Hard Luggage Brand Preferences

[tom clisham]

Vetter + yamaha

I bought a vetter IV fairing with lowers, hinged yamaha hard bags, & adjustable backrest luggage rack from a guy in St Paul. They came off an xs750 that he was cafeing. Whole thing was $75.00.
Ihad to fabricater some brackets, but they look great & work just fine.
I don't take road trips long enough to need a trunk. that came with the deal , but I didn't like the look. Dumped it for $20.00 on ebay.

CONSIDER LEATHER BAGS: I had large roomy leather bags on a 78E & they looked & functioned great. They had throwover, so just pop off seat & untie to remove.

[CatatonicBug]

(are clams really happy, and can we really prove it one way or the other? )

I dunno... Clams tend to be rather light-lipped about their personal issues.

[jwhughes3]

Givi trunk

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!

Bug,

The Givi trunk has a quick release plate system you might want to look at.

Never mind, just saw you got the whole Vetter Setup!

John

[cywelchjr]

I went with the whole Vetter setup. I like the look and all the pieces match. I have a hard time with the look of the hodge-podge sets with a Vetter fairing and Samsonite (or other) bags/trunk. Just not my style, I guess.

Same here. Now I just need to finish the paint job on the trunk so that it looks good and I'll be happy as a clam (are clams really happy, and can we really prove it one way or the other? )

[CatatonicBug]

Hi 'Bug,
Whichever side bags and top bag that can be had for a bargain.
Paint's cheap and so am I.

I went with the whole Vetter setup. I like the look and all the pieces match. I have a hard time with the look of the hodge-podge sets with a Vetter fairing and Samsonite (or other) bags/trunk. Just not my style, I guess.

[fredintoon]

I am slowly going to attempt to turn my MNS into a full touring package. - - - What I'm trying to determine is what brand of luggage should I be looking for - - -

Hi 'Bug,
Whichever side bags and top bag that can be had for a bargain.
Paint's cheap and so am I.

[Eveready1100]

I'll confuse the issue by offering what I'm running. An Rjays topbox, which holds 2 fullface hemets, and some early BMW panniers, which are smaller than the krauser ones, but each can hold a carton, or at least, a large full face helmet/
All come off with one key, and the flip of a latch. An extra pad was screwed to the front of the topbox for pillion comfort.
As you can see, I angled the panniers up to clear the exhaust outlets.

[wa407mpp]

Thanks! D.P. I think I'll pick a set up for when I need to replace my stock mufflers. I really like the look of them.

[CatatonicBug]

The thing you have to remember is that the Vetter trunk has electical hookups to the bike. Mine doesn't have the original connector so I had to hardwire it for now. I'm looking for a compatible connector though and then I'm going to look into a way to fabricate a semi-quick release of some sort for it. All in all, I like the look now, except for the flakey paint job done by my substandard painter (me). That said, I plan on making sure I have a place and everything else I need to repaint this winter and I'll make sure it's a first class job at that point (that or I'm going to pay someone to do it right).

As I am looking for trunks, I am making sure they include the trunk pigtail. I have seen a few on e-bay that include it, so I know they do exist. It's probably gonna be a while before I actualy make a purchase, which is why I wanted to get all of your opinions. I tend to fixate on things like a kid with a $20 toysRus gift card until I actually obtain what I want, but in the process I tend to do a lot of research along the way. The longer I am forced to wait, the more I end up learning - good in the long run, but super frustrating for me in the short term!

What I'm thinking now is to get the adjustable back rest/luggage rack, so I can remove the adjustable back rest, and strap on the vetter trunk when needed. Then I can remove it when I don't need it, and put the back rest back on.

Too bad the charging system isn't strong enough to run a refrigerated compartment in the trunk. That would make for a nice travel cooler!

[cywelchjr]

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!

The thing you have to remember is that the Vetter trunk has electical hookups to the bike. Mine doesn't have the original connector so I had to hardwire it for now. I'm looking for a compatible connector though and then I'm going to look into a way to fabricate a semi-quick release of some sort for it. All in all, I like the look now, except for the flakey paint job done by my substandard painter (me). That said, I plan on making sure I have a place and everything else I need to repaint this winter and I'll make sure it's a first class job at that point (that or I'm going to pay someone to do it right).

[D. P. Larmee]

Here's a home-made quick removal setup that I saw on a trunk. Would be pretty easy to rig something like this up on a vetter trunk. Not real theft proof, but would be an easy way to add a bit of extra storage for those long rides.

[Stralya]

One other point to make about the Vetter set up

The trunk easily holds a 30 can carton!

Dan.
Values the important things in life.

[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!

[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

[wa407mpp]

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