While recently reading “The Horse” magazine (one of my favorites) I came across an ad for sidebags. This got my attention, because I don’t really like the way saddlebags look on Sportsters and have gotten tired of running a sissy bar bag almost all the time on my custom sissy bar. So off I went to the website of the advertiser. While the bags seem well made, come highly reviewed and recommended and would likely look good on my bike, the price made me pause just a little.
The next step was to google search other options, and besides a few competing manufacturers (including Harley, but mainly for soft-tails) I found a few websites, blogs and forum threads where people improvised sidebags out of military surplus bags. Score! I know a few things about military pouches and bags, having grown up in a nearly paramilitary Scout troop and serving 22 years in the Navy expeditionary forces. To top it off, before I found time to get to the local Army-Navy surplus store, our move gave me the opportunity to rummage through all my old kit. How happily surprised I was to find some old kit bags from operations long ago that were still serviceable. The most beat-up one was quickly modified and attached to the bike as a prototype! I simply cut the shoulder strap, removed the seat and tied the bag to the frame rails. First few test rides have gone without a hitch, although the cardboard used to stiffen the bag didn’t fare well in some recent light rain. Maybe some thin plywood or veneer?
Pic attached, and I’d recommend going this route if a leather bag is either too pricy or not your style but you want a sidebag.
And, yes, that is the Cycle Gear Trackside Wheel Chock in use.
