Soft Saddlebag Supports - Rev A

[dherr687]

First, let me thank FZ1inNH for the inspiration. His simple and effective design spurred me into action. I had purchased the MotoGear bags and although they were well constructed, sturdy, and easy to mount; they sagged (see pic below) quite a bit.
Needed a solution to this problem without spending a bundle of bucks, so I visited my local hardware store and found a ¼” (thick) X 1” (wide) X 4’ (long) piece of Aluminum flat stock. Also, I picked up some longer mounting screws (M8 X 40 mm) to compensate for the increased material depth and nuts/lock washers to provide a little more security.
Then, it was just a matter of cutting the aluminum to length (~19”), drilling the mounting holes (2/support), and bending the supports (angles at 4” and 10 ½”) respective to the left and right sides.
The result is a stronger saddlebag support and much improved appearance. Hope this maybe helpful to others facing the same problem.

 

[NJFZ1]

Thanks for posting that! You did a great job. Nice, simple and cheap solution :tup:

 

[hankhill11]

that looks fantabuloustic. if i was handy enough to come up with something like that, i may have held out longer on ordering a tail trunk from twisted throttle.

 

[FZ1riderNY]

That is a terrific job buddy! They really hold those bags out there super straight! A very simple solution for a known problem.

 

[zippity79]

Ugh! My Ventura L brackets are mounted to those footpeg castings. Good idea but unfortunatley does not work for my setup:shaking head:

 

[fullcircle]

I have been looking for a way to mount the bags on my FZ from the day I bought it. Great solution and thanks for the idea.

 

[f5000sl]

That's pretty cool and a very simple and smart rail system.
A lot of folks tend to over think when building stuff.

 

[Marthy]

Looking good Mate! I really enjoy seeing people coming up with new stuff like that. I did the same thing on my 6R. Started with a soft saddlebags support, then trunk rack with soft saddlebags support and end it all up modding it to put Givi E21. I just bought the hardware for under $30.00

 

[FZ1inTX]

How durable is aluminum after being bent? I ask because I honestly do not know. I like this design!

 

[Marthy]

How durable is aluminum after being bent? I ask because I honestly do not know. I like this design!

1/4" x 1" is way over design for this application. Won't bend those anytime soon. Technically you can only load about 10 lbs per bags...

 

[thepopularjock]

That is awesome!
I love it when someone comes up with a homemade system to solve a problem.
Great work and thanks for posting. This will probably help a lot of people who have soft luggage.