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A number of questions here. I am looking at saddle bags, and I am not sure how they attach. Some universal ones are connected at the top, and you drape them over the rear fender. Do they need the saddle bag supports? The OEM bags Kawasaki sells don't connect at the top. Do those just attach to the side and bottom of the metal supports? I have seen some aftermarket supports that have a bend on the side bars that are half the price of OEM. Has anyone used these? http://www.ebay.com/itm/310331803834?ss ... 1438.l2648

I bought my 2004 EN-500 with saddle bag supports already installed. They are factory Kawasaki but if I was buying them myself I would have gone with something like the link you posted. I HATE paying extra for a brand name! I don't think I'd try using bags without the supports. They'll keep the bags out of the wheel.

My bike also had these bags installed. http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=saddlebags+willie+and+max&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=15165816087402618245&sa=X&ei=x1KYT4PvEIme2AXZvNmyBw&ved=0CKYBEPICMAg They drape over the fender under the seat and stay in place pretty well but I added a few zip ties to keep them from sliding side to side when I have uneven weight in them.

Oh, and welcome to the forum!

Joe

SAW ammo cans make a great "hard saddle bag" drill a hole and add and eyebolt and they're lockable too!

If my bike didn't come with the bags it did I would most likely have a pair of ammo cans hanging on her. I'm starting to see a lot of bikes with them on the road now. Some with some pretty cool paint jobs too. I haven't seen any done yet but I'll bet chrome would look pretty sharp and shouldn't be crazy expensive.

Joe

huskerden wrote:A number of questions here. I am looking at saddle bags, and I am not sure how they attach. Some universal ones are connected at the top, and you drape them over the rear fender. Do they need the saddle bag supports? The OEM bags Kawasaki sells don't connect at the top. Do those just attach to the side and bottom of the metal supports? I have seen some aftermarket supports that have a bend on the side bars that are half the price of OEM. Has anyone used these? http://www.ebay.com/itm/310331803834?ss ... 1438.l2648

I use Saddlemen Large Slant Cruiser bags. These have been discontinued, but they have the same size with lockable openings, which I may replace mine with soon. You will need saddlebag supports. You can see in the bottom pic that mine are draped over the fender, underneath the seat. You can buy the same version and hardware it in so you don't have this, but too much trouble for me. You can tied them down to the supports.

Here are some pics:

Wow triangles that's a great idea, so you just bolt them right to the two bolts under the passenger seat?

The cans bolt to fender using the two bolts that go thru the chrome side piece. I used a 3/16" thick aluminum "support plate" in a configuration similar to the saddle bag supports and leather saddle bags. It is in between the can and the bike. I had to buy longer bolts 60 or 70mm long I don't remember exactly. I put a rubber fender washer between the plate and the chrome to protect the chrome from getting scratched should I decide the remove them. I also used a fender washer and rubber fender washer under the bolt head to seal and help distribute the load. I ended up gluing a rubber strip to the plate in between the plate and can to minimize rattle. After 17k miles they're still holding up great. When I was in an accident and the bike went down the ammo can took most of the impact and saved the muffler and my seat from some serious road rash. I was able to mostly straighten the can out and it still works. I eventually plan to replace it but it's still functional in the mean time. I also put an eye bolt thru the can/handle so I can lock the ammo cans. Google ammo can lock and you'll get some ideas. I bought some hard cases to replace the ammo cans and half way thru installing I changed my mind. I'm going to install more ammo cans. I should take some picts and post the hard cases up for sale. When I replace the ammo cans I'll take pictures and post a How-to.

almost forgot. the reason for the support plate is because the sheet metal the cans are made of is too thin in my opinion to support the weight of the can and the 12 pack of BEvERage cans inside it

Oh yea if your transporting beers then you'd defiantly need some support.

Check out what this guy did.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Motorcy ... /?ALLSTEPS

It looks like with the small 7.62 cans you can just bolt them right to the bike.

Triangles wrote:almost forgot. the reason for getting electric log splitters and the support plate is because the sheet metal the cans are made of is too thin in my opinion to support the weight of the can and the 12 pack of BEvERage cans inside it

What saddle bags is everyone using currently? I'd love some recommendations if you've been using a saddle bag for years and you love it. I'm in the market for one.

50 caliber SAW ammo cans, cheap, durable, and lockable. Plust a 12 pack of beverages or a gallon of milk fits easily in one.

Hidalgo has worn several saddlebags in her life. The bags she as worn most are Willie and Max touring bags (that are currently mounted on Sioux, another Vulcan 500 in the stable) and a set of Viking Classic saddlebags (that she currently wears):

Willie and Max
https://dowcopowersports.com/willie-max ... -58370-00/

Viking
https://www.vikingbags.com/kawasaki-vul ... 7-prd1.htm