Little Ed
New Member
I wanted to share my homemade support bracket that I made of 1/2" CPVC to support the MotoCentric soft luggage saddle bags & tail bags that I purchased. I opted for this strategy for multiple reasons. It cost less than $10 for the parts, plus the PVC cleaner/glue and the paint. This was my prototype model and unless I see any major problems, there may not be a version #2. I have driven with the bags loaded for well over 100 miles and have not noticed any problems with shifting of either the bags or the brace. This brace is installed or removed in about 4 seconds and can be easily carried with the luggage. Without this brace, the saddle bags would obviously tuck-in toward the wheels. This brace/bracket aligns the saddle bags with the tail of the bike, so they will taper inward toward the rear of the bike.
Gas fillup was extremely easy and could be done without removing the tail bag from the saddle bag hookup points. Disconnect the two front and the two rear saddle bag tiedowns and lift the entire set of three bags, positioning them forward onto the riders seat. After the fillup, return them to the rear and rehook the 4 straps. If you travel with another person who can assist- one person on each side of the bike makes this an extremely easy 10 second task. Note in one of the pictures that the rear saddlebag connections attach to the tail CPVC pipe on the opposite side and go under the tail extension to the opposite saddle bag. With both of these hooked in the opposite direction they lock and hold the support bracket into position on the tail and keep it from shifting.
If this concept can be enhanced please share your ideas. One major flaw I had seen is that I was not able to perfectly align the "saddled PVC section" perfectly to the bikes pipes. I needed more than 90 degrees of angle and would have loved to use two 60 degree "street L" connectors...but they apparently do not make them. Note that there is two foam pieces on the inner portion of the "saddle clamp" which help hold it tight to the bike, when installing. It is not intended to be left on the bike without the bags.
Gas fillup was extremely easy and could be done without removing the tail bag from the saddle bag hookup points. Disconnect the two front and the two rear saddle bag tiedowns and lift the entire set of three bags, positioning them forward onto the riders seat. After the fillup, return them to the rear and rehook the 4 straps. If you travel with another person who can assist- one person on each side of the bike makes this an extremely easy 10 second task. Note in one of the pictures that the rear saddlebag connections attach to the tail CPVC pipe on the opposite side and go under the tail extension to the opposite saddle bag. With both of these hooked in the opposite direction they lock and hold the support bracket into position on the tail and keep it from shifting.
If this concept can be enhanced please share your ideas. One major flaw I had seen is that I was not able to perfectly align the "saddled PVC section" perfectly to the bikes pipes. I needed more than 90 degrees of angle and would have loved to use two 60 degree "street L" connectors...but they apparently do not make them. Note that there is two foam pieces on the inner portion of the "saddle clamp" which help hold it tight to the bike, when installing. It is not intended to be left on the bike without the bags.
