The bags themselves are not of the highest grade plastic. When loaded they tend to bow out a bit. The lids hinge from the outside and do not align the latch unless you push down on the latch a bit. Once the latch alighns itself and clicks, it's sturdy enough to be packed full. I lock them just incase and never had a latch fail.
I made my own brackets. wasn't difficult. I just purchased 4 solid steel flat straps. They are about 1.5" wide and about 3/8" thick. They were 24" long, but I trimmed them down after mocking up the bags. The most dificult part was figuring where to drill the holes. I used various spacers and bolts. I usually have a random assortment of hardware from different project. I made a couple trips to the hardware store, but overall, it was about a 3 hour job including paint. I did not have to bend the straps at all. I just spaced them away from the fender as much as needed to clear. then drilled three holes in the bags and straps. used spacers between the bags and straps. Originally, I connected the bags to the straps with two bolts per strap, but the plastic flexed too much with a light load. I then drilled holes where the bolts mounted the brackets to the fender so the bolt goes first through the bag, then a spacer, then the strap, then another spacer, and finally into the fender.
My only grip with the bags is that I would have liked to mount them a little lower. Right now they are about even with the top of the fender. I could not lower them any more due to interference with the rear shock. I would have to more them further back to move them down. And then they would extend beyond the fender and that just looked silly. Again, I think they look like a nice alternative to the beetles at less than 25% the cost.
Feels solid enough for a total of less than $300. that included the bags, shipping and all hardware. Try to find nice looking bags for less.