After having the bike for almost a year now and loving it. I decided I wanted to have more storage space. At first I was considering some form of lockable leather bag....


and yea they were cool but I thought I could do better. I got some inspiration from the HD Dealer in Tucson who had a Switchback on display. The way the had it done up kind of reminded me of a Baby Streetglide.







I really liked the look of this bike but let's face it, I don't have another $17,000 to spend. So I started looking for ways to mount hard bags. First I looked into the Switchback bags but for $1200 for the bag alone I knew there had to be a better way. On Ebay I found Mutazu Street Glide Replacement Hard Bags for just under $400 for both bags and lids. They had a complete hardware kit for them as well for only $185 but were out of stock. After 3 weeks of waiting and I cancelled the order for the hardware and spent double that on the same thing through Harley. Then came the brackets. Originally I wanted something easily removable like Easy Brackets or Ghost Brackets. I still do but until I figure something out that doesn't move around too much and won't cause the bag itself extra stress at the mounting points I'll go with what I have now.
I discovered Sumax one night while surfing the internet for stuff for the bike. They make a bracket kit for Dyna's to mount Touring bags. These are removable and pretty easily but not like Easy or Ghost brackets. Their bracket kit is $400 compared to $600-$700 that you'd spend through Harley. You do have to relocate the turn signals and license plate. I already did that with the Great Bike Gear bracket. You still have to move the turn signals back about an inch or so even with this bracket. You'll see in the upcoming photos. Enjoy....

Initial line up and sizing of bracket...It does fit. I talked to the owner at Sumax and sometimes during the powder coating process the metal warps slightly.


as you can see here the turn signal has to move back to clear the bracket. Fortunately the bag sits outside and away from the bracket so there is enough room once you clear the bracket itself.



Measuring the distance to the holes used to secure the turn signals. Whenever I measure anything that has close tolerances or measurements, I always use millimeters as they seem to be more accurate. As you can see the holes are 28mm's apart. The old rear hole now becomes the front hole. It needs to be widened in order for the little securing peg in the turn signal to fit in it.


Turn signal now clears the bracket...


Even if barely...even though it's a close fit, there is no contact even with the back at idle with the most vibrations nor have is hit on any bumps in the road.


Same with the right side....


Bags Mounted, view from the rear...and talk all the **** you want about the screen looking goofy, i agree it does but it does it's job and makes the ride A LOT more enjoyable, especially long rides. It is easily detachable so when I want it to look better I can pull it off quickly.



Side View


Front Oblique


and yes a half helmet fits...


Front Oblique without windscreen


I was originally going to fabricate something myself as i enjoy doing it. I still plan to however, between my dad's illness, his passing and being deployed i didn't have the time to but still needed a distraction.

 

All in all they look pretty good, the last oblique picture with sunlight behind the bags makes them look different, maybe to big for the bike. But could just be me. Anyway good job.
Another glance they almost seem set far back on the bike. but still nice.

 

Hmmmm, I agree with fireman's post, in the last pic it seems like they dont flow as well. The other pics however, they look awesome! I really dig the street glide look and I think it works well on a wide glide.

You will get no joshing from me on your windscreen, I hear you brother, I run one full time!

 

Great job. I wondered what hard bags would look like on a WG. Thanks for the share.

 

I think the sun glaring off the rear fender in the last pic is what throws it all off. It whites out the rear fender making the lines disappear. They really come in handy for carrying all the excess crap the military makes you wear on post along with uniforms and all. Cant wait to take it on a long haul to AZ or somewhere.