Hard Luggage Brand Preferences

[CatatonicBug]

I am slowly going to attempt to turn my MNS into a full touring package. I have achieved the Vetter Windjammer fairing with cyclesounds, and now I'm looking at the rear end.

I've seen lots of mis-matched packages with vetter trunks and pacifico bags, or even the full Shoie set that's on ebay right now. What I'm trying to determine is what brand of luggage should I be looking for as far as quality, usability and customizability (I want to be able to make it a black and gold setup eventually). For those of you with experience with these sets, which way should I go?

[cywelchjr]

I think that if your looking for something that looks like it goes together, it's an all or nothing deal. The Vetter stuff just goes together, and does so well. I don't know about customizing, but you can certainly repaint it, and it's not too hard. I also have it on good authority (from Craig Vetter himself) that they will have repro pinstriping and such for the bags and trunks soon. I'm looking forward to this since I have repainted my bags already and will be repainting my trunk as well. Once that's been done, putting the striping and such on will be much easier using a kit than having it done by hand.

That said, my vote is for a full vetter set, they look especially good IMO in black and gold.

[CatatonicBug]

I appreciate the votes guys, but for those of you voting for "other" (or any of them, really), an explaination would really help. It would be nice to know what your preferences are and WHY.

[earl G]

other

i had the vetter box on my bike with the shoei hard bags. when i went to the key west rally the bracket for the box broke. so i had to change things. got rid of the king and qeen seat, went to the standard seat, the box and hard bags. i found on e-bay a samsonite set from a 79 xs nobody bid on it. got a good deal off e-bay sale. i wanted to change the look of my bike. pic on east ralley. l liked that the bags are removable. so now i am looking for a small box for the back for rain gear and small stuff. same bags on bob jones book cover. the all vetter set up is good lots of room, but the box does not come off. there is a few choices.

[D. P. Larmee]

I love the vetter fairing, but always thought that, while very practical, the bags were a bit oddly shaped. I really like the looks of the yamaha bags, but they don't seem to hold much, and can't be easily removed. For my current set up, I picked up a set of old krauser bags with the frames on ebay for next to nothing. They are key removable, don't look half bad, and they hold quite a bit. I don't think that they ever made a mount system for the XS, but, if you have the frames that the bags clip into, it is pretty easy to rig up mounts.

[Bigfoot]

I just put a set of krausers on my midnight special. I have a large windshield on it but did not really want a full fairing or trunk. The Krausers are huge and provide lots of storage that I needed to have to haul around my tools and laptop for work. My laptop will not fit in the Vetter bags or trunk on my XJ. Luggage rack comes in handy at times as well. Easily removable and look ok. The primary reason that I installed them was after the first ride on this bike SWMBO requested a backrest. I guess she felt she was going to slide off. The Krauser system comes with an adjustable backrest that can be used for rider or passenger.

[earl G]

vetter fairing, samsonite rack,backrest and bags

[earl G]

another thing is you have to move the turn signals . need turn signal bar or make brackets. those krausers bags look nice.

[earl G]

old pic with vetter box and shoei bags

[dpotter58]

vetter fairing, samsonite rack,backrest and bags

Those look like crap on your bike. Send them to me and I'll take care of them....

[bikerphil]

I run the Yamaha factory style bags on both my XS's with custom made brackets. 6 bolts (3 per bag) and they're off in under 5 min. The lids have been modified with a hinge in place of the front latch, so no need to worry about them flying off.

[Stralya]

Vetter all the way...

I have probably the only Vetter full dresser in Australia.







It just looks 'right' IMHO

Dan.
Unique.

[wa407mpp]

D.P. what mufflers do you have on your bike?

[D. P. Larmee]

They are Harley mufflers that come standard on most of the big bikes; Road King, Ultra Classic, basically any model beginning with an FL. I went to the Harley dealership and asked if they had any takeoffs and they pointed me to a huge pile in the corner. The guy said that they usually just give them to a scrap company and that I could help myself to whatever I wanted. As a courtesy, I made a small donation to his beer fund and took a few different sets to see which ones I liked the best. These have been my favorite so far. I originally installed a set that came off of a softail and they were OK but were a bit loud for me. These ones are super quiet, I did not rejet and haven't noticed any indication of the mixture being off, and they look pretty sharp

[CatatonicBug]

I do like the look of that vetter setup. I agree that it would be nice if it was easier to remove the trunk though... Maybe I could create a more "quick-release" mechanism for it. Doesn't seem like it would be all that difficult. Personally, I don't like the look of the bags that look like suitcases, so I think I'll stay away from Samsonite and Krauser bags. Thanks for the input so far guys! Keep it coming!