Hi Russ, funny, we both picked up our new rockets on the same day, congrats!!
I’ve been doing some digging as well. I read the installation instructions for both the Oem saddle bags, and for the Hepco & Becker ones. With the oem, you get a new splash guard for the underside of the tail section, while the H&B provide instructions for drilling the mount holes, and grommets for a secure seal. Depending on you comfort level, the H&B solution looks diy friendly.
Both look strong, and with the H&B, you get the flexibility of different size bags you might choose. Personally I have no experience with H&B, and my research wasn’t actually for saddle bags. I’ve used Ventura Evo racks for years on my different bike, and they do not have a adapter kit for the 2020+ rockets yet, so I was curious how saddle bags were being installed, and if there’s an opportunity to use Ventura rack in the same manner.
Someone else might be able to give you real world experience, but I wanted to at least share that the H&B mounts are using the same location as the factory bags. Hope that helps!
