I've got a new Road King and I'd appreciate any thoughts regarding the modifications I want.

I want the back half of my bike to have a much slimmer look than what it has now. I have in mind removing the crash bar that protects the bike if dropped. I want to discard the stock hard saddlebags and replace them with leather bags that will make the bike much slimmer. I wouldn't use saddle bags at all but as the bike is built I think I need leather saddlebags to cover the exposed part. This part doesn't look finished without bags to cover it.

So, remove crash bar, add slim leather saddlebags.

I'm in Austin now and there are several places that offer leather saddlebags. I could remove the crash bar and buy some leather saddle bags that will collapse when empty. The main purpose of the bags I want is to improve the appearance of the bike knowing I'm giving up the ability to carry much.

I'd appreciate any thoughts.

 

Let me say this to start, I don't know how long you have been riding. If it is a short time then I would suggest you hold off a little while or at least save the parts. The reason I say that is new riders tend to progress in stages. If you get to the where did I put my Monkey Butt Powder four gas stops a day stage you might discover you need more storage not less.

Again I don't know how many miles or how long you have ridden so if it's a long time feel free to ignore me. Where you live you might want to inventory what you have on the bike all the time as well. This is doubly true if you ride more than just well traveled roads because there are lots of miles of FM's worth riding but with miles of nothing around you.

I never get past the gate without:

• Can of flat fix. If your RK is new enough to have tubeless tires you will want tire plugs as well.
• Pretty complete tool kit. Sooner or later stuff will try to fall off that bike.
• Rain gear. Of course for the last few years it has not been used much.
• Poncho and string. Sounds stupid at first but where you live if you break down in a place with no trees all you need is a fence on one side and your bike on the other and you have an instant sun shade.
• Water (About three times what you think you need).
• Camera.
• Spare Shifter lever.
• Sun Screen.
• Clear glasses for night.
• Maps for the day that electronic wizardry quits or the phone battery is dead.
• Chaps
• Sweatshirt for summer and more for winter.
• Plumbers Teflon tape (poor mans loctite until you get home and fix it right).
• Hat
• Octane booster for that map dot town with bad gas
• One of those things you put water on and hang around your neck. Cant remember what you call it but it works.
• Zip ties
• Sketer spray
• Small first aid kit
• Duct Tape. For you West Texas folks I am not talking about Duct Tape the guy, but that silver stuff with sticky on it.

Of course if you do ever get a chance to meet or ride with Duct Tape (the guy) it will be an experience well worth your time.

I never seem to have enough room on my bike for stuff. So for me I would probably not loose any storage. I hope this helped you a little. If you have many miles please feel free to ignore my ramblings and have a good day.

 

Thanks for your time Grumpy. I don't doubt that more storage capacity is important to some....some pull a trailer. I carry stuff bags when on longer trips. It is more important to me for my bike to look the way I like and that makes it necessary to make the rear end slim. It's a big step...that's why I'm asking opinions. But that entire crash bar bracket would need to come off. Then I'd need a new bracket to hold the leather saddlebags. I think it would be worth it to me if the bike looks clean after this change. There's just a small part of the bracket that's permanent on the rear fender. That would have to be left. I want to give this a lot of thought before I act but I want a slim rear end.

 

Not a RK but I went with SG facia/bullets and RGC bags on my EG. Not super narrow, but its a big touring bike?



Speed bags on my old rigid weren't much narrower?

 

Have you taken the current bags off, to see what is underneath them? To achieve a truly neat slim rear end (er - diet?!) well could IMHO involve some serious custom work. When I bought the bike in my sigpic I wanted the slim look. Much better the way it is now. Jus' sayin!

 

You might look at finding some RK Custom bags, they have a smaller profile and will work with your current mounting hardware. Check Ebay I have seen them on there before.

 

I saw a bike like you are talking about and it looked very very sharp. He took off engine guard, saddlebag guards and saddlebags. He replace the floorboards with foward lower controls. It looked fine without the bags and it did have the slim look you want. I like the bike so much that I'm watching for a really good deal on an older RK to do much the same.

Beary

 

Take a look at a new street glide. Getting rid of the bag rails, the rear fender loop, the center stop light, and the fender fillers make for a really clean, naked fender look.

The hard bag latches are also color coordinated so they blend in better.

It also has a really slimming stock seat, and while still having bags, looks pretty sleek. (and is comfy for the driver)

 

You can get rid of all that ugly stuff back there except the muffler supports. Add some chrome shocks and change the side panels to a smooth shape. There is an internet vendor out there that offers all you need. I saw their site a couple years ago but forget the name.

 

Try this site, they have a lot of bagless hardware, and have chrome muffler supports.
Then you can get a small set of leather bags to use just on trips, and remain bagless the rest of the time. I think that might be what you are looking for?
http://www.eglidegoodies.com/id243.html