I was looking for fiberglass bags for my 1500 Dragoon and kept bumping up against ABS bags. I found the prices varied widely from 60 bucks on Amazon to around 300 bucks on proprietary sites. Many of the 300 dollars bags did not state the material but when I emailed to ask they replied ABS. I figured why would I pay 300 for ABS when I can ABS off Amazon for 60.
Finally, I hit paydirt and found some fiberglass bags at A1 Hardbags at a price that didn't make my sphincter tighten. I thought 235 bucks sounded pretty good for fiberglass bags. I paid a little extra for the universal mounts which I modified a bit and after 8 hours had my bags on. I am pretty anal so if you are not particular they could go on much faster.
The actual bags (the fiberglass) is nice. The hinge is very loose but I am thinking that might be to prevent cracking of the glass. The hinge is large and I doubt the hinge will break. The support column is also very loose. Perhaps it is also meant to prevent cracking. So when the lid is lifted it is not a nice solid straight up lift. It is very loose in the raised position with lots of side to side movement but the support holds it up nicely. Oddly, the screws can not be turned to firm up the play as they are flattened on the opposite side of the philips star. However, I am sure the screws could be drilled out and replaced if some one was so inclined and wanted to remove the extra play. In the down position, it is tight and looks like a good seal. I really don't have much experience beyond leather bags so I do not know if the extra play is normal or standard in other bags. I don't care for the play as I generally like things tight. Don't we all? I think the play has a purpose as it would not have cost anything for them to take it out. I wondered about hinges etc before I ordered and rationed that fiberglass is pretty easy to work with so for the price, I could replace them if necessary. I really do not think they need replaced, at most a guy might be inclined to drill the screws out of the lift and tighten them up.
I got the ST bags and they matched the contours of my rear fender nicely and seem pretty largeish. The website said they had a paint blem but I do not notice any problem with the paint. They have unlined for 235 and lined for 299. I cheaped out and got the unlined for 235 but I received bags with a felt lining. Don't know what to think about that as I expected bare fiberglass. I guess it was a bonus I did not expect.
At any rate, if you are cheap like me and want some fiberglass bags I think this is a great deal. They also have a larger bag that opens to the side for a bit more ching, also fiberglass. I hesitated buying those as I was not sure the fiberglass would be durable enough. Now that I have the bags I think that was an unnecessary concern. Considering the loose hinge and lid support I might have rather went that way had I known.
Here is the website.
http://www.a1hardbags.com/motorcycle-hard-bags/st-motorcycle-saddlebags/st-motorcycle-saddlebags-hard-bags-harley-honda-yamaha-kawasaki-suzuki-good-paint.htmlI got the universal mount. It requires drilling four, half-inch holes in each bag and slipping a rubber grommet in the hole. The bolt then slipped through the grommet and into the threaded hanger. There is some rather skimpy instructions on the website under blogs.
I think most people just hang the bags with bolts and I have read about alot of cracked bags so I think the rubber grommets would help with that problem. I modified the hanger a bit. I wanted the hanger to hang lower so I made a new hole above the one that mounts to the bike. It helped hide the hanger so it did not stick up. I also cut one hanger off so it did not hang below the bags. Probably the most time-consuming thing was getting the bolts back in my bike to mount the hanger. I had a luggage support which I left on. I must have had the mounts on and off 4-6 times. Each time I had to fight the bolts. Just removing one and installing the bracket helps rather than removing both bolts at the same time. Leaving one in keeps things lined up better. Without that support, it would have been an easier and much quicker job. I could have easily left it off and maybe in retrospect should have. I don't anticipate it would take a guy more than an afternoon to modify, mount and hang the bags. Particular if you kinda know the mods before you start.
Anyway. Pretty nice fiberglass bags for Cheap. I am all over that.
