I have no way of carrying something with me on my iron 883 at the moment and I'd really like to change that. I have a Mustang wide vintage solo seat with backrest and I do not have a passenger seat. Anyway, I was thinking of getting a sissy bar and sissy bar bag. I was wondering if I should also get a luggage rack as well? Perhaps it gives me more room to put stuff or will act as a support for the bag, idk? Do I really even need a luggage rack or passenger seat?


I have looked around at different bikes but I have no idea what works best. Most people I see with a sissy bar have their bikes set up for a passenger and I don't know if I need a luggage rack to prevent scratches on my fender and what not(Maybe a fender bib would work?). I don't want saddlebags because I don't want to relocate anything. I plan on doing some 2-3 day trips and I'm trying to figure out what would work best or what your experiences are. Theres a good chance I might have some longer trips in my future as well.


I appreciate any help you guys can give me and forgive me if some of that sounds stupid. I know very little about how to carry a lot of stuff on a motorcycle.

 

I like the single sided saddle bag myself.. It's just not real big

 

Yeah the single sided bags are nice but I need more room than that. It seems like a lot of the sissy bar bags require a luggage rack of some sort to sit on. I don't have a passenger seat and I already have a backrest so if I were to flip one around it might not fit.

 

Have you considerd Viking bags with the quick release brackets? Both of my bikes have quick release saddlebags. In 30 seconds the bikes go from bar hopper to bagger. Makes it easy to find a reason to ride if you need a 12 pack or something from the store for your favorite babe.

 

On my wifes '13 Iron, we have a fender bib and added the Quick Detach
sissybar w/luggage rack. Here's some pics of "normal" and "loaded up"
for a two-three day trip.

Normal around town mode:


Loaded for a trip:


Hope this helps,

T.

 

Is the sissy bar the HD version with the luggage rack behind it? Or is it the same rack just mounted different? Thanks for the pics by the way.

 

The racks are totally separate parts. The rack in the first picture
is the solo rack #53512-07. The sissyba/backrest is the standard
height round bar #52300020. The rack attached to the sissybar is
the Airfoil Rack #54291-11 with LED light kit.

And fwiw, the two round canisters below the rack are 2 Agri Manual Tubes
that contain MSR fuel bottles.

hope this helps,

T.

 

How are the Agri Manual Tubes mounted?

 

This is the way I'm going. I currently have fixed bags, which look good but don't hold very much and are impossible to remove quickly. I'm waiting for news from Leather Pro on their FXDXT detachable/expandable bags. When removed there are just a couple of bobbins left on the bike - when on they are latched and locked in place. Luggage is much better when placed low, rather than up high on a rack IMHO.

 

Well if I did get the saddlebags, I would have to relocate the plate. I'm not sure if I'll like that but I'm still considering it either way. It is true though to keep the weight low and I did consider that as well. However, I have heard some people say it doesn't really effect handling too much but then again that is their opinion.