[Xyzzy]

I received my saddle bags and both brackets today. (I got them via the $1,000 "free" accessories deal going on right now.)

Up front, I gotta say that I am not impressed with the "build" of the saddle bags. They smell like leather, which is nice, but they seem awfully flimsey for the price, which was around $950 for the complete setup with both required brackets.

That said, they look exactly like the saddle bags on a lot of other Honda motorcycles that I have seen, so I think (?) they probably the exact same bags with different mounts customized for the Valkyrie.

I have seen a lot of these bags on bikes that have a lot of miles on them in all sorts of weather conditions so I expect that even though they don't seem to be super high quality they actually are.

I will try to get them installed the next time we have a few days of rain and get some pictures taken during and after the install.

I also received the power port accessory. It has absolutely no instructions with it. I am afraid they want me to cut a hole in the left hand side of the fairing (near the rear of the radiator) to mount this thing. I'm not too sure I want to cut holes in the bike. I will search for the correct mounting method in the meantime.

 

[Xyzzy]

Here are the instructions for the power port: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8230728/20140318142955_7874.pdf

It mounts in that weird circle thing under the seat.

I was hoping it would be mounted more towards the front of the bike.

I guess it will be useful for a battery tender connection or something.

 

[Xyzzy]

Here are the instructions for the saddle bags: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8230728/08L75-MJR-670.pdf

I just opened the box for the saddle bag mounting bracket. The picture on the accessories web site shows two little metal brackets for $150. (!)

I figured maybe the picture was incorrect, because $150 is a lot of money for two pieces of metal. But, I was wrong!

(Note that there are two possible brackets. The one shown above is the proper one if you plan to use the rear seat and grab rails. There is a different set of brackets if you run a solo seat.)

I'll post more as I have time.

 

[Jean-mi]

Openly(Frankly), I am very grateful for what makes Xyzzy.
It is everywhere, looks, assistant, and finds all the information and the photos for our magnificent motorcycle.
One very thank you for all invaluable information.

Jean-mi

 

[Xyzzy]

Okay, here are the crazy details to installing the saddle bags:

The install process should be very quick, if everything goes according to plan. The install is pretty simple even though there are a lot of bolts, nuts, rubber washers and stuff.

Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan for me!

Please understand that I am not a professional mechanic. But, I do have a one year certificate in "Diesel Technology" from the local community college and I have been working on mechanical things my entire life and I have tons of really nice tools.

So, the basic part of the install went fine. You remove panels, plugs, footpegs and stuff like that. For me, the left stay (This is what the saddle bag is attached to. It looks like a big rectangular loop of metal.) went together very well. All of the holes lines up.

The right stay was 3/4 inch out of alignment. I suppose most people who buy accessories have their dealer install them. I did what probably every dealer out there would do. I stood on top of the stay and bent it to (almost) the right position. Then as I tightened up the bolts the stay went to the proper position.

The hardware is very nice. There is a lot of careful thought applied to this design. It is totally rubber isolated from the frame.

The saddle bag tops open easily but they are difficult to close because the inside part of the top needs to go between the bracket and the grab handle. If you just drop the lid it will not fall into the right position.

The bags appear to have a belt latch system for closure but underneath the belt latch is a plastic clip. I think that is a pretty good idea and it makes the bags look pretty elegant.

If you do get the lid aligned properly, there is a cool magnetic latch that clicks. It is located in the front (?) of the bags, so it serves no structural purpose, but the click at least lets you know the top is closed properly.

To me, there is a ton of room between the bags and the bike. I do not have any experience with saddle bags so maybe they are all like that. Now that I have saddle bags on my bike I will certainly pay atttention to other bikes to see how their saddle bags are mounted.

Because I had to bend one of the stays a bit, I think the right saddle bag is aimed out a little more than the left saddle bag. I will see if anyone notices this. If nobody says anything then I will accept it.

For $950 I really expected a better experience.

If you do get saddle bags I would highly encourage you to install them yourself. There are tons of places where the bike can get scratched up from careless handling. Plus, if your stays are aligned wrong I guess you can ask for a replacement. I should have done that but at that moment I was very mad and I forced it to fit. This is obviously not the ideal way to do things.

I have no idea how the bags will old up to UV rays, rain, dirt, bugs and all that. There are no care instructions included. For what they cost I really want to keep them in nice condition.

The saddle bags hold a decent amount of stuff but are rated for just 10 pounds of goodies in each bag.

I will try to post better pictures tomorrow when the sun is out.

Here are some lousy pictures from the rear.

 

[messy bessie]

Thanks Xyzzy!

On the power port, I'm sure you could customise the mouting location to exactly where you want it without too much difficulty. Up near the cluster would be ideal IMO...

 

[Xyzzy]

Thanks Xyzzy!

On the power port, I'm sure you could customise the mouting location to exactly where you want it without too much difficulty. Up near the cluster would be ideal IMO...

It would be easier to just run a direct 12V line up there with the same wire the battery tender uses. (With an inline fuse for safety!)

That way you get much more than 24 watts of power, and it would be a lot cheaper.

And, it wouldn't be switched, although if you did want switched power there are ways to wire it up that way.

 

[Xyzzy]

My bike and garage are dirty. And I have purple window coverings. (The material was on sale!) Please overlook all of that!

 

[SteveM]

My bike and garage are dirty. And I have purple window coverings. (The material was on sale!) Please overlook all of that!

I like them! They look good. I'll probably order the pair some time over this winter and install them.


As with all these motorcycle accessories, seems like the price is 2x what it should be, if not more.

 

[somanyroads]

Bags

I think they look awesome on the bike! They appear to be just the right size ! Thanks for the photos! Much appreciated!

 

[nabq]

Just fitted the saddle bags and the boulevard screen
Pretty straight forward, righthand saddle bag bracket does not line up with the bottom bolt hole on the frame. But I found if you loosen all the bolts in the bracket including the upper braket that connects s to the hand rail, and then the bottom bolt goes in easy. Then just tighten all up.

 

[Xyzzy]

Please post pictures of the boulevard screen, maybe from a medium distance from different angles.

Thanks!

 

[nabq]

Tried but can't work out how to post pics on the site.....?
Not as straight forward as other sites, where you just cut and paste....
boring.....!

 

[Xyzzy]

Tried but can't work out how to post pics on the site.....?
Not as straight forward as other sites, where you just cut and paste....
boring.....!

Use Imgur and then link to the pictures. I think it is probably the easiest.

http://imgur.com/

 

[nabq]

http://imgur.com/6wsoELW

http://imgur.com/5DQex7I

http://imgur.com/apHECne

 

[Xyzzy]

I have no idea how the bags will old up to UV rays, rain, dirt, bugs and all that. There are no care instructions included. For what they cost I really want to keep them in nice condition.

I have over 6,000 miles on my bike with most of those miles with the saddle bags installed. I ride a lot out in the country so they were filthy with bugs and dust. The dust also got into the bags so I needed to clean out the insides, too.

I took them off a few days ago and today I cleaned and "treated" them. I didn't know what leather products to use but after searching a bit it looks like "Lexol" works good.

I used:

Lexol leather cleaner
Lexol leather conditioner

Both were $10 each and were available locally at several stores. I only used a very little of each bottle so it seems like a pretty good value. The bags came out very nice looking.

I used the cleaner and made sure I dried the bag after using the cleaner to prevent water spots. A microfiber cloth worked very well for this. Then I applied the conditioner and then wiped it off after maybe five minutes. In all it took maybe 20 minutes to clean and condition the bags. I wouldn't even try to do this with the bags on the bike. I think I will clean and condition them once a season, or maybe every oil change.

 

[Spirit Rider]

brackets when bags are not needed...

Thanks Xyzzy
Awesome pics, haven't bought my next bike yet (can't decide which one between F6C and F6B)

I guess brackets are permanents on this bike, any chance to see a pic of the F6C without the bags (but showing the brackets?)

thanks, enjoy your ride

 

[Xyzzy]

I guess brackets are permanents on this bike, any chance to see a pic of the F6C without the bags (but showing the brackets?)

IMO, there is a huge difference between an F6B and a F6C, so test ride both!

The brackets are not too ugly. The bags come off really easy with a 5mm hex wrench.

Here are the best pictures I can get with poor lighting and a phone camera:

 

[Spirit Rider]

waow! so fast...
thank you so much for this. much appreciated
Looks like your bike is ready for winter, where about are you? (I'm in Montreal)

I'd like very much to hear IYO about the F6B/F6C
as per IMO I can't decide, actually I decide each week! but the next week, I switch ...

F6C:
+: light weight, superb look, modern dashboard
- : no place for storage (in case you purchase anything you'd better have a backbag), no liquid temperature (oil or water) which I like to know about the engine...

F6B:
+ : better weather protection (riding longer like april to november in canada), better equipment, storage, great look
-: old generation dashboard, too many buttons, big ass

Am I the only one who hesitated?

cheers

 

[HondaPWR]

your bike looks awesome!