Vetter Saddlebag mounting brackets

[CatatonicBug]

I am trying to find information about the compatibility of the mounting brackets for the Vetter saddlebags. Are they as bike-specific as the fairing brackets? Since the luggage racks are different between the Specials and Standards, are the saddlebag brackets different too? I have found brakets for a KZ1100, and the ones for goldwings are available occasionally too. Will these fit the XS?

If anyone has a set, I am looking for the mounting brackets for my MNS. I can find the bags anywhere, but no mouning brackets that claim to fit the XS.

[Jerry]

The Vetter luggage brackets are model specific. The lower arm mounts to the rear footpeg bracket, which is placed differently between the Specials, Standards, and XJ.

However, this is not a big deal to overcome. In my case (XJ) I used the mounts from a Special and all I had to do was add about a 2 inch extension to the lower arms and they fit fine. BTW, this is the reason the rear footpeg sets are not interchangeable on these bikes.

I cannot speak to other brands of bikes like the Honda or Kawasaki, but if you stick to an XS or XJ 11 the top mounts will be in the correct place and all you have to worry about is the length of the lower arms. Frames from other makes (Honda, Kawasaki) can probably be modified to fit. The actual bag mount is the same on all the frames I have seen so it is the mounts that may need to be tweaked.

I did not use the Vetter luggage rack on my installation, as I had modified a Honda unit to fit...adjustable backrest. Have a couple of small u-bolts attaching the rack to the Vetter frames, works well.

Tkat (or maybe Denny Z) once said "There is nothing sacred about metal" and that is certainly the case when it comes to fitting hard to find accessories to the XS or XJ 11!

[CatatonicBug]

Thanks Jerry! I guess my main problem now is locating a bracket that fits an XS/XJ and modifying it if necessary. The purist in me likes to keep things as stock as possible, so I'd hate to modify something if I could possibly avoid it, but with these old parts, I may just have to grin and bear it.

So, I guess my request remains: I need a mounting bracket for Vetter saddlebags that will fit an XS/XJ. If anyone sees one, or has one for sale, please let me know.

[Joescrummy1]

I have a complete set of vetter bags including trunk that I will be putting up for sale soon and I originally bought them when I was going to put them on my 78 but now can't remember if they are indeed the Yamaha brackets. Blame it on old age!

Does anyone know if there is any model code on the frames that might help?

[Jerry]

The purist in me likes to keep things as stock as possible

In my case the extensions were pieces of flat stock with holes in each end. On end bolted to the luggage frame, the other to the rear set (footpeg) mount. Nice in that the frames did not need modification; unbolt the extesions and the frames are again stock. Same with fitting the Honda rack and backrest, no mods needed, just a couple u-bolts which can be removed quickly, returning the frames to their original stock condition.

Going back to my notes it appears the luggage frames were from a Standard, not a Special as I had written, but the fitting the luggage to the XJ aqre still the same: the rear sets differ beween the models of XS 11 and the XJ.

[Geezer]

I have Vetter bags on both my XS11 and my Wing. In both cases they ride too high and too far forward. OK for riding along but they make it nearly impossible for a passenger to get their feet o the rear pegs.

Geezer

[CatatonicBug]

Does anyone know if there is any model code on the frames that might help?

According to Vetter himself, there are no identifying marks on the brackets at all. No way to know what bike they go to unless you see them come off a particular bike.

I have Vetter bags on both my XS11 and my Wing. In both cases they ride too high and too far forward. OK for riding along but they make it nearly impossible for a passenger to get their feet o the rear pegs.

Really?? Anyone else have this problem? In all the pictures I've seen, they look like there is plenty of room. I would think Vetter would have created the mounts in such a way that would avoid this problem...