping and no tax

My local dealer says he cannot price match them or his boss would fire him

 

[GARYD]

I've had these bags on my 2012 and both of my 2014's. Life is so much simpler with them. price doesn't mean a thing to me = I bought a Harley didn't I? If price was so important, I'd buy a Yamaha or Kawasaki bagger.



The very first set was installed crooked - per the instructions. Hopefully H-D has corrected the instructions. The dealer fixed the problem by re-drilling the bracket on the back of the bags and not the body. Expensive??? How about the windshield pouch = $130 and can barely put a pack of cigarettes and a pair of reading glasses in it? Now that's expensive.

This is what I carry in mine. Additional water bottle, sunscreen, chapstick, eye drops, 2 disk locks, Novus windshield cleaner and rag, mileage logbook, camera for ABC points, energy bar, extra ear plugs. Lot better then trying to open tour pac while on vacation with a bag strapped to the top luggage rack. That's just me solo. I'm sure if I had a significant other she'd have some stuff in there too. I think the bags are worth their weight in gold.

AGREE, I wouldn't hold my breath on someone sending you their bags. If they have them, I'm sure they love them.

 

[NC Triker]

So they took a body off a trike they had on the floor and put it on your trike. What did they put on the trike that was on the floor???

 

[Rooster57]

Several months ago I chuncked out the 400 bucks plus and bought these bags for my 2016 triglide.......At first, I installed them with Velcro.....but it just looked to flimsy for me......So, I pulled out the paper template that came with bags....... On each side I moved the template towards the center of the trike 1/2" more than the instructions directed because I thought it just looked better!............After a few hrs I began to get over my "gonna drill holes in the body" anxiety...........Then, I drilled the holes....It was easy to do after I drilled the first hole because "There Ain't no goin' back now!" replaced my previous anxiety and I just drilled away!

...I am extremely happy that I have these bags.... and I'm glad they are mounted properly as Harley intended. (and they are easily removable)

....Now when I ride solo I can reach back into one of these bags and pull out a drink at 70 Mph, slurp it down, and put the empty container back in the bag!!!!!!!!!.............It is much better than waiting until the next stop to get a drink!!!!

................would not be without these jewels now.....Hell no!...."Gotta have 'em!"

Cheers!

 

[GARYD]

Several months ago I chuncked out the 400 bucks plus and bought these bags for my 2016 triglide.......At first, I installed them with Velcro.....but it just looked to flimsy for me......So, I pulled out the paper template that came with bags....... On each side I moved the template towards the center of the trike 1/2" more than the instructions directed because I thought it just looked better!............After a few hrs I began to get over my "gonna drill holes in the body" anxiety...........Then, I drilled the holes....It was easy to do after I drilled the first hole because "There Ain't no goin' back now!" replaced my previous anxiety and I just drilled away!

...I am extremely happy that I have these bags.... and I'm glad they are mounted properly as Harley intended. (and they are easily removable)

....Now when I ride solo I can reach back into one of these bags and pull out a drink at 70 Mph, slurp it down, and put the empty container back in the bag!!!!!!!!!.............It is much better than waiting until the next stop to get a drink!!!!

................would not be without these jewels now.....Hell no!...."Gotta have 'em!"

Cheers!

You don't have a handlebar drink holder? I've done the reach for a bottle in the saddlebag routine once or twice. I don't recommend it. I worry about something else I have in there flying out. On trips I do keep an extra insulated bottle with ice and tea in one of the bags. That way I can switch bottles when the one in the handlebar holder is empty. By the time both are empty I'm ready to get gas, at which time I replenish both bottles. So I'm never without a nice cold drink while riding.

I'm glad you enjoy your bags. I think if others had them, they wouldn't complain about the price.

 

[Rooster57]

reply to GaryD

You don't have a handlebar drink holder? I've done the reach for a bottle in the saddlebag routine once or twice. I don't recommend it. I worry about something else I have in there flying out. On trips I do keep an extra insulated bottle with ice and tea in one of the bags. That way I can switch bottles when the one in the handlebar holder is empty. By the time both are empty I'm ready to get gas, at which time I replenish both bottles. So I'm never without a nice cold drink while riding.

I'm glad you enjoy your bags. I think if others had them, they wouldn't complain about the price.

Hey Gary!

Nope.....sure don't have a drink holder on handlebars, just don't care for the looks myself........I have no problem reaching back and grabbing a drink from bag (solo only).....If drink has a twist lid on it, then I already have the lid removed when I put it in the bag so I can just reach back with one hand, flip the lid and snatch the bottle! Eazy-Peezy! (especially when on cruise control....or if in traffic) I finish the drink and put empty container back in the bag using the reverse action.......Now, if I'm riding 2 up, then passenger gets drink and opens container, then hands it to me over my shoulder....I then guzzle what I want and hand the drink back......Nuthin' 2 it!!!!!! ....and as far as the "OUTRAGEOUS price!" (and it is), well....I figure your paying for what these bags do for you (being located for your personal use) while riding; more than what it actually costs them to make it...........I guess.

.....I know some say these bags look ugly, but they are the same people that say trikes look ugly anyway!..So, I see it as "their loss!" ....I find them essential and i like the looks too!!!!!

....During the summer especially, I only keep drinks in these bags mostly.........store bought bottles of water and or tea.

Cheers!

PS....the unfortunate thing about getting a drink this way is its always "room temperature", mostly warm...but I'm usually not drinking this way for pleasure; am just staying hydrated.

PSS....anyway, after a while I forgot about the absolute wicked bank robber price tag I paid for these bags.... now I always get to enjoy their use with no further cost! (damn well worth it, me thinks!)....I recommend them to all trike riders....I really do.