Dorian Perez
Life is like an open highway ~ Lenny Kravitz
I didn't want to fork out the $1000 for hardware and all for the Triumph bags. Actually, I just couldn't. We'd just moved, I'd just graduated from college, you get the gist. These are the $179 large bags from Cycle Gear on the $40 universal bracket. I watched some You-Tube because I couldn't keep the bags off the pipes and saw how to hard mount the bags. Pretty simply, really... drill holes... but that didn't register at first because I kept thinking my stuff would get wet. I haven't had any problems with leaking. The bags seem close in this picture, but I think I'm about 1.25 inches off the pipes and haven't had ANY troubles. My rides have ranged from 1-5 hours at speeds up to 90 on the interstate.
I am looking at a hard shell replacement only for the locking option. (I sometimes conceal carry and can't always carry my pistol into a store or into our office.) But these have served me well for the last 18 months or so. I'm not able to put a helmet in them, but I always have cold and wet weather gear, my tool bag, bottled water, and other amenities. I have a couple of duffel style bags that fit in each one, so when I get to an overnight location, I just pull them out and take everything with me. (This translates to a backpack and two duffel totes being carried.)