Hi, Happy New Year to all.

I'm looking at throwover saddle bags for my ride. Don't know anything about 'em; what kind should I get, what size to get, etc.

I have a Titan Gecko with a Dyna-style frame. Should the saddle bags fit behind the shock, or will they ride outside the shock? (Knowing this will allow me to order the correct size.)Are any other support brackets required or will they truly be a quick attach to the seat?


I'm looking at something similar to these slanted saddle bags:
http://www.jpcycles.com/productgroup...d=willieandmax

Any comments would be useful at this point, thanks in advance.
bill

 

I am not very familar with the Titan line, But I did have a pair of Willie and Max throwover bags on my old Fatboy. It requiered a bracket to keep the bag away from the moving parts, to the best of my knowledge, Most bikes would need a braket of some sort.

As for the bags themselves...It really depends on how much you are going to use them. I have to admit, I hated those bags. They sagged very quickly, and the leather they use is very thin and flimsy compared to most other bags on teh market today.

They aren't real expensive, and I suppose thats why they sell so many, but if you are gonna use them alot, I would look elswhere.

 

You'll need a set of brackets and the bags will go behind the shocks. shop on line for the best deal ,I got a set of ***** and max for almost half of what J+P wanted for the same bags.

 

OK, thanks for the replies. That's what I needed.

I see a bracket for Dynas that bolts to the upper shock mounting bolt. I'll probably give that a try.

I understand the nature of the bags is somewhat "flimsy". I would use them for the occassional overnighter or short trip, not a regular touring set up (the Titan is far from a touring bike anyways...).

bill

 

DONT DO THROW OVERs. The tang, yoke or what ever you want to call it will rub the chit out of your paint and will go down to the metal. I had a set of throw overs on my last bike, all tied down and secured and it still happend. If you still want to go this route, do yourself a favor and save your paint by getting some 3m clear paint protector film (like comes stock under the passenger seat on most HD's). This will save you alot of heart ache and money.

 

Yeah, thanks for that. I'm aware of the paint rub issue. I think I have two options:
1. The 3M film over the fender in the yoke area.
2. Install the dual seat and put the yoke over the passenger section of the seat.

Due to the custom nature of the bike, the fender struts are smooth, with no mounting holes for any type of hardware. So, unless I were to drill and tap the struts (and possibly relocate the turn signals), only throw overs are going to work.

bill

 

I had throw overs on my '04 Sportster. I didn't like them either. They're by nature smaller than hard bags, flimsy, and lose their shape very quickly. That's a sharp looking bike.

 

If you can fabricate, you can make brackets that bolt inside the fender to the strut bolts. The Deuce (softail) has a smooth strut and that's how they work, at least for the quick release aftermarkets.

Here's a pic of the Easy Bracket brand attachment point on a Deuce.



You just need something to hold the bags away from the rotating parts of the wheel.

 

Hmmm, food for thought. If I could fab something like that I could go with rigid bags I think. I'ma thinkin'....

bill

 

The trick for thow-over bags is to protect the paint or to secure the strap under the seat, AND to secure both bags so they can't move around or get in the wheel. On my Sporty, I tie the front tab of each bag to the upper shock mount. The rear tab of each bag is tied to the turn signal stalk. No bag support is needed for the Sporty, but each model is different.