Those Craftsman boxes actually look pretty sweet. I assume you work for Sears, or are a corporate exec for K-Mart since they bought Sears. I use Craftman almost exclusively for their break/exchange policy. Does that mean if you drop the bike, (knock on wood) you can replace them for free?
On another note. I just installed some matte black Mutazu RS (
MUTAZU Motorcycle Trunks) bags on my matte black Roadster. The bike is filthy, as usual, and I'm about to wrap my Jardine headers, so I'll post pictures soon. I think I like the look. The Brackets that come with the Mutazu bags look like crap on the rocket. They stick out a lot and make an already wide situation unbearable. So, I did what I always do and modify til I'm happy. I cut off the "L" off the top of the bracket, flipped them over, drilled out the top (was bottom) hole. Now they are just heavy duty 1/4" flat straps. A couple trips to the hardware store for the appropriate size bolts, washers, and spacers, I have some nice looking mounts. The bags came with rubber grommets and mouting hardware to attach the bags to the brackets but not brackets to the bike. So this means I didn't waste money on hardware I didn't use. They seem pretty sturdy except for when they are open. There is some flex in the hard bags. Enough that the latch does not line up perfectly when you close them. It's not bad though. it allignes itself and secures nicely without any convincing needed. for cheep bags, I'm pleased. The fit and finish is about what I expected for $300 bags, but this is a commuting machine and will not try to win any shows. The volume is what I'd call medium to large. Yet the lines of the bags compared to the large fender make them look a littel smaller on the bike. I don't know if I'd suggest these to anyone that will use Easy or Ghost brackets. The bags might stick out too far for comfort.
It took about 4 hours including the time spent at the hardware store down the street to mount the bags. Positioning them was pretty easy once I made a plan. I put a towel on the pipes (cold bike of course), a 12" 2X4, and a 12" 1X4 as spacers. That gave me spacing of about 2 1/2" from the pipes. That put the top of the bags just slightly lower than the top of the fender. It also allowed me to just barely clear the shocks without sticking out much past the rear of the fender (It will make sense in the pictures).
If you have any questions about the bags, let me know. The last person to post pictures of the RS bags with ghost brackets sounds like he wrecked that bike, so I might be the only one with them on a rocket.
On a third note... Does anyone have a Rivco Solo Rack that they are selling? My wife no longer has the desire to ride with me! WooHoo! And with the flat black paint, there are marks in the paint that will not come out (due to the rubber bumpers on the rear seat). Figured it's best to just cover it with something that looks nice. The Bags look better without the rear seat.
**Update**
Uploaded some preliminary pictures. Rode it to work about 25 miles to test on the freeway. Seem like they can benefit from a little more rigidity. I'll add some large washers to either side of the grommets that go through the bag wall. While I have them off, I'll grind down the square edges of the bracket, paint them back up, and clean the bike.