FYI.....'07 Hard Saddlebags

Just a heads up to anyone with an '07 RWB VFR 800. I had ordered the blue hard saddlebags in mid March. Was told they were on backorder. I talked to American Honda directly and they told me their supplier went out of business unexpectedly. There is no stock of blue saddlebags at any dealers, according to Honda. I have also looked online. They said they have to find a new supplier, but doubts they will be available for 9 months-1yr. Unless you find someone with a set for sale or find a set for another yr and want to paint them, you'll have to wait. Really sucks, since buying the saddlebags was a huge plus on this bike, while still riding a sportbike and all-day "comfort" for trips.

 

Weren't they made by Givi? This sucks glad I got mine when I could.

 

I also thought all along that they were made by Givi, but it was some other company called CHG or something similar.

 

You could also just pick up a used set of any color and have em painted with some color rite. May even save ya some money.

 

Thanks so much for this info. I'll wait and save my $$ and in the meantime, I'll use my RKA soft bags which are easy to mount and work really well.

 

'07 Hardbags now available!

I called American Honda on 4/15/09 and learned that Honda (finally) had 74 sets of the blue hard bags available, between their Davenport, IA and California warehouses. I ordered the bags on 4/15 and they arrived at the dealership on 4/17/09. The MSRP was $1,091 and the dealer knocked off $200. It took about 2 hrs to install the mounting brackets and both the brackets and the bags fit on excellent.

 

HOLY SHIT, it takes 2 hours to install the brackets?!?!?!?! Whaaaaaaaaaat?!!?!?


I can attach my givi wing rack in ~15minutes. 4 bolts and 2 nuts! All I have to do is loosen the exhaust and access the grab rail mounts.....

 

Bracket install

The brackets are designed to be installed and left on the bike. You have to remove the grab rails, remove the entire rear fender, install a new bracket underneath, overdrill a couple of holes (2 in the fender and 2 on the passenger pegs). 2 hrs was from start to finish with putting all the tools away. The bags go on and off in a few seconds and install closer to the bike than the Givi bags (local Honda dealer has a set of Givi's on an '08 VFR). Would be nice to remove the bracket when not needed, but it's not worth the trouble.

 

Holy Crapola, They're over $3000 for the three bags here in Australia. Even with the current exchange rate they'd be about $1400 AUD. I wonder what it would cost to have them sent over?

 

How long would it take to remove the bracket once all the initial installation work has been completed?


My only thought for why the Givi system wouldn't fit as close as the factory mounts would be less irreversible body modifications and to allow for more after market exhaust options....but I could be talking out of my ass.

 

Can someone post some pics of what the Honda brackets look like without the bags intalled?

Thanks,

Deltazulu

 

I have a 02 with the Honda hard bags and is able to uninstal the brackets in about 20 min max .and that's stopping inbetween to drink a cold one .and about 15 min to reinstal.
I didn't like the look of the bike with the brackets on the bike when there wasn't any bags on it so I take them off when I'm not using the bags .