best saddlebags for xj11?

[tbcfreerider]

ok i posted a similar question befor , with little answers, so this time around XJ!! owners, have any of you tried:
http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/cata...-p-146_31.html

[dontlikeoc]

I am curious what the winner saddlebags for the XS were when you posted the thread the last time and how you liked them. I am looking for saddlebags now.

[XSokieSPECIAL]

ok i posted a similar question befor , with little answers, so this time around XJ!! owners, have any of you tried:
http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/cata...-p-146_31.html

Look here, the prices are good:

http://www.jillianleather.com/index.php?p=home

[mro]

I like these (Vetter)



Have them on a shelf right now, frames to be re-done soon.


mro

[madmax-im]

I have not had any saddle bags on my XJ but i do have a Cortec seat bag . its really nice and works well with the bike...i can fit enough stuff in it to do my XSEast rallies for 3 days. I have looked at the Cortec saddle bags you posted a link to and IMHO they will work quite well for an XJ. I would prefer these to anything made of leather. IIRC I have seen the Cortec saddle bags on other XS1100s' at XSEast. I know Randy has a set and they looked quite good. I also use a Cortec Super Mini tank bag on the XJ and its very convienient and the magnets hold it onto the tank without the need for straps at any speed.

[fredintoon]

ok i posted a similar question befor , with little answers, so this time around XJ!! owners, have any of you tried:
http://www.tourmaster.com/xcart/cata...-p-146_31.html

Hi Freerider,
I haven't tried that particular set of soft bags but they do look like what I'd want if I didn't already have a bigger one.

[XJOK2PLAY]

+1 to MRO's reply!
Love mine.

[Rubin]

I had some krauser bags on my XJ for years. They were side loaders which were a bit of a pain to lead, but were pretty leak proof and they never opened on me until the bike got tired and lay down on a very large, pointy rock. The bike was fine since it was stationary but the weight of the bike broke off one of the buckles on the bag. Still have the mounting system as well as the bags, but I think one side (left) needs to be replaced. In other words, the plastic was pretty sturdy and the mounting system never even bent.

[trbig]

Just because Ben likes the leather bags AND fairings... My cheap leather saddle bags. Maybe not the prettiest, but I can run to the store and two gallons of milk will fit in one side. These and a backrest pack have carried all my gear for lots and lots of trips.

As a plus for SWMBO... these bags sit on the rear footpegs some, and she knows I can't be giving any strange women rides. lol. (Cause you know how much I love those "Strange" women.)





Tod

[madmax-im]

I have looked at the Cortec saddle bags you posted a link to and IMHO they will work quite well for an XJ. I would prefer these to anything made of leather.

Tod I never said I prefer leather...YMMV

[trbig]

Ben, I read yours right in the first place... you just apparently don't understand my Smartasseese as a second language.

I KNEW you didn't like either... so that is why it was posted, my friend! lol.


Tod

[madmax-im]

Ok Tod...I get it now...just give me the dumbazz award...

[DGXSER]

As a sidenote to the leather saddlebags, be very mindfull of how low they hang. A friend of mine had a set on his bike, he loaded them up with clothes and such for a weekend trip with his SWMBO. About halfway to their destination, the bags and their clothes caught fire from the beags resting on the exhaust with the added weight in them. "Important safety tip.....thanks Egon".

[trbig]

??? Mine hang down on the exhaust loaded now also.. leather stretched over time and getting wet a bunch of times. Never had a problem with anything getting warmer than... well.. warm. That leather is a good insulator and the mufflers aren't nearly as hot as the headers. Maybe I've just been lucky.

The bottoms had become so mishapen from being wet and drying many times that I pop-riveted a flat piece of aluminum to the bottom of them to help hold the shape. So.. I either made a fire-barrier.. or a hot plate for my stuff! lol. Seriously though... I've gone a ton of miles with these on there. Not sure what happened to your friend's bags, but these have been the best $40 I ever spent for the bike. Well.. except maybe that fairing Ben likes so well..


Tod

[CatatonicBug]

I had a 2-liter soda bottle in mine on my trip to Kansas City last year, and burned through them too. Without the extra weight, they were above the pipes, but that bottle killed them. I stopped for gas, and saw a leak! Turns out it was the soda leaking out through a tiny melted hole. Of course, these were faux leather, and may not have withstood the temps as well as regular leather might have. I have since switched to a set of Vetter hard bags.