Custom Bags

[bcar00]

Just sharing my attempt at bags (panniers). For a lot of reasons, I hate the triumph bags. I have a decent shop, including a TIG welder, so this might not be a solution for everyone. Appearance is subjective, so even though I love how these turned out, you might hate them.

My objectives: Something that complements the look of the bike (modern-classic). Narrow enough to lane split and tucked in tight to the fender, not hanging inches out. Sturdy mount, top opening. Water resistant, lockable, and preferably opening out (really nice to be able to reach into your bags at a stop without getting off the bike. I wanted something big enough to carry an extra half helmet, soft lunch cooler, spare gloves, googles, etc, as well as a folded up leather jacket. Also, anything my date might bring (purse, extra sweater, etc). I wasn't looking for something big enough for a week on the road. I'll use a duffle for that.

Here's what I came up with. Viking Bags Raven Leather covered hard bags (40L). Made my own mounts with some thin walled steel tub I had laying around that bolt to the factory bag mounts. It was NOT easy or quick. A lot of measuring, fitting, recutting, welding, etc. etc. They're a LOT sturdier than the stock brackets with the flimsy swivel arm. I'll never ride without them, but they can be removed fairly easily with the four main bolts.

 

[Sparky59]

Just sharing my attempt at bags (panniers). For a lot of reasons, I hate the triumph bags. I have a decent shop, including a TIG welder, so this might not be a solution for everyone. Appearance is subjective, so even though I love how these turned out, you might hate them.

My objectives: Something that complements the look of the bike (modern-classic). Narrow enough to lane split and tucked in tight to the fender, not hanging inches out. Sturdy mount, top opening. Water resistant, lockable, and preferably opening out (really nice to be able to reach into your bags at a stop without getting off the bike. I wanted something big enough to carry an extra half helmet, soft lunch cooler, spare gloves, googles, etc, as well as a folded up leather jacket. Also, anything my date might bring (purse, extra sweater, etc). I wasn't looking for something big enough for a week on the road. I'll use a duffle for that.

Here's what I came up with. Viking Bags Raven Leather covered hard bags (40L). Made my own mounts with some thin walled steel tub I had laying around that bolt to the factory bag mounts. It was NOT easy or quick. A lot of measuring, fitting, recutting, welding, etc. etc. They're a LOT sturdier than the stock brackets with the flimsy swivel arm. I'll never ride without them, but they can be removed fairly easily with the four main bolts. Yes, the bolts protrude further than the factory aluminum mounts, but I measured a good 5in clearance to the tire. More than enough for the suspension travel spec. And for those of you with some welding skill, yes, I ground the welds down before painting. It's been a few years since I welded thin wall and I'm out of practice.

I think You did a great job. Looks as good as factory...Nice work

 

[A1A Rider]

Ha, I have these bags, just a hard surface version on my other bike. Never thought I'd seen them on a rocket.

My only concern if the left bag is going to hit the swing arm when bottomed out.

 

[bcar00]

Ha, I have these bags, just a hard surface version on my other bike. Never thought I'd seen them on a rocket.

My only concern if the left bag is going to hit the swing arm when bottomed out.

No problem to the swing arm. Plate holder only has tinny clearance at full travel, but working on a tail tidy to remove the dumb fashion statement of a plate holder completely. The bottom of the left bag is actually a quarter inch out from the right bag for that reason.

 

[Fozzie]

They look spot on, in my humble opinion they look loads better than some of the horrors ive seen

 

[Renigma]

Just sharing my attempt at bags (panniers). For a lot of reasons, I hate the triumph bags. I have a decent shop, including a TIG welder, so this might not be a solution for everyone. Appearance is subjective, so even though I love how these turned out, you might hate them.

My objectives: Something that complements the look of the bike (modern-classic). Narrow enough to lane split and tucked in tight to the fender, not hanging inches out. Sturdy mount, top opening. Water resistant, lockable, and preferably opening out (really nice to be able to reach into your bags at a stop without getting off the bike. I wanted something big enough to carry an extra half helmet, soft lunch cooler, spare gloves, googles, etc, as well as a folded up leather jacket. Also, anything my date might bring (purse, extra sweater, etc). I wasn't looking for something big enough for a week on the road. I'll use a duffle for that.

Here's what I came up with. Viking Bags Raven Leather covered hard bags (40L). Made my own mounts with some thin walled steel tub I had laying around that bolt to the factory bag mounts. It was NOT easy or quick. A lot of measuring, fitting, recutting, welding, etc. etc. They're a LOT sturdier than the stock brackets with the flimsy swivel arm. I'll never ride without them, but they can be removed fairly easily with the four main bolts.

Looks extremely well done. I have a few questions
1. Did you cut those holes in the plastic under the seat or bought that part from triumph accessories ?
2. Can you share the dimensions of the mounts you used ?

 

[bcar00]

Looks extremely well done. I have a few questions
1. Did you cut those holes in the plastic under the seat or bought that part from triumph accessories ?
2. Can you share the dimensions of the mounts you used ?

I cut holes in the factory plastic. It's identical to the Triumph part with the holes.

I didn't do drawings. Just started cutting and welding. The mount is very "3d". The individual arms are not flat, and are joined on each side. Also, it isn't just a mirror image left to right, due to the swing arm. I'd really have to do a 3D model with at scanner. Not a great answer, but that's why I prefaced my post that my design might not be super helpful to other owners.

 

[Jagster]

I think the set up looks very good.
However, I do wonder how much cantilevered load, the pannier frames can take.
I'm thinking that there must be a noticeable flexing when the panniers are loaded up, but then hit a big bump at speed and that flexing will be quite a bit more.
I hope my concerns amount to nothing and that you have enjoyable and trouble free journeys. The panniers look good on the bike and I like the top loading functionality of them.

 

[bcar00]

Durability of anything custom is always a big question. I tend to overbuild. You can put most of your weight on top of each bag and there's no perceptible deflection. I'll probably never put 1/10th that load in them.

"Cantilever" is the key word here, but if you look at the actual structure, it's pretty beefy. One thing to keep in mind, the weight warnings on the factory bags do not say the bags or mounts might break, they say loading then with more might make the bike unstable (I forget the exact language). It's Lawyer CYA speak, not anything to do with the actual load limit of the mounts.