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|  | Topic : Viking Saddlebags installed |  |
| | | PapaSmurfMC | | Chaac |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 03/10/2013 | | Posts | : | 871 | | Location | : | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
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| | Posted : 26 Jan 2014 - 02:34 Post title : Viking Saddlebags installed | | | I've been waiting for the right time to install the Viking saddlebags I picked up from the Viking website on their Black Friday sale. Today was the day; snowing again.
So it all started (before purchase) with my contacting Viking support to ask about spacing when mounting Easy Brackets; some Viking models come in versions with shock cutouts, so they can be mounted closer to the bike without hitting the shocks. It took 2 attempts to get them to understand the ridiculously easy question but they eventually got it and told me that with Easy Brackets, the shock cutout model won't make a difference. Based on my lack of confidence in their advice from the previous emails, I decided to order the brackets first, mount them and measure myself before ordering saddlebags.
Good move. After mounting one of the Easy Brackets, it was obvious even without a tape measure that a saddlebag without the shock cutout or a really big spacer would interfere with the shock. I ordered the shock cutout model. Don't trust Viking support.
I chose a saddle bag from Viking because they have a great selection that will fit the TBird, I sawt pretty consistently good reviews, and they are very reasonably priced. I don't plan on riding with saddlebags all the time, so I just want bags that look decent, will keep their shape and won't dissolve in the occasional rainstorm. I chose the "Charger Side Pocket Shock Cutout" model.
Here's a stock photo because I was so wrapped up in the install that I forgot to take a photo of this view.
These bags have side pockets, handy for little stuff you need to get at often, and also an inside pocket. The strap and buckle on the side pocket is fake. Pull up on the strap to reveal a Velcro'd flap closure over the zipper that actually opens the pocket.
Another nice feature of these bags is the top-mount lock; you can see the metal latch in the above photo.
Viking supplies adjustable permanent mounts with their bags, which is a pretty good deal if you're not planning on popping them on and off as needed and they also supply a throw-over saddle and straps. I thought it was a little strange that the bags came pre-drilled (for the throw-over saddle attachement); I tried using the predrilled holes with the Easy Brackets but the spacing was all wrong, so I have at least 1 hole to plug on each bag.
The Easy Brackets installed ....uh, easy. Viking also supplies all mounting hardware; black mounting bolts, heavy washers and nylock locking nuts.
I used one of the pre-drilled holes to temporarily mount a bag to the bracket and mounted it on the bike to get an idea of spacing and mounting angle. I used double-stick tape to temporarily lock the angle of the bag on the bracket as it hung from the single mounting bolt so I could step back and take a look. Eventually I decided the right angle was when the bottom of the bag was level with the ground. I also found I couldn't use either of the pre-drilled holes in the bag. I didn't want the end of the bag to obscure the turn signal, so I slid the bag closer the shock to get more clearance.
Once I was happy with the spacing, I drilled the new holes. Rather than go through all that again on the other side, I painter-taped the bags together to make sure they stayed aligned while I traced the newly drilled holes from inside the drilled bag onto the other one. As long as you keep the two bags aligned, you should get a perfect mirror image of the mounting holes.
After bolting the brackets to the bags, they popped right on to Easy Bracket studs mounted on the grab rails. The bags lined up perfectly.
All things considered, I think these bags are a good value. They're not premium bags but they do have more features than a lot of more expensive bags, are reasonably well made and they look good.
My list of complaints is short:
(1) I wish they didn't pre-drill holes on the back for the throw-over saddle. They could have just as easily marked the locations to drill on the back if that was the mounting method you wanted. I still need to find something to seal the 1 hole not covered by the Easy Bracket.
(2) There are a few minor internal cosmetic defects. This pic, for example, shows the bottom liner cut too narrow for the bottom of the bag. In a few spots, there's a gap between the inside bottom liner and the inside edge of the outer wall.
(3) The outer pockets come with a butt-ugly Viking medallion attached.
I replaced them with Triumph medallions I found on eBay.
Considering I paid less than $170 for the pair, delivered, there's not much to complain about. I've read that they hold up well, so we'll see how that goes but I like the way the install came out, they fit the Bird well (could even have been a little bigger) and if it ever stops snowing, I'll find out if it makes any difference in handling.
Ride safe!
PapaSmurfMC
| 2013 Blue Marble Haze Thunderbird 1600 ABS
2009 Black Bonneville A1 ("Mag")
Buncha farkles
| | Post edited by PapaSmurfMC on 26 Jan 2014 - 03:27 |
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| | | bnz433 | | Jupiter | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 10/06/2011 | | Posts | : | 1,843 | | Location | : | Clifton Park (Upstate), NY, United States |
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| | Posted : 27 Jan 2014 - 12:23 Post title : Re: Viking Saddlebags installed (Re: PapaSmurfMC) | | | They look good, Papa. Too bad that shock cutout is so big. You could drive a truck through that gap with the actual shock (I know, they mass produce these, so don't want too many versions with various shock cutout sizes). That's a lot of usable space that's gone.
I'm torn between these and some of the Saddleman and Willie&Max options. Like you, I only need them to get from home to a hotel for weekend rally. From your writeup, these may have moved up the list.
Now, if only you could get out and confirm/deny their weather resistance Yeah, I know...we got a couple more months before these frigid temps and the white shit goes away!!
Jamie
| Bennington Triumph Bash - 31May-2June 2019. Home of the (tied in '14 & '15) US RECORD T-BIRD FLOCKING!!!!!
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| | | KingOfFleece | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 30/09/2009 | | Posts | : | 304 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 27 Jan 2014 - 21:52 Post title : Re: Viking Saddlebags installed (Re: bnz433) | | | Nice work.
For those who need a cover for bags check with fast eddy. He's got 'em.
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| | | n3zat | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 18/09/2013 | | Posts | : | 171 | | Location | : | Coatesville, pa, United States |
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| | Posted : 27 Jan 2014 - 22:29 Post title : Re: Viking Saddlebags installed (Re: KingOfFleece) | | | 
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| | | PapaSmurfMC | | Chaac | | | | Reg. Date | : | 03/10/2013 | | Posts | : | 871 | | Location | : | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
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| | Posted : 28 Jan 2014 - 04:17 Post title : Re: Viking Saddlebags installed (Re: bnz433) | | | bnz433 wrote:
They look good, Papa. Too bad that shock cutout is so big. You could drive a truck through that gap with the actual shock (I know, they mass produce these, so don't want too many versions with various shock cutout sizes). That's a lot of usable space that's gone.
I'm torn between these and some of the Saddleman and Willie&Max options. Like you, I only need them to get from home to a hotel for weekend rally. From your writeup, these may have moved up the list.
-snip-
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The cutout looks a lot bigger in the pic than live; I probably could have moved the bags another half inch closer to the crash bars. Viking shows the exact same storage capacity (2310 cubic inches) for the bags with and without the cutouts and although they also show the same external dimensions, both the weight and the lid opening sizes are different, so not really sure if the bags are really the same size or whether they compensated for the cutouts somewhere.
My previous bags were Saddleman (different bike). They didn't hold their shape.
| 2013 Blue Marble Haze Thunderbird 1600 ABS
2009 Black Bonneville A1 ("Mag")
Buncha farkles
| | Post edited by PapaSmurfMC on 28 Jan 2014 - 04:41 |
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| | | PapaSmurfMC | | Chaac | | | | Reg. Date | : | 03/10/2013 | | Posts | : | 871 | | Location | : | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States |
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| | Posted : 28 Jan 2014 - 04:21 Post title : Re: Viking Saddlebags installed (Re: KingOfFleece) | | |
KingOfFleece wrote:
Nice work.
For those who need a cover for bags check with fast eddy. He's got 'em. |
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Good to know; I'll check them out. Viking claims "Provides 100% weather resistance" but I guess that's without the extra holes. 
| 2013 Blue Marble Haze Thunderbird 1600 ABS
2009 Black Bonneville A1 ("Mag")
Buncha farkles
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