I got a lead on a great deal for a set of hard bags that I've been looking for. I know there are brackets available to do the conversion, but would love to get some more details on what is involved to make the switch. Also, I'm wondering if my V&H BSL would be in the way.

thanks

 

jlasoftail,

I assume that you are going after-market for the bags and, if so, I would recommend the easy brackets (www.easybrackets.com). They make them to fit various years of the Heritage and they're detachable and lockable. As far as clearing the pipes, you should be able to just mount the brackets lower on the bags to make them sit higher above the pipes, as long as they're not too high. I've used these on a previous bike (not Harley) and they worked great. Makes cleaning the spokes a lot easier too.

Good luck.

 

no, I want the HD hard bags. Quick detach would be great, but not a deal breaker. Hard to say though, I might be able to use those brackets to fit them though, would just have to build something for a bottom support.

 

You need the Cycle Visions bagger tail. get the low mount exhaust version and you will be fine. It comes in black or chrome. It is not a QD system but goes on and off in a few minutes regardless.

Drew

 

+1. Got mine from Dr. V-Twin. Very easy installation. Love 'em.

 

I used the cycle visions set up and they worked great. Like the doc said very easy to install and remove in minutes. I have installed the v&h big radius and added 4" extensions that I like more.
Before
After

 

Wow FatBagga! Very sweet scoot! Gave me some ideas!

 

OK, so what about the rear lights? Anyone have a picture of what they look like with the relocation kit?

 

I just performed a bag transplant on my wife's Heritage. I installed a set of the Road King Custom bags (the ones with the leather over rigid body with no visible buckles/latches), was quite a little project. If you need more info let me know. I will try and post some images shortly. These RK rigid bags required a support bracket like the ones used for the touring OEM slant style hard bags. A lot of people suggest the Cycle Visions product, but I thought their price was too high for what it was. I found Cavalry makes the same mount and I found a vendor that sold the complete kit with the turn signal relocation kit for only $199 from a company called chopper cycle (http://www.chopperscycle.com), when I looked today I could not find the part on their site anymore. On the Cavalryfiberglass.com website, just do a search on part number: HD-CK1 It will show the conversion kit. Works good, probably perfect with the slant style hard bags. The Road King Custom Leather rigid bags have a long sweep on them, making my install a little more of a challenge. They fit fine on the mount, but the tail turn signals were a pain because the relocate kit does not take the longer bag into consideration. To combat that, I mounted some LED's directly on the back of the bags to fix this issue. Problem solved and one happy wife with fixed "non-saggy" Heritage leather bags. She hated the bucke style bags because she kept breaking her nails on them. LOL $800 project to save a set of fingernails.....Ouy-Vey! )

For those of you who think the Easy Brackets are the way to go on hard bags, don't waste your time. I had a set that I was going to buy from a buddy, I say that for a set of small soft bags, they're just OK at best. A well built hard bag kit supports the bottom of the bag, offering better weight capacity as well as vibration prevention. The easy brackets do not stop vibration at all and when you add weight to the bag, it will cause the bag to tilt towards the tire & drive belt. The only other issue specific to the RK bags, the rubber grommets that go in the Road King Custom bags are different than the slant bags. The RK Custom bag's grommet is a tad smaller than the slant hard bags, so they are really tight to install. Just take your time and it will go in, the advantage to having the tight grommets are better vibration prevention and less flex on the mount (better balance of weight on posts & bottom rail) but this is just my opinion. The post pins they send with the kit are not the same as the regular touring quick pins like on my Ultra, these retaining pins/clips are pressed onto a groove in the post. Though this may be a deal breaker for someone, it was not for me, as we have no plans of riding down the street with a pair of visible saddlebag rails and be stuck with no bags to carry stuff. )

Lastly, make sure your exhaust pipes are at the level of the rear axle or lower. The factory stagger pipes/mufflers are OK (they have taper to them), but fatter slip-ons may be a problem. She has the Screamin' Eagle II mufflers, and the fit was really close, almost no room to be any bigger.

Would I buy this kit again? You bet! The $200 I paid for the bag rail kit was the cheapest I could find and does the trick.

 

I just posted two images of the conversion to my "garage". One thing I forgot to note was that the Cycle Visions kit said something about not compatible with some passenger backrest kits, as you can see from my pic, the Cavalry kit worked with my wife's backrest with no issues.

Cheers!