Well, as long as we're talking about building bags that won't sag...it was too late for my '05, and I got a case of panicpants when I saw the prices of those bag kits.

Went to the garage, got some 1/4" plywood, cut it to 6-5/8" x 15" long.
Cut the corners off and one (for the outside rears) is cut deeper, about 1-1/4".
Took my router with a 1/8" roundover bit to dress the edges to keep them from vibration chafing the lids.

Simply set them inside on top of the bag and close the lid.Voila-no sag!

I'da took better pics if I wasn't so excited...

 

Nice idea Quadancer, might I suggest that you put a couple of heavy coats of black paint on the wood to keep it from coming apart if it gets wet.
And maybe getting some velcro strips from a sewing store like JoAnne Fabrics or A.C.Moore and use some double back tape or glue to fasten the strips to the wood and bag cover. That way they won't be trying to falling out every time you open the bag.

 

The idea is worth the trouble but I would choose another media other than plywood. Over time, it will separate. Not sure if painting it would seal it enough to withstand the test of time. Maybe using an oil-based paint would work. Just a thought.

 

I'm sure most of us have at least half a dozen old cans of automotive type spray paint and maybe even a couple of half empty cans of rubberized undercoat laying around that would work as well as an oil paint
I know I do, but even if he doesn't a standard size spray can should be more than enough paint to do two of them.
Even if they don't, it will postpone any laminate separation for at least a couple of extra years while keeping the costs down.

 

Thanx guys, but being a carpenter, if they give me any trouble, I'll spend ANOTHER ten minutes and make another set. I like citroplus' idea of the velcro, of which I have plenty. I just haven't rode with them yet to see what they need. Riding to the gym in the morning...oh crap, it IS morning...I gotta get more sleep!

Tools are toys and toys are good.
I have toys.
I am good.

 

LOL, yea I guess it might take a carpenter a whole 10 minutes to make a new set. Maybe even out of some marine or pressure treated plywood.

Forget getting more sleep, you'll have plenty of time for that after your dead and buried. Just try to keep up with the rest of us.

 

Now I'm all excited about the AC mod using the football center - voted it as the best ever; makes the engine look SO much larger...
But I gotta say one thing about this thread - it's totally FRUSTRATING with all the deleted photobucket images and imbedded photos that seem to have been disconnected or whatever! I'm having to guess at half of what's going on, and wonder if it's just my settings or is everyone having that problem?
Thankfully, all of Mud's stuff is still here, and the AC mod went well - except for one airgrinder scratch when I sneezed! DANG! well...almost.

 

The picture 'thing' is universal, everyone has the same problem.
A large part of the problem is that we got hacked a couple of times and it messed things up fairly badly.
Then the owners switched over to a new software package to try making it both easier to operate and harder to screw up.
Anyway in the process of 'fixing' things and the original posters moving their pics around on the web hosting sites many of the pics dissapeared.
So unless the original posters go back and fix the links, we're stuck with a bunch of posts with pic links that may as well go to never, never land.
Sorry, but that's the way it is.

 

How about an old political sign.You can take a heat gun and bend edges,glue and make a stiff plastic box inside?
I have a vacuum form machine that could do that ,but to bend ends a heat gun may work

 

I think that's a viable solution to the water problem, as long as you're not going to be stacking anything heavy on top when you're on a trip. Many plastic sheet goods would work, if you can find something long enough.
I'm also thinking of putting two strips of velcro on top of the boards, sticking the board to the lid, with a plastic shipping envelope glued between them. This way you can carry paperwork between the lid and the board out of the rain and wrinkling of luggage, but still get to it. Also, it's kind of hidden.
Not that anybody here would have need of hiding anything on their bikes...