| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
My wife likes Buells, but she's become addicted to having hard bags on a bike. (an addiction I share) At present, she's riding a Moto Guzzi Breva 750, which is a pretty neat bike in its own right, but she has her eye on a City X as a possible replacement. I wrote Hepco & Becker, but the only Buell they make bags for is the Uly, and they have no plans to make any for any other Buell models. Does anyone make hard bags for the City X? | ||
| Ulendo |
crusty - At 5'4" the uly was way out side of manageable height for me, and I've ended up going for a CityX. I plan to rig it up as a sort of a Uly 'lite' w/ hard bags..pretty much like what you're describing. Long story short, I havent been able to find any purpose built mounts for fittign hard bags to the cityx, and most manufacturers I've written to have reservations about the short wheelbase ( ?!). that said, I do aluminum fabrication work, and plan on building my own set - if you cant find anything that suits, email me back directly: we can compare notes, and maybe I can hook you up with some custom built bags specifically designed for the cityX. chris | ||
| Gomo |
I have seen an Lightning XB with Ducati hardbags custom fitted - looked good as well. So I would have to say it can be done. Crusty, my wife is very much interested in the Breva 750, how does your wife like hers? Any problems worth mentioning? | ||
| Crusty |
Gomo, we bought the bike last year with the bags, center stand and windshield installed. We rode to Colorado, as well as a few weekend trips and the bike is pretty much trouble free. The biggest worry is that if you need a dealer, finding one can be tough. The headlight was broken by a piece of debris kicked up by a semi, and it cost $125 to replace it (ouch!) Parts prices are definitely not in Buell's league. The bike is neat enough that I was seriously considering a Breva 1100 this past fall. My wife likes the seat comfort, handling and the Hepco & Becker bags. If Buell were to come up with good bags for the City X, she would consider one, but she's happy to stay with the Breva for now. | ||
| Gomo |
Thanks for the info. You basically have what my wife wants. She is considering the lower seat and maybe suspension as well. Good to hear your luck so far is good. She wants a sportier ride to tour with and the options out there for a person with her height and riding experince are extremely limited - the Breva is pretty much all there is out there to fit her and her needs. We are a little lucky, there are 2 Guzzi dealers about an hour different directions from our home. | ||
| Diablobrian |
Someone was talking about mounting a Uly seat section on an SS. That kind of rig with the Uly bags may be just what you're looking for. | ||
| Gentleman_jon |
 Here is a photochop of a hard bag design I posted a couple of years ago. You are welcome to it. The idea is that most bags are mounted too high, and that includes the ULY bags. Those designs don't take advantage of the fact that the Buell muffler is under the engine, so the bags can occupy the space used by the mufflers in most bikes, and the passenger foot pegs. The XB9 is no "two up" tourer. Thus the volume is increased but the center of gravity is lower. | ||
| Ulendo |
Genatleman_Jon thanks for the photochop. I'm actually planning something a bit more utility based for long, camping style trips. No to give away too much, my concept will use 1/4 pipe sections as rounded, re-enforced corners, 0.100 wall aluminum as the basic can, internal hinges on the front of the cans ( so they opened while the bike is parked) and internal cam locks with a single key in the upper rear corner of the outside panel. mounts to the bike will also be be keyed camlocks, with a polyurethane compression piece for a tight, rattle free fit. mount points on the bike will use the existing rear peg mounts, and a custom built bracket in the rear that supports the rear end of each saddle back, and a tray-lock assembly for a top box. all 3 boxes will have integral cargo rails on top for lashing larger / loose items. combined capacity of the side boxes should end up ~60-65 liters, and the top box ~35-40L.( and yes, they'll be pretty big for an XB9...I do a lot of camping) if anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them, and I'll post pics if the cans come out looking decent. (no point posting if they look like **** or don't work  chris | ||
| Roc |
I made these from a friends wrecked Givi mounts, with this set up you can use any Givi luggage, I think.   I think I have all of the details about it on the Badweb, if you can't find it email me with any questions. | ||
| Wardan123 |
I had a 95 BMW R100GS/PD and bags were outrageous! Upwards of $1000.00. I could not afford that (still cannot) so I fashioned some from waterproof pistolcases. ($60.00 each) The beemer had exsisting bag bracketry so all I did was take 2 pieces of bent strap to form a "U" pointed down on each bag and a bolt and wing nut neld them in place. When I got wherever I was going - spin 4 wing nuts and I was off... I'd bet you could fashion something similar. I do not understand why luggage has to be so expensive.  | ||
| Ulendo |
wardan123 - the cost depends on how they're made. The aluminum ones I'm planning on making myself are going to cost $250+ in materials alone, and will probably take me 2-3 weeks of my spare time to cut, fit, and assemble. I get all my materials through work. we're a primary industry, w/ reduced tax purchasing, and all our fab work is aluminum, so we get good rates on materials: even as a dedicated business, I couldnt undercut that cost. paying somone to cut & fit, a welder to fab it up, a finisher to detail it, add paint, logos, W.H.Y., packaging, sales....depending on what sizes, how many pieces, and custom options, $1000-$3500 IS a realistic retail cost for high quality cases. the real trick is defining ( and finding) HIGH quality cases. a lot of the stuff I see is either stamped sheetmetal or basic plastic badged as 'high tech': any jonny-come-lately can open it up in 10 seconds with a good can opener, and a rough trail would do the same in short order. For example, Eu4eah ( I think thats his login) did a Baja jaunt on his new Uly - if you read the assorted journals from that run, you'll see that the BMW broke his Hepco-Becker mounting system.Now I'd be the first to admit that I may not have the whole story, but H-B are supposedly one of the premium brands.... |
