BEST SADDLE BAGS?

[ddpsr]

I have a GL500C/CD valkyrie.  What's the best saddle bag for my bike?

[Gear Jammer]

Do you want to include those hardbags made of plastic/fiberglass as well as leather and synthetics?   ???   Can you narrow it down some?  

[f6gal]

I have a GL500C/CD valkyrie.  What's the best saddle bag for my bike?

IMHO... Hondaline or Champion.

[SANDMAN5]

I have LeatherLykes and I like 'em. Not the best looking, but they
lock and they keep stuff dry even in a pretty good rain. Easy to
remove for cleaning/cruising. If I had extra $$$ I'd look at Boss Bags #42.
Best looking (IMHO) and you can add stuff to them. YMMV.

[KW]

I also have the LeatherLykes. . . . and love them, but if I could have afforded (at the time) a pair of Honda Tourer OEM's I would have went that route. You may hear some 'old' complaints about the Leatherlykes. The first generation bags apparently cracked at the stress points. The company fixed that by reenforcing the mounting plate with steel. Also, some people had some discoloration issues, but that was from not following the cleaning directions (they only recommend two cleaning products to clean the bags.) Mine have been on . . . 4 or 5 years (I think) and still look new. And, like Bob said above; they 'keep things dry'. The lock, like on ANY bag, just keeps the honest people honest

[Normandog]

I have a GL500C/CD valkyrie.  What's the best saddle bag for my bike?

IMHO... Hondaline or Champion.

I'm with Connie on this.

[doubletee]

I really like the looks of hard bags on the Valk and have, on more than one occassion, considered going that route. The one thing that kept me from taking the leap is the slight expandability provided by the Honda leather bags that came with the bike. With hard bags, the volume limit is just that - hard.

Within reason, I can stuff a few extra things in the leather bags and they'll give a bit to accommodate a little more.

One downside is they are not lockable. Although, as has been pointed out earlier, locks only keep the honest people honest. 

[MP]

+1 on the hard bags.  I had Leatherlyke on the std when I got it.  Changed to a set of IS ones.  MUCH better, IMHO.

MP

[flamingobabe #44]

If your looking for leather    http://bossbags.com/

We had them on our Valk and now on our Harley, they are huge, lockable, water tight, and never sag.
The owner, Greg is a good guy and stands behind his products 100%

[Walküre]

I've been looking very hard at these Tsukayu Strong bags - I keep watching for the Tourer bags, on the 'bay, but they seem to go for $1000 or more. These are about half of that, and appear very similar. They are fiberglass, not ABS, like some of the hard bags are. Saving my shekels for them, now...





http://www.bikersden.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=631

R

[KY,Dave (AKA Misunderstood)]

I have a GL500C/CD valkyrie.  What's the best saddle bag for my bike?

IMHO... Hondaline or Champion.

I'm with Connie on this.

Ditto

[Redline +]

I have a GL500C/CD valkyrie.  What's the best saddle bag for my bike?

The best would be Honda IS bags and mounts. Install the Tourer hinges and cable stops. That's what I did on my CD...nothing but the best for my gal. They do, however, make her butt look bigger.

Redline  

[valkMJ]

I've been looking very hard at these Tsukayu Strong bags - I keep watching for the Tourer bags, on the 'bay, but they seem to go for $1000 or more. These are about half of that, and appear very similar. They are fiberglass, not ABS, like some of the hard bags are. Saving my shekels for them, now...

I just got a set of those a couple weeks ago.  The site I got them from included upgraded latches, since from what I could find, the original latches had issues.  I like them so far, and I'm sure they'll look much better once I get them painted.  We'll see how they hold up over vacation.  Only a week and a half to go!  

[F6MoRider]

I have a 2000 Standard Valk.  I added OEM bags from an Interstate Valk that was triked.  If you look up and then call the various trike shops, Google "Trike Shop Florida" for a big list, you may still find them or another dealer that has them.  I saw a set in Daytona this past spring (Bike Week) at a trike shop.  He was selling them for $700 plus you'd get the rear tire/rim, the hangers, the swingarm (and rear caliper).  These are what he referred to as "take offs."  Nice part is the bags are solid bottoms as opposed to the OEM for the Valk Tourer which has a seam through the middle of the bag allowing for leaks later in its life.

If you find them, also consider Chet's Saddlebag Quick Removal Kit for the Valk.  They are off and back on in less than 10 minutes.

Downside, the locks may not have keys so you'd have to have them re-keyed, replaced or go w/o the lock function.  ???

This was my experience, your experience and mileage may vary. 

[paul]

Later model harley police bags and gaurd rails...now if we could figure out how to mount the valk engine and drive train in an electraglide frame .....

[Dragonryder2]

I had Leatherlykes and changed to Boss Bags.  I love them, but   the Leatherlykes were okay too.  The Boss Bags come with a strap so you can take them off, easy, and carry over your sholder.

It's a VALK whatever you choose will look good.

[F-106]

If you decide on the IS bags we have a member here that has a set for sale. Or if cant find anything you like i can put you in contact with the man that made mine for my valk.

I have a GL500C/CD valkyrie.  What's the best saddle bag for my bike?

[BF]

I have a GL500C/CD valkyrie.  What's the best saddle bag for my bike?

Of course, the "best" is subjective......and it depends on what type and style you want.  Soft bags...hardbags, plain, studded, lockable, etc. 

I've been looking at and researching all of the bag options currently available for the Valk.  When funds allow, I will be buying a good set of hardbags. 

Currently, I've got the bags that came on it....the OEM Honda "Valkyrie" soft leather bags.  They're OK, look cool, hold alot of stuff, but they have one drawback that's important to me....they're not lockable. 

There are soft looking bags that arn't really soft, but they look like a leather product and are lockable.  Bossbags and Leatherlyke are standouts.  Bosbags would be my first choice for a leather looking type of bag....but they're really spendy.

My first choice would be the OEM hardbags (perferably Interstates because they don't have the seam running down the back), however, there are two setbacks to those as well.......they're getting harder to find, and they're going for a grand or better when offered for sale or on auction sites.  You might be able to find some elsewhere (such as at a trike shop) but that's getting alot harder to do as well.  The plus side of them is that you can readily buy parts for them from Directline or other places. 

If you still want an OEM looking bag, the Champions are top notch and look really close to the OEM bags.  However, those are around $1500 for a set of those.  They are really nice and are lined inside...however, they're too much for me. 

The Tsukayu bags look nice and I'm considering them as well.  They look very close to the OEM hardbags also....not quite, but very close and alot of folks really like 'em. 

Then...there are Mustang bags.  I've been looking at these too....and I'm really liking what I see.  They look cool, are huge and hold a alot of stuff, are lockable, are hardbags that are covered to look like they're covered in leather, are  little less than half the price of a set of Champion bags and if you use a set of Easy Brackets or Edge Brackets to mount the Mustangs, you can take them on and off the bike very quickly and cleanly to access the bike for routine maintainance chores....and you can get them either plain or with studs. 

http://www.mustangseats.com/Product.aspx?ID=6

This is what they look like on a Valk.......



Soooooo.......

I've pretty much narrowed it down to two choices for me.......either a good used set of OEM hardbags or......the Mustangs with studs. 

If I go with the Mustangs bags, I'm going to mate them with a trunk to match 'em.......this one (yea, I know it's a Harely product, but I like it and you can get a lock kit for it too).......



I'm really leaning towards the Mustang's and that Harley Tourpak.  Just gotta keep saving' those pennies. 

[BF]

Here's a video of the Mustang bags I found on Youtube.  They're not mounted on a Valkyrie here, but it'll give you a good idea of what they'll look like and how they'll work on a Valk.  This guy's trunk looks like a trunk from Leatherlyke also.  Gives you something else to think about too. 

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