New to me Hard Bags

Thanks Stewart!!

 

Well. The bags were supposed to be all painted up and ready to go yesterday. I went to the shop and they were not ready. They have been busy there. Each time I am there, I see big rigs or major jobs under the way so I can see why they would focus more on the bigger jobs. As well, he cut me a bit of slack off his original quote. He says mid to end of next week. That is fine cause I am not going anywhere that I need them. I just am wanting them.

Better wait a bit for his usual excellent work rather than have his people rush this thing through and give me a less than perfect job. Plan to take my truck into this guy too. Will post up when I get them out and mounted again.

 

This is a smart move. Factory powder coating is a real bitch to get off aluminum wheels with media blasting. The old PC gets hot from the blast friction and turns into the consistency of chewing gum. You have to peal it off and it takes time. Blasting is quoted in the job by the hour. In comparison the actual powder coating is cheap. Give your powder coater a clean stripped aluminum wheel and he will love you for it. In our shop, they would probably do both wheels, in a stock color plus clear coat for $120, less if you brought them a stripped wheel. I have been thinking of doing my wheels in a warm gray but I am lazy and always have something else to do like ride.

 

That is exactly what I do. Whether it be a contractor working on the house or a body shop repairing a car. I stress that I want them to take their time and I will work around their schedule. If you push people for something, then I think it is human nature to cut corners to meet your typically self imposed deadlines. Hopefully it won't be much longer.

 

Well they are all done and I am quite happy with the end result. The colour is off just slightly but I can live with that. This is what happens when you have things painted at different times and they are blending the paint themselves. Picked them up today, re-installed the reflectors and re-applied the emblems on the sides and whalla.

That double sided tape for re-attaching emblems is ridiculously expensive. I bought a roll of 3M automotive Acrylic Attachment tape, 7/8" X 20 yds X .045" thick for $79.72 taxes included. And that was with a corporate discount of 30%. Way more than I needed but when and if I ever get the truck painted, I will need it to re-attach the rubber mats on my running boards, and re-attach the top fender rails which I will remove before it is painted. I hate seeing where they mask around these things.

Before:



And after:



I might put lights on the rear of these puppies too. But then again, I will have to unplug them every time I remove them so maybe just some good quality reflector. Now maybe a trunk hard bag is in order. Time will tell.

 

Butt ugly................ ound:
:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

 

Just kidding look good boss :thumb:
You need to add some of those orange colour of the maple leaf on the box.

 

I thought about that but I think I will leave them as they are right now. But thanks. BTW . Last spring you told me I had a cute butt .

 

Those bags kick ass!

 

They look great Randy. You can't beat the OEM cases.

 

Hey the bags look really good Randy!

Can't believe that you managed so many miles without them!

 

As everybody already said, the color came out awesome. Good job!!

 

Yah I did. I sure got my money's worth out of those soft bags in my avatar. The saddle bags have found a new home because they are still in great shape. Hard to believe they are made by the same people who made my shit jacket. I haven't let go of the trunk bag just yet. The back pack will probably find its way into the land fill soon when I replace it. It seems to have lost a lot of its waterproof qualities over the years of highway riding and that can be expected. Tourmaster would be wise if they looked at the construction of this Mountain Equipment Coop back pack, and apply similar construction techniques to their jackets!

 

Great score Randy. Look Great!

Mini - Hijack. For storage I hang mine on hooks in the rafters of my garage. I dropped one of mine while trying to hang it one day. Put a crack along the top rim of the painted side. Does anyone know what type of glue would work on this. Givi (Who makes them for Honda) says the material is a poly blend. Any Ideas?

Thanks!

Sorry for the Hijack Randy.

 

Not a highjack at all. Whatever type of glue you use, don't rely just on mending that crack. Strengthen the inside with some fiber-glass patch. Otherwise that crack is going to re-appear. I like your idea of hangers in the rafters. Got me thinking now! That is going to add to global warming you know.

 

Use plastic weld :thumb: good luck

 

I use to keep the bags in the house. It was a pain to bring them outside. I use them more now because they hang right above the bike.

Now If I can only learn to not drop them....

Can't patch them from the inside because the crack runs right where the inner rubber seal meets the other half of the case.

 

Yup, they are a bear to install. What you did was what needs to be done, install all the blots loose until you get everything on, than tighten things later. I don't think the istallation instructions are up to Honda's usual standards. They are nice when you're done,though.