Got the saddlemen cruisn saddlebags in the other day starting to figure out how to mount them. I dont like the throw over (yoke) that they come with. I've looked at other mounting options, since I'm on a tight budget gonna build my own hard mounts. I'm halfway building the brackets, but I thought maybe someone has a better idea. Criticism, ideas ?? thoughts ?? anyone ?? Snapped some pics of mock up with the phone. Anyway back to the garage and beer.......

 

You can run the yoke under the seat for a more finished look and more security. Installing and removing is as easy as taking you seat off. I've used mine that way and what I did was stick the seat bumpers to the fender instead of the seat. That way when you run the yoke under there it's not sitting on the paint.

 

Allright heres what I have come up with. I"m gonna see if this one mounting point will be strong enough. The bags actually rest on the axle nuts soooo I think it will be good, but talk is cheap. I'll get back with some results after riding with em...man sure is gonna be nice to have my own storage instead of asking my dad to carry all my crap.....ha

 

bracket looks good but just in my opinion the bags would look better if you move the rear sigs and mount them [bags]further back heres some pics of my brackets-i have alumium angle bolted to the back of the bags that rest on top of the angle on the mounts and held by 2 allen bolts mounts arent the prettiest things but cant see em when the bags are on!let me know if you need better pics

 

Since you asked..... IMHO, those bags will look goofy on that bike unless you relocate the rear signals and allow them to be mounted in a more center position with the fender and wheel. If you mount them that far forward they will look "off". They need to be more centered with the back of the bike when they are that large.

Here's a bit of info I have found useful when cutting off the yoke and hard mounting throw overs. Get something to support the compete backside of the bags. Diamond plate, plastic sheets, sheet metal....whatever. It will really go a long way to helping keeping the bags looking good and retaining there shape.

 

I see exactly what you guys are saying about mounting them further back. Heres the thing these bags have the shock cutout on the backside and are designed to sit exactly where the are. They're made so you dont have to relocate the rear sigs, thats why I bought em. After looking at the pics again they do look goofy sitting that far forward. Damn I'd hate to move em back that defeats the design of the shock cutaway.

 

Then bolt them suckers on! Its not such a big deal. Its also a serious mater of perspective! Look at this pic here and then look at my sig pic. Same bike, same bags, same mounts. From one angle they look too far forward and from one angle they look too far back. The designers must have had some idea where they wanted those bags for them to add the cutouts....right? Bolt them on and go. With pictures of course!

 

I think they look good but it seems like your expecting too much from a single mounting point. When you load that bag the mount is going to want to rotate. Maybe if you run a second support to a flat piece of metal that slides between the fender and the turn signal, in a similar fashion to the way the rear sissy bar mounting plates go on, you can get the support you need. You can notch it at the mounting hole so all you have to do is loosen the turn signal bolt without having to completely remove it. This will also keep the bad from wanting to rotate outwards when it catches the wind.

 

Letting the bags rest on the axle bolts will wear them out at the axle bolts from the swing arm movement.

 

Thanks for the input guys. This is exactly why I asked, there were some very good points made here that made me think. The single mounting point is not good enough and I never even thought about the swingarm moving up and down with the bags being mounted to the fixed fender struts. New plan: better brackets with 2 mounting points and gonna raise em off the swingarm.