Soft saddle bags on a 6th Gen? Anyone?

I have done a little searching in the site but can't seem to find anyone who is using soft bags on a 6th Gen. The exhaust runs up under the tail and the bags would rest on the heat shield. Anyone using soft bags? If so what bags are they and what sort of "protection" do you use to keep the bags from melting?

 

I have been using the soft saddle bags on my 07 VFR and they work great. The ones I got were cheap ones for a trip on my 78 Goldwing in April (it was very last minute and I didn't need anything really nice). Only last month did I actually see if they even fit on the VFR...and they do...with a bit of finesse. The hand holds are a gift and a curse. The help lock the bag down, but they make the bags have to be in an awkward position. After a few times out, I got the placement down and now they are perfect. The rear peg mounts make for great strapping points and the heat resistant material of the bag (the part that touches the exhaust shield) doesn't appear burned or anything like that.

The ones I have are made my MotoGear and again, they are cheap, but they work great. I can't fit much more than a day or two worth of stuff, but if you have a tail pack (or a bag that can go across the top of these two bags) than you could probably hold enough for a week or more...

 

I know there was another thread on this recently - maybe for 5th Generation. Anyway, I've been running the Nelson Rigg bags. Various choice of sizes, and Nelson Rigg also makes a heat shield that you swap out for the standard protection that comes with the saddlebags.

I'm not knocking other products by any means - I only have experience with the NR and they work fine. Click below for an idea.

Nelson Rigg CL-850 Touring Saddlebags :: MotorcycleGear.com

Nelson Rigg CL-HSP Sportbike Motorcycle Saddlebag Heat Shield Pads :: MotorcycleGear.com

 

I used Cortech full size the entire the time I had my '07, and ended up doing this;

http://vfrworld.com/forums/gear-accessories/19273-soft-luggage-support-rack.html

Glad to see that you're still alive, derstuka! :smile:

 

Here's how i got around the problem...plus an old thread covering this issue.
[LINK]

 

I was one of those whom the esteemed Stuke was refering to. I made two trips from Canada to Central California to Reggies place. 10 hour days riding and no problems what so ever. The set up that Lgn01 has produced is quite the sharp rack and simple....except for me. Mine ended up looking like hard spagetti. I know of at least one other who has used Lgn's design quite successfully.

So I used no racks at all. This is how it looked:



And this is how I got there:







Properly snugged down with the ties supplied with these Corteck bags and absolutely nothing moved. Heat did not come close to being an issue.

 

Thanks one and all.

I would like to thank all you who responded to my inquiry. Some fantastic brains at work around here (in some ways :crazy.
I think I will take a little bit from everyone else and see what fanatical-whiz-bang-rack I can conjure up.

 

Are you running after market pipes. If not, and the stock heat shields are in place, you don't need the rack so long as the bags don't touch the inner portion of the pipes. The heat shield is far enough away, considering there is air movement between the shield and pipe when you are moving, that nothing should melt. Except the snow that I tried to bring down with me. That shit does not hold up to any kind of heat.

 

I looked at the Bagster site (based on this link) and I see they have attachable muffler pads tested at over 300° Celcius. I do not know what they would cost to get shipped to the U.S. Might be cost prohibitive.

I was considering the Ortlieb dry saddle bags. Those appear to have a foam pad on the inner section, and thus would require something to keep them off of the heat shield (or could be removed, I suppose). I have the Ortlieb Dry Bag Duffel, and it does keep everything dry. I have used it, in heavy rain, on a ride from Austin,TX to Mena, AK. The bag contents remained completely dry.

The Nelson Rigg stuff looks good, and the prices are reasonable.

All this info, from this post and prior posts, is great stuff! Love this forum!

 

My Cortech bags have the rubber backing and again, not an issue on the pipes so long as the heat shields are still in place. I haven't had much luck with anything advertised as waterproof. Everything always gets wet. I even have a $400.00 back pack made for Moutaineers and extreme hikers that still gets quite little wet on my commutes when it is pouring rain. So I simply pack everything in plastic garbage bags inside the Cortech bags. Problem solved. Or I could drive the truck. NFW.

And as far as outerwear goes, none that I have used stands up to the claim of water proof except those cheap rubber backed rain suits for about $100.00

 

I like the Cortech stuff, in general. I have used one of their Tourmaster jackets before. A friend of mine had a Cortech tank bag and I recall it was quite well built.

The Ortlieb stuff is waterproof. Short of submerging it in water, the contents will stay dry. It is made of PVC and has a 'fold over seal' that, depending on the number of times you 'fold' or roll it closed, is almost air tight.
Pics, of course:
Ortlieb - open
Ortlieb - closed
Ortlieb - end of the bag
Currently the bag is not full; it will hold a shit-ton of stuff. This bag alone would probably cover me for a 3 day trip, but occasionally I take longer trips, and admittedly, I tend to over pack. Since I just switched from a Yamaha FJR1300 to the VFR800, I'm probably going to need to scale back a bit anyway (part of the point of switching was to have a lighter weight bike). Here is a pic of my Ortlieb on my FJR, from a trip to Big Bend and Roswell, NM.

 

:jaw: Passenger with no helmet....You bastard.....

I just bought a Cortech Tourmaster so called waterproof jacket a month or so ago. It is not. I got soaked int a 1 hour commute in the rain on the freeway. Arms and front of my abdomen got wet right through the jacket, a nylon Gerbings heated jacket, and under armour. Now the latter two are not purported to be water proof but they are additional layers. And enough water got through the Tourmaster that it made it all the way to my oh so sensitive skin. But we are getting off track here.

 

I have an Aerostich suit and it is definitely not waterproof, but it also does not claim to be. Good in the rain with a large fairing and tour windshield.

Ok, I'll stop hijacking this thread, which was originally about...ummm? Cake! Mmmm, sweet, delicious cake.

 

Until I recently purchased Givi bags for a long trip I ran the Nelson Rigg 850 touring bags. Bags fit great, I used the extra heat shield and rode with ice cream for 30 minutes in upper 40 degree temps and it was still frozen when I got there. But as Randy brought up you need to use plastic bags inside or use the "waterproof" liners that cover 65% of the bag...

Pic of the bags loaded up on a 5 day ride. These bags are also great because you can use their straps to hold your tent/sleeping bag down.

 

I have soft saddlebags from Oxford. But i made some protection, so the bags dont touch the exhaust.

 

A thread once old, is now new again ... :biggrin: ... I use the Ortlieb duffel and saddlebags, as does the poster of years ago. To solve the possible exhaust heat issue with saddlebags, I just got rid of the high pipes completely, works for me :smile: ...

ACE

 

I use them on my VFR and CBR. They have worked great.