Easy Brackets And Cortech Saddlebags?

[Sledge Hammer]

Just curious if anyone in here has ever figured out a successful way to use Cortech's TriBag saddlebags http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/product.php?productid=146&cat=31 with Easy Brackets? I saw the bags at Cycle Gear and like them alot. They look well made and have tremendous capacity but I am pretty sure that with a Corbin Gunfighter seat there is not enough clearance for the exhausts if you use them as throwover bags. I keep reading good things about Easy Brackets, but even if you add some good, tough, backing material to the bags, you'd probably still need to have some support at the bottom. Robert aka Magnum Magna posted some photos on another thread using some bracketing material to support his synthetic leather bags, but I am trying to think of something like chrome plated tubing that would be a bit less industrial looking and able to hold more weight. Any of you mechanically gifted types out there care to toss out some ideas?

[TLRam1]

I like the various colors they come in.

You can build internal brackets or plates and fasten the bag to it.

[drkngas]

Those bags look pretty stout.  Are you sure just using normal saddlebag mounting brackets to keep them in place wouldn't be enough?  I am using the Cobra saddlebag mounts with my Tourmaster Cruiser II Nylon Slant Saddlebags Medium and have been able to overload them without any loss of shape to the bags (after only a couple of uses).  My bags dont look near as sturdy as the Cortechs.

all that said, i am not sure what Easy Brackets are but I will look them up.

[Herman]

I have Easy Brackets with these:
http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ItemBrowse/c-10111/s-10101/p-100000140399/mediaCode-ZX/appId-100000140399/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:100000140399

I cut a 1/8 thick sheet metal to the shape of the bag, painted it black (to help it blend in so you don't notice it), riveted it to the bag, and then drilled holes to mount the Easy Brackets.  In the Easy Brackets instructions it says to keep the bags 1" above the exhaust to avoid over heating the bag.  I guess your mounting height would depend on how much the bags sag. 
Easy brackets do make the bags stick out a little further, but not too bad.

[Sledge Hammer]

I like the various colors they come in.

You can build internal brackets or plates and fasten the bag to it.

I thought about doing that with scrap circuit board material from work, since we use primarily fiberglass materials that are quit tough, but I'm wondering if the edges of the bioard material would saw through the fabric over time. Cordura is tough, but not sure it can stand the abrasion. Also, I can't think of a way to support the bottom of the bag adequately with a decent-sized payload in it.

[Sledge Hammer]

Those bags look pretty stout.  Are you sure just using normal saddlebag mounting brackets to keep them in place wouldn't be enough?  I am using the Cobra saddlebag mounts with my Tourmaster Cruiser II Nylon Slant Saddlebags Medium and have been able to overload them without any loss of shape to the bags (after only a couple of uses).  My bags dont look near as sturdy as the Cortechs.

all that said, i am not sure what Easy Brackets are but I will look them up.

Thanks for the feedback on the Cruiser II bags, David. I have also been thinking about them, too. The Cortech bags are substantially taller, though -- almost 12" vs 9" -- and to compound the fitment problem, the topstraps attach near the top of the bags, so if you try to pass the topstraps under the seat, even the empty bags look like they would rest on the pipes. If you pass them over the seat, the slope of the Gunfighter's pillion section works against you. Maybe the Cobra brackets would help, but if I could find a way to support the bags from the bottom with rod stock or something attached securely to a plate which was then bolted to the Easy Brackets, I think it would lead to a great traveling set-up. (Why, oh, why couldn't I have been smart and taken metal shop in high school instead of something completely useless like astronomy?)

I heard about Easy Brackets from a friend at work who uses them on his V-Star 1100. As with the Leatherlykes, a couple of custom bolts protruding from the accessory rail of the bike serve as mounting points. The brackets are made out of steel and make for a very secure mounting point. The bags, of course, have to be attached to the brackets, and the stiffer and tougher the back surface of the bag, the easier it would be to make them secure and robust. My buddy says he can load his bag to 40+ lbs each for his trips to Daytona. Here is a link to Easy Brackets' web site: http://www.easybrackets.com/ I think Ghost Brackets came out first, but they require an adapter for the Magna unlike the easy Brackets, or so I have read.

[Sledge Hammer]

I have Easy Brackets with these:
http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/ItemBrowse/c-10111/s-10101/p-100000140399/mediaCode-ZX/appId-100000140399/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:100000140399

I cut a 1/8 thick sheet metal to the shape of the bag, painted it black (to help it blend in so you don't notice it), riveted it to the bag, and then drilled holes to mount the Easy Brackets.  In the Easy Brackets instructions it says to keep the bags 1" above the exhaust to avoid over heating the bag.  I guess your mounting height would depend on how much the bags sag. 
Easy brackets do make the bags stick out a little further, but not too bad.

That's good information, Herman -- thanks! Did you use aluminum or steel sheet or something else? Did you bend the sheet so that it supports the bag from the bottom?

[Sledge Hammer]

By the way, Herman, those are some good-looking bags? I havent' read much about the Ameritex bags? How long have you been using them with the Easy Brackets?


Mike

[Herman]

I used sheet steel.  Money it tight and it was the cheapest and easiest to paint, Aluminum doesn't paint well.  I never did think about bending a section under the bags...... that's not a bad idea, although the Ameritex bags have built in support on the inside.  They never sag on the bottom.  And they are darn near waterproof.  If you put some caulking or something where the lid seam is, they would be waterproof.  I went through some hard rain on the freeway and only a few drops come in through the seam.  I've had these bags for 3 years and they hold up VERY well.  I've been using them with the easy brackets for several months (also on my last camping trip) and I love the set up.  It is so easy to remove the bags.  Plus with the bags off the mounting posts don't look out of place at all, AND allowed me to make trunk/sissy bar brackets semi-quick release.  For me, they are for sure in the top ten things to do to the bike, maybe even in my top five (Easy Brackets).

One thing I did have to do is cut off the helmet lock.  It stuck out about 1/8" too far and the Easy Brackets would hit.  I suppose I could have put a few extra washers behind the mounting posts, but I didn't like or use the helmet lock anyways.

[Curtis_Valk]

but I didn't like or use the helmet lock anyways.

Somewhere I saw a link to a mod that moved the helmet lock to the front fork tube or triple tree (I think).



Sorry for the image size, not my picture.  More here: http://www.theventuragroup.com/pics/magna2/HelmetHolder/

Looks like all you do is make a bracket for it and bolt it on.

Curtis

[Sledge Hammer]

Ah, forgot all about the helmet lock.  It is practically useless where Honda's design staff positioned it, so I don't think I'd miss it. Maybe its location is why the Ghost Brackets for the Magna require an adapter, to clear that little item.

I've been going back and forth on what to do about the bags for months now. The Easy Brackets certainly have some economic and mechanical advantages, but I would still like something lockable and rainproof. After seeing the Leatherlyke's up close, there is no way I am paying nearly $500 for something as crude-looking as what I saw in the store, and Hoese's bad reputation for customer service involving warranty issues certainly is no selling point. I have almost talked myself into a set of Givi E21 cases with a Five Stars rack. They would be a little less expensive than Leatherlykes, and Givi apparently know how to keep their customers happy. The cases can be removed without opening them in seconds using the key.  Sure, the rack does nothing for the appearance of the bike, but the cases themselves at least look like a professionally made product and are reputed to be as watertight as motorcycle luggage gets. But $400+ is still a big chunk of change, which makes the Easy Brackets look very tempting, and here we go again. 

Maybe I would be less indecisive if I quit eating waffles for breakfast.