I just recently traded a 2011 Street Bob for a 2019 Street Glide. My riding is mostly done locally (~20-250 mile rides) with a few one nighters mixed in and an annual ~1500 mile trip with my brother and cousin. My wife does not ride and I have a 5 month old so she won't be riding anytime in the next 18 years. On my street bob I had a sissy bar and attached backpack to it for overnight trips. I am trying to figure out the best plan of attack for the ~1500 mile trip this year.

I currently have the stock seat and I am trying to decide between 2 plans:

1. Replace the current seat with a new solo seat. This will require a luggage rack, 4 point docking, and luggage bag (which I am currently researching). Ideally I would like the Mustang Wide Tripper seat as I had this seat on my street bob and found it comfortable for 4-500 mile days which is the mileage expected on this trip (and future trips). That said, I have read that the Wide Tripper with the backrest has the backrest material built-in toward the back of the seat and can cause some serious discomfort to the tail bone. My question is: Does anyone use a similar setup (solo, luggage rack, luggage) without a backrest? If so, how do you tie-down the luggage? Most setups I see have the luggage strapped to the backrest AND luggage rack to keep from sliding around. Does anyone have experience with this specific seat WITH the backrest and have no issues?

2. Keep the stock seat, get a Harley backrest, place luggage directly on back seat. This would be the cheaper option but I would prefer a solo seat for looks as I do not ride 2up (and don't plan to until my son is old enough).

Any thoughts or suggestions are welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

I have a Road Glide with a solo seat. I have strapped bags to the luggage rack with only the solo seat on. No passenger pillion or backrest and I haven’t had issues.

What I like are the bags from First Gear. They have a lot of tie down points so you can use the included straps to tighten a bag down to just the luggage rack without any issues at all. The 40 liter bag may look small but I can easily fit a week’s worth of clothes if you pack it right. Totally waterproof and I have ridden through enough rain to fill a pond I bet. Guys I ride with liked this bag so much I gave one away (to the owner of the white RK) and the other guy bought his own (last bike in pic).

Look in this picture and you’ll see all of our setups for a week trip down to TN. My bike is the 3rd one down and you’ll see the solo seat with just luggage rack and bag attached. The guy with the street glide has the HD bags and they aren’t near as flexible with mounting options. He’s pretty much stuck using a full seat, backrest, and luggage rack anytime he needs to travel.

 

For a week long trip I would put my stuff in those bags on the right and left backside of my bike. No need to pack like I am running away from home... problem solved.

 

Thats something else that works just as well although the bag I mentioned isn’t overkill as you can see. It holds enough without allowing you to bring your whole life with you. I find the more trips I go on, the less I bring. For a weekend camping trip I’ll take limited clothing and pack the cooler with goodies instead.

 

Thanks for the feedback Cygnusx51. I will look into the first gear bags. Do you use the HD luggage rack? Out of curiosity, what seat is that and how do you like it?

 

I wish I could make that work but leaving from VA in Sept it will likely be T-Shirt weather but I will likely need rain gear, chaps, and leather jacket at some point (went to Maine last year same week without chaps and rain gear and froze my *** off). That right there about fills up the saddle bags. A small bag for a few pairs of boxers, 2-3 T-shirts, meds, a spare pair of socks, a spare pair of jeans, bathing suit, and a collared shirt will be appreciated.

 

Sounds like the type of bag I use will work great for your needs. It’s big enough without being too big and since the top rolls down, you can pack it small when there isn’t a lot inside.

I have the King rack, found here. If you search around, you can find much better pricing

My seat is a vinyl solo from C&C. It’s my second one and find them to be comfortable while still being low profile. It will move you down an inch and back some so be aware of that. If you like the stock seating position, this will change it. From my experience the C&C seats are stiff at first but break in fine. I actually got this one during the winter and sat on it in the living room on the floor to help get it broken in some before riding season lol. My girlfriend just laughs at me.

 

Perfect. Thanks again. I am thinking I’ll start pulling the trigger on the upgrades soon. There is a Honda sealer near me that sells the bags so I’ll look at the 25l and 40l but will probably get the 40l just in case.

 

Is this the specific model of Firstgear bag you're using, Cygnus?

 

I modified a solo rack to use for my luggage when traveling.

Welded an upright on the back, the same width as the part of the bag that would go over the back rest. Also an extension on the front for the bag front straps.



By doing it this way, weight of the bag is over the rear tire, not having out behind it.


Bag also has a top roll if I need more, just clicks to bag. It is a T-Bag route 66 and top roll. Also has a rain cover. Works great.