Hard bags for 5th gen?

Wow, what a great winter for riding! My 5th gen (red) has been great, and I've been riding a lot. I really really want some hard bags. Does anyone have an opinion? I've looked at the Givi V35"s, as I'd like to be able to stash my helmet and jacket on short juants, but did Honda have an option too?
Mine does have an aftermarket mid pipe and an Akrapovic can......maybe slightly higher than stock, but I'm not sure. Suggestions? Anybody have a set for sale? I'm a buyer. Thanks in advance!

 

I think Corbin makes Beetlebags? But I'm not familiar with their capacity.

 

Corbin stopped making them for the 5th gen a few years back....... grrrr

 

Honda quite making 5th gens a few years back....... grrrr

 

I bought mine used, and I see them for sale periodically, usually for $450.00 to $650.00.

 

How true, how true.

 

Imported (back) a set of Corbin beetle bags from Hungary on eBay for 300$. One of them had seen the garage floor (hence the low price) and the next year I made the other side look the same when the bike fell while at rest (don't ask).

The shape is clearly a replica of the fuel tank. They mold the bike and the (stock) muffler and are very close to the center line of the bike compared to Givi. When removed (10-15 minutes operation) the brackets are invisible. I don't feel them when ridding. I can remove my hands from the handle bar without effect. They are water tight.

On the minus side you cannot put your helmet in. Opening is on the top and small, more like those you find on American bikes, which is probably the natural market of Corbin. An you lost your helmet lock (behind the bag). Bolts are not metric (5/16) and coarse pitch. You need to check them often, despite lock tit and lock washer, then need to carry some SAE tools. Bracket threads rust quickly. I re-tap them annually.

The 5th gen is my daily vehicle and the bags permit me to commute without pack sack and carry my rain suit, lunch back, softball/soccer equipment and the like. They are bulky like any hard bags but when I am sitting on the bike, I don't see them

 

Found this add, some of you might want to jump on this.


Corbin Beetle Bags 5th gen Honda VFR800

 

these are my givi e21's mounted to sw-motech racks, I just mounted them both today so not a full review, but one drawback, see 2nd pic, you can't get the key into the helmet lock/seat release, there isn't clearance to get the key in with a bolt/nut that is required for the givi case to mount on, i'm not sure what i'm going to do, it's a little annoying already to have to take a case and rack off to get the seat off (though I don't need to do so often and the sw-motechs are quick release (3 cam-locks and one side is off!)). the e21's i'll use for commuting, i'll probably get a bigger set of cases for longer trips

 

I work at a Honda dealer in Canada and back in the day Honda was clearing out factory hard bags for VFR's. The boss bought several sets but i found one remaining set. Not exactly sure on year but they are black. They were very expensive back in the day...let me know if anybody is interested.

Thanks

 

Can you post some picture of the bags?

 

Regarding buying used Corbin Beetle Bags, make sure ALL of the brackets are included. And if you went the fender eliminator route, I'm not sure how you would mount them.

 

next time im at the warehouse im going to grab them

 

+1 on this. I bought a set used from a guy on here actually that were on his bike when he bought it. They were in rough shape and missing one bracket. I found an old school guy to match the paint from the seat cowl (since Honda doesn't give out the paint formula) and it turned out nice. Had them touched up and sprayed. I am very happy. I aslo made the missing bracket. As others have said, there are a few minor inconveniences, but overall they are great. With my Cortech tailbag and the Beetle Bags I can go for a week or more and not worry...for daily commuting, they are great as well. I just leave mine on all the time as they are a PIA to remove. I believe they look the best and have the smallest footprint of all the 5th gen bag options. I paid $400 for mine and with paint/labor etc I think I have $600 tied up, but it's worth it.

 

K, got them. But some bad news. They are for a 2002 and up to whenever they changed. Im a 3rd gen guys so I dont really know.