How to Make Motorcyle saddle bags by Dan

Home made hard bags for tirumph motorcyle.
They are huge. Now I can lock my helmet up while at work and buy
groceires on the way home.
Added 18 pounds to the bike, so it is a little slower than it was.
Hardly noticeable in stop and go traffic. Lights work great at night
too!

[@Pete-from-Tn]

Just a heads up on the sanding. Never shower starting out with hot water after sanding. Start with cold water. That washes the glass off. Hot water open the pores and the glass goes right in. Trust me worked in that stuff for a few years. Cold Shower water to start off every evening after my shift.

[@emileyford2300]

They look alright and tons of storage room good job

[@hondaryder3779]

😁, before pin striping they looked like something the first settlers would strap to their donkeys. But it is the end product that counts and you made them your self! 👏🇳🇱NL, 2000 Transalp with many mods, hope mine turn out a little more Aerodynamic.

[@mp2166805]

The man has talent!! The Bags were made for HIS needs, not my style but if he's okay with it...so am I.

[@DonutLord32]

Alot of effort for alot more storage. They work for your needs so job well done. F*** the haters dude

[@taylors5207]

Enjoyed the video, def made me laugh with your comments! Thanks for sharing your custom work!

[@RyouConcord]

I think they're awesome. Maybe they aren't, like, PERFECT, but the amount of work that went into it is awesome, and the lights are a great touch. I loved this project, it gives me ideas for my bike!

[@talondesforges]

I'm itching just from watching this, good to see you wearing a dust mask...

[@nursekelly2834]

Beautiful! Very well done! Thanks for the video!

[@jmhsmith9452]

Like your hard bags what motorcycle riding should be about not just spending money making bikes all look the same. What was thie cost, how many layers of glass. Thank you for your video.

[@rainstevenson4326]

I was scared for your bike at first but the pen striping really brought it back, I was looking for a tutorial on sewing saddlebags but whatever, nice job BTW.

[@adamn7516]

They are kind of cool but for helmet storage I would think a decent sized topcase would make more sense. And a couple of slimmer more traditional saddle bags for additional storage like grocery bags. But props for an interesting DIY job.

[@danfavata2821]

Quite the effort, very usefull storage too! Job done well!

[@marvinbanka7592]

Wow! The carrying capacity must be awesome! Tour pack next?

[@danmccarthy2213]

They perform as intended... I can, and do carry groceries for a week. I can also lock up a full set of riding gear including my helmet, so i don't have to carry it from the parking lot to work. It's a very nice city commuter, and my daily ride. There are no pre-made hard bags with LED side and tail lights made this cheap, or as light weight.

[@josephhemmer7916]

Excellent, Dan.

[@angelasangel6275]

Thats crazy!! Why didnt you go to Wal-Mart and buy two igloo Ice chest and start there?

[@anoni81b4u]

I thought the project looked pretty ghetto ...... so i fast forwarded to the end to see the padlocks ..... I love a complete job ..... LMFAO

[@Dustydime]

Nice job bro

[@eal2651]

I can't believe it..!!! OMG...!!! Are you really happy with that..????

[@dieguitoskullito]

beautiful, just beautiful. thank you

it's beatyfull! Werry good your bag. congratulations. I wıll make thıs one :) Thank you for video.

[@4IKO]

I'm no motorcycle person but this looks hella nice

[@JP-ec9rl]

normally dont put negative comments but those are ridiculous dude.

[@danielrocha2581]

And this is how I ruin a really awesome Triumph bike.....

[@penguinproductions7014]

😂😂😂

[@giovannicarosa8819]

I fee like for the amount of money an time you put in that you could've just bought so descent bags...

[@paulacabbo466]

my sissy bar tour pack holds my helmet,jacket and more, i use the side saddlebags for other things, the tour pack was like 100.00 and rack it sits on was 50.00, the way your set up the bike would catch to much air on the highway and would probably start weaving in a good cross wind at the wrong time

[@Iamheretolearn]

On the top river a Al plate with some attachments points for extra gear. Plus it would hide some of the finish.

[@rustyscrib6071]

I think they look great. You would've paid a lot of money to purchase them that big.

[@johnnysmink3661]

The final product isn't my style, but the process is what I came to see, so thank you for sharing that. How have they held up? Is the fiberglass and foam sturdy enough?

[@Mellowcatden]

I hoped you’ve resolved your helmet woes. 3years have passed. If the whole idea was the keep the helmet safe. Regardless of the fiber glass box, it will be stolen. Alternatively, lock your helmet to the handlebar through Chin with a cable lock that’s thick enough while being covered in a plain helmet bag to deter theft.

[@captianstank3791]

Negative comments made by people who buy things and never put the effort into doing something for themselves. Were is the video showing your custom bags that were nicer? Nice job Dan F... haters.

[@kristopherjohnson5851]

You spent more to make them than if you bought a set and they are like a high school blind date, they look good from a distance

[@Ghosticon81]

Nice, where you go to get all the stuff to make some?

[@sirtnfol8476]

you can put $150 worth of groceries in those.

[@protectingtheprotectors9095]

well......it is what it is....

[@OverTheEdge68]

Did this mod decrease the bikes arrow dynamics/handling ability? I'm assuming this was a trial and error or finished product? I may just be confused! It is nice to have a place to store your gear though. Peace!

[@JayOhEnEnWhyEx]

I'd like to do something similar but make a large trunk so I can store my riding suit, and still lane split. any tips?

[@bign1833]

I mean for $450 you could have got a bad ass set of bags... my wife would kill me if I came home with that shit on my bike she would literally think I was on dope

[@dong5394]

if u use a paint gun it would be a better paint job. but hey, still cool brother. rock on.

[@Brough1111]

Better to paint white epoxy starts softening at fairly low temperatures other than that I love those bags

[@Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh62]

Bro you used the foam just build a mold from sand and pour them ✌🏻 Aluminum cleans up a lot better

[@epenn6878]

On the plus, it locks, it's huge (I actually did use my old bike to go grocery shopping). On the negatives, uhm, well, no beauty contests for these bags. However, we're thinking about something similar, but upholstering the outside, and lining the inside with a little foam (for eggs & fragile items after trips to Marshall's). On the plug again, someone got to play with the drill press and any chance to play with power toys is a good thing,

[@CBW0314]

Minus well be as wide as a car

[@paulhendo8726]

Big bags

[@elhuyhuyhuy1822]

the panniers say, please kill me. !! Jejeje

[@Sproutt]

thats not a saddle bag ... thats a job box

[@danmccarthy2213]

Oh, so many negative comments. Well, if you want to be cool, spend $8,000 on a new bike. Triumph screwed up the new Speedmasters by taking away the twin disk brakes up front, now you only have one, yuck, who likes sluggish brakes? They also shrunk the speedometer so its not as easy to read, that sucks too...although the fuel injection is nice. This bike cost me $3,000, and gets 39mpg after the modifications, the aftermarket windshield blocks the wind eliminating 90% of rider fatigue, and if you don't appreciate windshields then you don't ride much. The extra lights throw out an extra 100 watts, at night, I have a total of 165 watts blazing! (the average headlight is 55 watts), the night is like day cruising across the desert to Arizona. These saddle bags have enough room to buy groceries for a week, and I can lock my helmet and all my riding gear so I don't have to drag it into work... But who cares anyway, it was an experiment to see if core foam PVC covered with fiberglass is an alternative to aluminum and wood structures, and it was practice using fiberglass reinforced plastic with foam cores....bet you never did that.... Since most people in the U.S. never build anything or have any ingenuity few can appreciate this project (My next project by the way is comparing the strengths of E-glass vs S-glass laminates in boat construction, and I doubt you even know what the hell I'm taking about...). The bike saddle bags were just projects, and so far have worked wonderfully, though ugly to some :) They work as expected, and after nearly a year no issues except for one bolt I needed to re-tighten. This bike is however for sale, I need a little more power for freeway driving so I'm upgrading to a Honda CTX 1300 (with saddle bags!). Lastly, hate to bust your Triumph bubble, but my Triumph so far hasn't been any better than my Yamaha or Honda in reliability, quality of construction or performance...but all the girls like it because some rebel without out a cause rode one in some black in white movie way back when.....

[@baltsosser]

I like the idea of designing your own bags for your own needs. Working on something like this for a friend of mine. Probably going to use a foam insulation board mold, and shape it from there to fit his bike well. Then the fun with putting on scotch tape, and carnuba wax to help release the mold, and some hand laid fiberglass. It has been a long strange road getting here, but it will be a one off pair of saddlebags. I enjoyed the way you went at the problem of securing your gear.

[@fishhuntadventure]

V Star 1300 Adventures did you document your build? I want some bags for my 1972 350F which makes for some pretty specific considerations to curves and vectors so it doesn't end up, well, looking like these 2-dimensionally conceived 3-dimensional objects... was thinking of hammering into steel but I'm quite interested in your molding concept

[@Brough1111]

Should use micro balloons easier to sand they are plastic,

[@vanilla.i.scream8744]

the bags kill the bike

[@danmccarthy2213]

+Vanilla.i.Scream The bike was already kinda slow....I have carried a watermellon and a host of other groceries in these bags and I can lock up my helmet and complete riding suit in those boxes. Uglified the bike, but they are a huge amount of storage and very light.

[@merc-ota4357]

Filtering out the question then.

[@blunt3068]

Is this a joke?

[@timhenry8475]

Not that I think the craftsmanship here is great, it is inspiring me to do something similar, but for me it’s putting 2 full size 12” subs on my Harley, for sound competition, I already have 22 speakers on it lol

[@corneilcorneil]

That is even more funny than this boxes.

[@BK-rt7wi]

Could have gotten a nice set of bags for $200 and universal supports for under $90. A helmet would barely fit in them but your friends wouldnt be busting your balls for how hidious those boxes are.

[@yvens001]

What are thooooose 😂😂😂😂

[@sjeverett75]

Thats one way to keep a hot chick from riding with you. Guess you could stick one of four in the bags. Its slower from the added wind drag more so than the extra weight. Im not sure why everyone that builds their own fiberglass bags buildssome monstrosity that is way too big for their bike. Oh well, along as you're happy.

[@SandraOrtmann1976]

Just one solution to these giants...you need a bigger bike.

[@law0472]

Oh my that’s awful!!!!

[@ghettojohnny]

Brit Ingenuity