Have an 09 Road King Classic - originally bought the bike and absolutely loved the look of the "hard leather" bags. Now that I've had it for a while I'm starting to realize the hard bags may have been the way to go (secureity, waterproof, place to lock up the gun, etc.). Anybody have any thoughts on this? What is your preference / pros vs cons? Thanks for the feedback.

 

I swapped my leather bags for hard ones this year. Should have done it years back for exactly the reasons you stated.

-Dusty

 

I'm not sure that there are any pro's with the leather bags other than they look great on a classic. I'm still keeping mine. I like the classic look.
Jim

 

I agree that the leather looks great, but you just can't beat the hard bags for their function and durability etc. Its great piece of mind to be able to lock them up. A buddy I do trips with on a RKC just unhooks them and brings them in the room at night.

 

Love the leather on OUR Heritage... but,,,, the king needs hard.

 

Hard bags look better imo!

 

Agree

 

I had the leather over plastic and loved them on my '05. Never had a problem with water. If your primary concern is locking the bags...I think the classic bags are just as good if not better than the hard. You can buy a lock kit that hides under the chrome accent on bags. The bags look like they do not lock and most people don't even know where to look for the keyhole to try to pick the lock and can't figure out how to get the bags open.

 

I wanted hard bags from the start but loved the color of my 09 flhrc...I just put hard bags on it and like me much better...The leather look ones were are very sensative to dings on the top.

 

Cheese - where can I find the leather bag locks you're talking about - how much do they cost?