Hard bag news....

Hi everyone, just wanted to share my experience on getting my new saddle bags. First off thanks to whoever posted up about https://www.rickroushaccessories.com because they were by far the cheapest at $820.00 delivered from Ohio to California. They did good despite the fact that they don't have them in stock which means I had to wait a little while before they showed up here. I saved 280.00 over my local dealer and the cheapect i found on flea-bay was 859.00, not delivered. I had to wait a grand total of 14 days(not much really)- but well worth it for the deal IMHO. Now I have to mount them! A write up maybe? if i have the patience I'll give it a go.

 

'Destructions'

Hi Goinphaster,

Did they come the mounting kit and fitting instructions?

Thanks.

 

everything, just as if you were to order from your local dealer. this includes the mounting brackets, intructions, hardware, three keys plus two more matching keys and a tumbler for a tail trunk. RickRoushaccessories.com guarantees the lowest prices for factory accessories, and they have proven it.

 

I just took my bag racks off to mount my new Leo Vince pipes. Time to remount I guess?! Took me about 2hrs to mount the racks the first time I did so, here's hoping it doesn't take quite so long this time around.

 

Sounds good dude - I wish Honda had hardbags for my 2000 VFR.

 

I recently did the same thing. I lucked out on a new set for the 03, mine is an 05. They were clearing them out and got them for $669 including shipping, last set though. Perfect match in colour and has the VFR badge not the Interceptor badge. Installation was pretty straight forward except for the need to enlarge the mounting hole at the footpegs. Can anyone tell me why you would build a mounting bracket for a specific hole and not match the sizes? Go figure. Still drilling the hole wasn't a big deal once I got the right bit. Not easy to get a metric bit in this metric country of Canada????

 

The hole seemed like it was the right size- without paint in it. The 12mm drill bit gives you a really even and clean hole to put the bushing into, that's all. I didn't even use a drill bit, I just used a round file and cleaned out the hole.

 

wow! from the title I thought they had a new substitute for baby powder.....darn!!!!!
NN

 

Yah, same here. All I did was put a fine sanding block on my Dremel sander and I was done in 2 secs. It took me about 2.5 hours to install my hard bags. For those of you who have not installed yours yet, heed the following advice: leave every bolt loose until they are all in place, then torque them up. One hour of my installation was taken up cussin' at that last bolt hole that wouldn't line up.

 

[One hour of my installation was taken up cussin' at that last bolt hole that wouldn't line up.[/QUOTE]

I also had problems with the last bolt. It did not even matter which one I left for last.

I suggest having a friend over for some beers when you attempt the installation as extra leverage can be a huge benefit.

 

Consider a Werkes Fender Eliminator Kit

I mounted Honda Hard Bags (also from Rick Roush) this week and have a couple of suggestions.

The racks are difficult to mount. There are three connection points for each bag:

1. the bracket where the passenger grab handle is mounted

2. the 12mm hole in the top of the passenger footpeg bracket, and

3. the rear fender.

It appears to me that the rear fender is the real problem. A bracket mounts between the tail light unit, the unit's spacer, and then the fender and the steel fender support. Then struts from each rack have to connect to the bracket.

When mounting with the stock fender (and the new steel fender support), it is essential to keep ALL bolts loose. You will need a lot of flexibility.

However, if you had first installed a Werkes Fender Eliminator Kit, the fender bracket could be used as a template and a new bracket could be fabricated that would greatly simplify the installation. Or you could cut down the fender bracket and use it.

My riding pal has his bags mounted at the local Honda shop and it cost $200 for labor in addition to the $1,000 he paid the dealer for the bags.

A 31/64ths drill bit is 12.3 mm.

If I had this to do over, I would install the Fender Eliminator kit first. and then make a substitute bracket.

Good luck with your racks. Here is a photo of my completed installation:

 

Anyone out there got a side bag mounting kit they want to get rid of? Or parts of one from a stolen or crashed bike? I just need part of it, and Honda doesn't have part numbers for part of it, just the whole kit. If it was cheap I would do it, but as we all know, it isn't.

 

Just called Honda Corp to ask about ordering just part of the bag mounting kit. You can't buy part of the kit, you have to buy the whole thing! Is it me, or is that kind of F&@#ed up? And they no longer sell the mounting kit seperately from the bags, it is an all or nothing proposition! So I am missing one part of the bracket and they expect me to buy new bags and everything?!?! OK, that pisses me off. With BMW, you can buy new reflectors for the bags if you lost one. Handles if one ever broke. But with Honda I have to buy the whole kit and caboodle? That is nuts, especially when I can go online and there is a part number for every single sticker on the body -- as seperate pieces. Lost that little one on the gas tank that tells you that riding a motorcycle is dangerous, you can get a new one. Lose part of your sidebag mounting kit, you need new bags and the entire mount! I'll friggin' buy a BMW F800 before I do that!

 

Time for EBAY ............ but that does suck ! maybe try a local dealer ..... might have something in stock the would sell.

 

Fitting hard bags

Hi Kiowa,

I've eliminated my rear fender, ie the big plastic part, and I have mounted my licence plate higher up the metal support (looks pretty good I think). How important is the bag mount to the rear fender? Are the bags secure without this?

By the way, your picture didn't show. Can you post again or email it to me at memyself_940@hotmail.com

Thanks.

 

Olderandfaster,
I emailed the photo to you. Each rack has a rear strut that connects to a bracket that is in turn connected to the rear fender and fender bracket. You can (1) modify that bracket by cutting it down or (2) use it as a template for a new fabricated bracket if you have a shortened fender. Some stability will be lost by not connecting to the rear fender bracket.

 

Try Twisted Throttle

 

Hard bags

Fitted the OE bags this past weekend (Rick Roush, $800 including freight and they arrived within 5 days of ordering). They fit fine without the plastic fender. The mounting kit is a perfect fit and exceptionally solid.

 

thanks 'faster and all of you for this thread, I have eliminator kit and was wondering if it would screw up install...now if I could just find that 800$ I put in the couch...:biggrin: I actually emailed Rousch and asked if 769 was the rock bottom and a nice girl responded saying ound:it was pretty close to cost and yes they were done...im a cheap bastard still looking for used too!:clap2:

 

Ok, here's a narrative of my hard bag install:
1217: drilled holes to 12mm
1247: pulled all stock components
1305: installed brackets A, B and C
1312: rear plastic in place
1407: right stay positioned, all bolts loosely in place
1441: left stay positioned, all bolts loosely in place
1450: having problems getting bracket A to line up with bracket B
1509: Still having problems, having flashbacks to the 85 Interceptor luggage rack installation incident
1532: Still having problems, having decided to memorize Chapter 7 of the Lord of Nightmare's Book "Things to do to Beings who Tick Me Off" then visit the Honda engineer who designed the accursed things
1546: Having used the "Easy to Follow" instruction sheet to ignite the Honda engineer's efferge with my eye beams of agony, I removed all bolts except for A's to the stays and the 8mm allens as the red haze slowly crept in on my vision and my skin tone began to turn green
1601: Lined up the licence plate bracket (LPB), brackets A and B, LPB bolts inserted in reverse (YES I tried to insert them forward, the damned short collars kept popping out, along with that @*&^#%*!^@!$% LPB spacer, the nuts are hidden by the Licence plate and I don't give a damn, if you don't like it, you can put them in YOURSELF!)
1702: after finally getting the grab rail bolts lined up, using lanuage a Marine Drill Instructor wouldn't, everything torqued (about as tight as whey were taken off) and blue lock-tighted, I noticed the top forward bend rubs against the bodywork bit and placed a piece of Pro-Grip tank protector in place as insurance. I then went to my room, my face a study of pure death for any foolish enough to wish me a good day, took a LONG shower, got dressed and took a LONG ride.