Just installed some Bag Rails... with pics.

[jad]

I purchased from someone here, a set of OEM bag rails.  When I installed them, they are a little off, they are shifted to the left about a .25 inch, according to the center of my rear fender and the center bend of the cross over bar on the bag rails.  They also are real close to the right bag on the side, but the left is fine.  Actually, it'd be nice of they could be shifted to the right a .25 inch and they'd be fine.

I was wondering if this was typical with OEM bag rails, and I should just live with it, or did I get some imitation from the guy.  He did tell me when I asked, that they were OEM.

It's not off too much but it does bother me.

Thanks,
John

[Kingbee]

That sounds like the aftermarket set

[fudgie]

I've heard the knockoffs are a little whooper jawed to one side. Not saying that what these are but it is similar. Some on here have shimed them over to look more square. They'll chime in.

[R J]

You could do with them like I did my OEM rails.   They were off also, and I never did figure out which spacers went where, so after fighting it for about 6 hours one day,  already had the bags off,  I had my oldest grandson hold a 2X4 on the end of the rail.  Ker wham with the sledge hammer and everything fit just fine.........  I don't recommend that, but by damn it worked for me and let me get my nerves settled back down. 

The Grandson told his mom that he heard words out of Grandpa's mouth he had never heard before.  She asked him if I was mad, he said yes, she asked if I was mad at him, he said NO, she told him the next time just walk away and leave him alone.

I think I  still have the card board they came in, with HONDA all over them.........  Yeah, I know, I need to clean my garage out.....  When someone gives me a 'round tuit' wooden preferred, I dig into it..........     

[DeathWishBikerDude]

I have an aftermarket set of bag rails.
I use a thick towel between the bags and rails when I bolt them up for the year.
They do have some adjustment and will stay where you mount them when tightened up.
How about some pics of your rails?
We can identify if they are Honda or aftermarket.

[bigvalkriefan]

These are the rails I sold to jad. I was told they were aftermarket. Please look at the pictures and let us know if they ate OEM or aftermarket.

[BonS]

They look like OEM to me.

[DeathWishBikerDude]

They look like Honda to me.
Great deal!They run about $600 off ebay.

A little tweaking with a piece of wood should do the trick.
You could also try some spacers and longer bolts to adjust the fit.

[Flameout 86]

I bought some OEM bag rails and installed them on my '97 tourer then transferred them to my 2000 tourer.  They fit perfect on both bikes.  I have the installation instructions that came with them and will be glad to send them to you if you think they might help.  My e-mail address is tberleth@aol.com.  Let me know if you want them.

[hubcapsc]

OEM bag rail instructions are on shoptalk...

http://www.valkyrieriders.com/shoptalk/Manuals/BagRails1.pdf

http://www.valkyrieriders.com/shoptalk/Manuals/BagRails2.pdf

-Mike

[jad]

Hey all,

The only correction is that he did say they were OEM in his EMail to me.  The only problem is that the fit is shifted to the left, I like the look except them being off a little.  The rear fender isn't centered, it almost touches on the right side where I can't slide a micro fiber rag between the fender and the rail piece.  The rails are closer to the bag on the right rear but if I can get the left/right alignment set, I'll live with the Rear spacing.

I've tried to adjust some so far but they are very tight and don't seem to budge.  I'm wondering about the 2x4 sledge impact method.  I did buy longer hardware where needed but the one place I see in the added instructions here, is the place where there is a bolt and spacer on the side support.

I guess I can try again and see where I can make some adjustments, I only hope I don't crack the chrome doing it. 

So I'm going to take it all apart again and see where I can shift stuff to the right.  If I can just get a quarter Inch, I'm golden.

I know that they were used when he bought them, I'm not really arguing that they are OEM or not at this point,  I was just trying to see if, because of the fit issue, they were OEM, if others had fit problems with OEM. I know it's my problem that the fit bothers me.

I'll take a couple of days to see how I can adjust things in the evenings after work.

I didn't use any name here because I'm not feeling like I was mislead,  I'll see if I can work through this.

... hmm,  2X4 ...   Sledge ...  deep breath ...  oh wait, maybe a file and some tweeking on the pieces...  I only need a .25 inch...

[DeathWishBikerDude]

By removing the chrome spacers holding the saddlebag mounts to the fender struts,and replacing them with washers,you can adjust the spacing between the hard bags and the bike/rails.
I've heard the honda fenders have had some problems with flexing,that were replaced under warranty.
Obviosly your warranty is most likely over.
Look closely how everything is mounted.
You should be able to come up with a solution.

[jad]

Thanks,

I will look carefully at how everything is sitting before I start man handling stuff.

I want to make it clear that I'm by no means unhappy with these rails, they look to be OEM according to the provided installation instructions.  They just seem to be... off a little in the mounting department.

I'm sure I can make them work with a little patience and some gentile prodding.

Thanks,
John

[MP]

I just got some, but not put on yet.  I have longer bolts for the rails, but do I need longer shock bolts?  Looks like one bracket attaches to the top shock bolt????
MP

[hubcapsc]

I just got some, but not put on yet.  I have longer bolts for the rails, but do I need longer shock bolts?  Looks like one bracket attaches to the top shock bolt????
MP

You won't need longer shock bolts... but I had to get a strap wrench to
adjust my shocks after the addition of the extra stuff in the way...



-Mike

[MrStankie]

Hey gang...  What is the difference in the OEM bag rails and the aftermarket?  I bought a set of aftermarkets about six weeks ago (haven't installed yet) and they look really similar to the OEM's. So, how do you tell?  What is the difference?
Thanks.... MrStankie

[DeathWishBikerDude]

The stock honda attaches securely to the shock mounts,as shown above,protecting the front of the bags.
My aftermarket set attaches to the saddle bag mount/crash bar.
Less protection,in the event of an accident or fall.
But I only paid $200 for mine.

[MrStankie]

Thanks Deathwishbikerdude for your response... I've seen the aftermarkets you are talking about... However, the aftermarket set I have attaches to the shock mount just like in the pic posted by hubcapsc.

Thanks ... MrStankie

[hubcapsc]

Hey gang...  What is the difference in the OEM bag rails and the aftermarket?  I bought a set of aftermarkets about six weeks ago (haven't installed yet) and they look really similar to the OEM's. So, how do you tell?  What is the difference?
Thanks.... MrStankie

I don't have personal experience with OEM-style  aftermarket rails, but there's a couple of
different kinds that have cropped up recently...

      http://www.carolinabikeandtrike.com    <--- VRCC member

      and the OEM-style that you see on eBay...

Did you get yours one of these two places?

-Mike

[MrStankie]

Hi Mike..
I got mine from "bktoyz09" on ebay.... He advertised as "not OEM".  I am not familiar enough with the OEM rails to be able to tell the difference.
Thanks for your reply....
Donald (MrStankie)

[jad]

After fiddle farting around with spacers, washers, loosening stuff up and trying to shift everything, I finally decided to live with it for now.  It's a little tiny bit better, but in the grand scheme of things, I'll deal with it later when I take things apart to clean things, which I do a couple of times a  year.  I'm satisfied that they look OEM, per Install instructions, and as long as I don't keep getting told that they are off a little when we're all standing around kicking tires and checking stuff out, I'll be ok with it.

I did get longer bolts for shock mounts, lower Bag support, and the brackets that attach to the bag rail support in the rear. 

I'll take a pic tonight and see if I can post it.

Thanks all... and ST,
John

[jad]

Here is the gap.  Hmmm, for a few days.

John

[jad]

Here they are.  I like them...  Do they make her butt look big?

John

[BonS]

It's hard to tell from a slightly off-angle photo but could it be that the fender is the part that is off? How's the spacing around the outside of the bags?

[jad]

They're a bit closer on the right side, I can stick a finger on the left side but barely get a Microfiber rag on the right.  The angle of the pic is the best to see the spacing difference.  If everything was shifted right about a quarter inch, it'd be about perfect.

I'm going to let things sit a bit until the next time I take it all apart to clean, then I'll see what I can do the adjust/ prod/ force/ do whatever I can  to make it fit better.

John

[fudgie]

Hmmm....I wonder if you dropped it on the right side if you would damage your fender and rt bag. Might do more damage with them on then off. Maybe you can take them off and support them some way and torque it the way it needs to go, gently of coarse.