Custom Rigid Mount Saddlebag Mod
by Chester
|
| Wearing a backback to carry my gear in this summer heat got old in a hurry, So I did this today. I can't take cedit for the idea, because I know a lot of folks have done this before. Just thought I'd throw up some visuals for anyone thinking of trying it. I like my saddlebags to fit tight against the side of the bike, so I actually prefer this type of mount over using aftermarket saddlebag brackets. |
Materials & Tools Needed
- Angle grinder with a metal cut off disk, and a metal grinding disk(other tools may work better, but this is what I had);
- 12mm and 13mm wrench ;
- "Sharpie" marker ;
- Drill ;
- SAFETY GLASSES (especially if your using a angle grinder) ;
- One retired diamond plate tool box ;
- 8mm standard thread bolts appoximately 1/2" longer than the stock fender bolts ;
- Eight fender washers (2 for each bolt) ;
- Four standard washers (2 for each of the front bolts on both sides for a little extra clearence) ;
- Four 8mm nuts (I already had these laying around so I drilled out the threads and used them as spacers for each mounting point. ;
|
Step 1: Used a marker to trace the outline of my saddlebags on an old diamond plated tool box. Then used a cut off disk on my angle grinder to roughly cut out the pattern. Used the grinding disk on the angle grinder to shape the final pieces.
|
|
Step 2: Used the marker again to mark where the holes needed to go after deciding where I wanted my bags to sit. Then drilled the holes just large enough for the 8mm bolts to fit through.
|
|
Step 3: The aluminum pieces fit nicely inside the bags and realy firmed them up.
|
|
Step 4: I used the drill again to hollow out four 8mm nuts that I used as spacers to keep the bags off of the side of the fender. I also used two additonal washers on the front bolt on each side to give it just a little more space, since the fender strut widens out toward the front.
|
|
Step 5: The bags still fit snug against the side of the bike, just the way I like 'em.
|
Step 6: These things will be seeing a lot of use traveling to and from the job everyday.
|
|
