Just an fyi for anyone who buys Viking saddlebags. If the bags don't fit, and you drill holes in the bags (which I don't know how you wouldn't know they don't fit until you try and mount them), they will take a stance of they won't accept your return.

Here's the skinny. I bought bags for my 2014 softail deluxe. I followed the directions the website provides to install the bags to a "T". Here's the video I used too......
I started with the right side bag, used THEIR pre drilled holes as my starting point. Marked the bag where my fender bolts line up, then drill the other 3 holes.

I grab the other bag, flip it so I can mark the holes in the exact spot the right side is drilled, and drill those 3 holes.

I TRY and mount the right side bag, but the bolts they provide are too big. They won't thread into my fenders factory threads. Now I have to get bolts that will work. I spend and extra $20 at my local Harley dealership for Harley Davidson bolts that will fit my threads in the rear fender.

Now I'm ready to mount the bags. I start with the right again, get it mounted with the correct bolts now. Everything looks nice, fits like a champ.

Stroll to the left side, and mount the left side bag. But there is an issue. The bottom of the bag is hitting the chrome belt guard. Which pinches in on the belt itself and now rubs the belt. How can this be? I used the same exact holes on the right side bag to drill the left side bag. Well, I'm so frustrated at this point, I'm throwing in the towel. The bag doesn't fit. Other than drilling extra holes to move the bags up, (which if they go higher than the fender will look rediculous) I'm at a loss. I have to return them because there is a fitment issue with the 2014's. Has to be, they're holes which I use as a starting point are too high. They need to be lower so the bag itself sits a tad higher so it doesn't rub the guard right?

I then ask for a return. Fill out the web form like they ask. 2 days later, I get a reply asking why I am returning the bags. I tell them I already filled out the form and told them why. But I explain the issue again and told them I marked where the bag is hitting the belt guard for reference so they can address the issue.

He replies to me and says if holes are drilled in the bag, they cannot take the bags back. I'm sitting here shocked at the moment. How can a fitment issue using their pre drilled holes, following their directions and their product doesn't work, have the ***** to tell a customer too bad, we can't take your return?

Am I wrong for asking for a return? Is this what customer service has come to at this place?

 

Your bike looks lowered. If so thats why the belt guard hits. Their policy is that only unused and undamaged parts can be returned. It is clearly stated.

 

It's not lowered.

 

can you shim the bags out a ways to clear the belt guard?

 

Maitiu,

You have every right to be pissed off. I've heard good things about Viking before, but this shows that they aren't standing behind their product. They are active around the forums so I wouldn't be surprised if they chimed in.

This is partially related to your issues. I ordered a solo bag mount from Dead Creek Cycles a few months back and the kit didn't fit, even though their website said it fit my Softail Slim. I emailed them and they offered to give a full refund and pay for the return shipping. They also offered to send me, free of charge, a modified kit to try out for free. That is what I call customer service.

Hopefully Viking will make this right and take your return or let you exchange the set you have for a different pair. I'll be looking forward to hear how this turns out.

 

Good luck getting anything out of Viking. There a numerous post on the forum relating to there customer service issues. I waited almost 6 months for what was supposed to be updated locks only to be sent the same set that was in my bags. I gave up and modified my own locking system. I personally would never purchase or recommend. Them to anybody. JMHO.

 

This looks like the step in the tutorial that you skipped.



Had you performed this step, it would seem you would have noticed it would not fit where you were wanting to mount it.

Sorry, I wouldn't take them back either, after you drilled the holes, and THEN, noticed they wouldn't fit.

 

Ace hardware sells chrome spacers I had to use spacers to move the mounts out on my Dyna to clear the bottoms of my shocks since they are in lowering blocks. You may try that and they are relatively inexpensive.

 

It seems to me over the years of dealing with customer service, that it has gone right down the ******* with most of the ones I have dealt with. From Time Warner Cable, at&t to insert company or corporate name here. They are all pretty much useless, and companies don't care about the customer anymore once they got your money.

I'm glad that that Dead Creek isn't one of those companies. They will earn my business a lot faster than Viking will from here on out! I have dealt with some companies who still value customer service and make things right. But they are far and few between these days!

I didn't miss that step. If you notice, that is the right side I am speaking of. That's the side I started with. I stayed above 1" off the exhaust according to their guidelines. Well above 1". I then by their recommendation, used that same bag I marked and drilled holes in, as a template for the other bag so both bags were mounted at the same height.

It's the left side that's the issue. If I had started on the left side, then yes, I would have noticed. But I didn't. The supplied directions, and the video doesn't start with the left bag either. And if Viking took the time to actually attach their bags to the 2014 deluxe, they would have noticed the same issue, and quite possibly fix the issue.

Far be it from me to think they would actually give a **** enough to fix a quality control issue.

Now I have to spend more money to make these work because their product does not. I call that **** poor customer service, and they are making zero effort to help me. **** poor customer service no matter how you slice and dice it.

Yep, that's what I'm thinking. I just didn't know where to go to get the spacers. Thanks!

 

Hi,
I'm sorry to hear about the problems you're having with the bags you tried to install. While we don't accept drilled and modified bags normally for returns (this is going to be the norm for almost every company out there) , I can understand the particular circumstances in this case due to the belt guard being in the way. It does look like a fitment issue that needs to be noted for customers further down the line. We do take care and pride in our customer service which is why I do want to help resolve this issue for you. You can email me at eddie@vikingbags.com . It sounds like our customer service representative wasn't attentive enough to catch this. I'm open to hearing any criticism and suggestions for improvement you might have for us.

However, I do want to note that it is important to measure out both sides of the bag and test fit everything before drilling holes. This is just a measure recommended for the preparation before installation. It doesn't matter if your bike is modified or stock.. it's just something we recommend. I'll admit that the installation video is a little bit dated, We're actually working on releasing a much more thorough video with our in house mechanic showing exactly how it's done. Hopefully this will help prevent issues like this in the future by showing what problems one might run into.