I have the GotSaggyBags inserts, but I do not have the ability to cut wood into the shape of the top of the saddlebags. I think it is unreasonable to have this requirement without it being mentioned before purchase, but that is a different story altogether. If I return them I will be charge a 10% stocking fee and I am unwilling to pay my local dealer's service rate to have them installed. (not sure if they will be able to install them either because they don't have the top required piece of wood and do not know if they will make one - and if they do how much they will charge me.)

Does anyone still have the wood pieces you used when installing theirs that you would be willing to ship to me if I pay the shipping costs? If not, I am going to have to send them back and eat the 10%, but I would rather not. I will try using bricks instead of wood to see if that works since I have a bunch of bricks lying around, but I would like a back up plan if in case it doesn't. The installation instructions seem to require the wood to be shaped like the bag and not just squared off...

Follow up question - I read an article that says that HD recently addressed the issue with these bags by reinforcing them. I have a 2014 so if they did, my bags should be the newer reinforced type. Can anyone confirm this?

 

Funbikerchick, you should be able to place the bricks around the perimeter of the plastic insert so that the edges of the plastic insert contacts the bag leather around all the edges, you can test this out without putting the glue on to see if any of the edges are not pressed into the leather bag top, if the fit looks good go ahead and just use the bricks. Make sure you have a flat, level and stable surface to work with. If you have the bag studs you will need to place something soft under the top so that you get full even pressure across the bag top, instead of just on the bag studs, when you place the bricks on the insert. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks. I hadn't thought about dry testing it, which of course, I would need to do, if I were going to try an alternative if it didn't work... duh. Will give it a shot in the next few days.

 

When I installed mine I used some weights and dumb bells I had laying around. Put the bricks around the edge of the insert and one or two on the in side let it sit for the period of time called for ( I think 24 hrs.) then just reinstall your bags. They say wood so that the weight is distributed equally but bricks will do the trick.

 

Maybe??? that's why I got PaPa's bag inserts.. Easy, no glueing, no weighting, not nothing,, Just undo 2 nuts on each side and in less than 20 mins at most and I was done...

 

Oct1949, had I known about the need for the wood template, I would have ordered a different product too. I choose saggybags because they supposedly included everything I needed right down to the adhesive...

 

I didn't even put the lid supports on until the bike was down for the winter.

Like others had stated, you can just find an item similiar to the size of the plastic and put weight on it.

I'm very pleased with "GotSaggyBags" and don't regret the purchase.

 

thanks bluraven. Maybe I will wait on the lids until winter and just do the rest of the bags for now. Hmmmm.

 

I got the papa bags inserts as well. Easy to install and look great.

 

I've put the lid on one of my saddlebags so far. Used too thick stack of towels and ended up with a slight bulge in the top. It looks ok since it is leather, but not quite what I was expecting.

Someone on another thread mentioned drilling holes in another wood form for the studs, then don't need the towels and can clamp it. I may try that on my second bag.

I have noticed that the flap on forward side of the lid has a tendency to flair out occasionally on the corner nearest the bike.

On another note, when I use my large T-bag, the side without the lid insert is easier to access. YMMV.