Motorcycle Forum banner

Something I've not seen before

682 Views 4 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  Kiwi Steve
Today while out for a ride on a beautiful summer day, a bike was coming toward me that looked, from a distance, very odd. At first I thought it might be some type of new trike. But as it got closer I saw that it was a Harley tourer (not sure which model) with huge soft saddlebags hanging on each side of the front fairing. I guess that adds a good deal of storage capability to the hard bags and trunk, but it would seem to be something that would seriously affect the steering of the bike. I must admit I never saw someone with this setup before but don't think I'm about to try it for myself anytime soon.
1 - 5 of 5 Posts
I agree. That has GOT affect the handling.
I did an experiment once where I mounted a 3 foot length of aluminum tubing to the handlebars of my Honda Trail 90, sticking straight forward. Then I mounted my tiny video camera on the end of the pole looking back at me. The camera only weighs less than half a pound. Wow! That stupid arrangement made the bike handle VERY badly. Something about the inertia of a half pound of weight swinging back and forth at the end of that three foot pole made it very difficult to keep the bike in a straight line.
I can only imagine how much those saddlebags affected that bike that you saw.
  • Like
Reactions: 2
Yeah still considering removal of the front Pacifico faring off Winger hate the way he feels in the wind. You know it also seems to confuse birds, never have I hit so many birds.
I've seen leather bags made to hang off the highway guard right below the fairing, but never seen anything like that actually hung off the fairing itself.
  • Like
Reactions: 1
I've seen someone hang a length of 100 mm/4" plastic pipe on each fork, capped top and bottom. Gave them a fair bit of storage and didn't affect the handling very much at all.
1 - 5 of 5 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top