Good Saddlebags?

[Hitman]

I have been looking for a decent, fairly large, fairly cheap pair of saddlebags that I can mount on a 98+ Katana...They also must allow me to have a passenger while riding!! Thanks everyone!

[The CyberPoet]

Sticking to bags that permit a passenger:

The best I've seen are the Givi's, but they're not cheap... You might be able to find some on eBay fairly inexpensively, but the mounting racks tend to run around $150. For how much they hold, I think it's worth it, but that's just me... 48 liters each (think 2 paper grocery bags full, plus 2 gallons of milk per saddlebag).

Aerostitch has large, decent waterproof saddlebags, but I found that they got too close to the exhaust on the 98+ models for my liking. A little bit of cutting and sewwing (to shorten the cross-piece between the bags) would probably rectify that. They were about 40 liters (2 paper grocery bags full per saddlebag).

The cheapest bags I've seen are at JC Whitney, but I haven't tried them.

I'm sure there are nice, smaller bags out there, but I don't tend to waste my time on smaller bags...

Good Luck!
=-= The CyberPoet

[WildKat]

check out www.newenough.com they've got constant close out sale prices on all kinds of luggage.

[TRH]

I have 2 sets of tourmasters and I love them they are great for what I need. Newenough is a great place to look and buy. TRH

[md86]

I bought some Nelson-Riggs expandable bags off E-bay for about $80 , almost new . I got room for a passenger still , and the bags will hold quite a bit (and I haven't even expanded them yet ! ) . I like 'em thus far , though they've only been on the bike since maybe October .

[Mojoe]

The best I've seen are the Givi's, but they're not cheap... You might be able to find some on eBay fairly inexpensively, but the mounting racks tend to run around $150. For how much they hold, I think it's worth it, but that's just me... 48 liters each (think 2 paper grocery bags full, plus 2 gallons of milk per saddlebag).

I concur with Cyber...hard to beat the Givi. They also make a good seat to sit on it you stop beside the road on a long trip...lol.

[Dogs&Kats]

Saddlebags

Hope its not to late... I just got a new set of Fieldsheer Rio Saddlebags from Motorcyclesuperstore.com. They are just perfect for my 97 Kat600 and if the magic word is CHEAP... check them out. I like them. And if you expend more than $149 the shipping its free.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/item.aspx?style=11925&department=668&division=6

The dog

[The CyberPoet]

Oh, I forgot to list my favorite softbags -- www.bbag.de (also carried by www.chaseharper.com). They hold even more than the two Givi's cases (hard to imagine, but true).

Good luck with the Fieldsheers. Let us know what you think of them at the end of the summer...

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Dogs&Kats]

ww....why it's that? Some not to good reviews?

[The CyberPoet]

ww....why it's that? Some not to good reviews?

No reviews at all as far as I'm aware of. Fieldsheer is a relatively new player to the mass-market MC gear field (2 years?), and I haven't seen their bags in action.

Unfortunately, their jackets that I've seen (including one my gf had one during her spill) were not up to the standards I'd expect in terms of fabrication (the materials were reasonable for the price, but the way the pads were fastened weren't, which let them rip loose on impact in a 10 mph five-foot drive off a bike). That makes me suspect that they are watching the bottom line very carefully as the primary way of growing the business, instead of watching the quality of the products to ensure that they deliver the very best.

Cheers
=-= The CyberPoet

[Dogs&Kats]

O.K. I'll keep you informed.