Need some advice for a friend. Buddy just recently bought a really nice 1999 Black Road Star with only 3500 miles on it. He got it for a good price and wants to deck it out. Two things he wants to add are saddlebags and a tall sissy bar. He's not against using "non-Yamaha" parts but whatever he gets he wants to make sure it looks nice and fits together correctly. On my bike (2005 Silverado) it looks like there are chrome pieces that fit along the back fender and the sissy bar is mounted into these pieces. Further, it seems like the mounts for the saddlebags bolt through these chrome pieces. Are there any nice looking after market solutions that he could add to his bike that wouldn't cost as much as buying them from Yamaha?

Anybody done something similar?

Hi,
I recently added the same items to my bike. Looked up the parts on Ebay Motors and found genuine parts and good price. If you look there you can find these items. Keep it original Yamaha parts, but get them at a fraction of the cost.

Here are a few links to get you started:

Silverado sissy bar: (tall one and a short one)
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Yamaha-Road-Star-Roadstar-Highback-Sissy-Bar-Back-Rest_W0QQitemZ220045976312QQihZ012QQcategoryZ84146QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/YAMAHA-ROADSTAR-SILVERADO-SISSY-BAR-BACK-REST_W0QQitemZ170047698721QQihZ007QQcategoryZ34284QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Saddlebags
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/yamaha-roadstar-saddlebags_W0QQitemZ250047289170QQihZ015QQcategoryZ84146QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

EZ-Bracket
Most of the bags can be mounted using "ez-brackets" that allow the bags to be easily removed. For use with backrest, order# YMA-R2BR
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Easy-Brackets-Yamaha-Free-Shipping-New-Discounts_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ34284QQihZ010QQitemZ200044127654

Also take a look at the Road Star Riders forum under "for sale"
http://forums.delphiforums.com/1602/messages

I would advise your buddy to jump on these items quick, as they become available, they go fast.....and soon that 99' R* will be looking almost as good as your Silverado.

Post edited by: 03MochaStar, at: 2006/11/10 01:49<br><br>Post edited by: 03MochaStar, at: 2006/11/10 01:50

Thanks 03MochaStar. I'll pass that information along today. Really appreciate your taking the time to dig up all those links.

Have a great weekend!

Hey pday,
I just went thru this whole thing for a 2004 Roadie I bought. It's a standard Roadstar (not Midnight.. Silverado). The previous owner had added the Silverado seats (rider/passenger). I wanted to add a sissy bar and different saddle bags (current bags are ugly... had the Yamaha saddlebag supports). The whole process ended up being a real learning experience as I was considering after-market sissy bars and wanted to use my existing Yamaha saddlebag supports. On the Roadstar, on the rear fender, there is a piece of fender trim (think some call them eyebrows) that you would bolt saddle bag supports on to. If you add a sissy bar as I did (added Yamaha sissy bar &amp; mounting bracket), you would remove that trim and replace it with the sissybar mounting bracket. You can then bolt on the Yamaha saddlebag supports to use throw-over saddlebags. If you want to use bolt on saddlebags, you would use the Yamaha mounts for the Yamaha bags (Eg. Siverado bags), or, you may use an alternate mounting brake (such has EazyBracket or others) and aftermarket bags. One thing that I found was, if you use an after-market sissy bar (and mounting brackets), you will need to be careful about what saddlebag brackets you use, as they may not work together. For example, if you use a Cobra sissy bar, you'll probably need to use the Cobra saddlebag supports. Mixing and matching Yamaha parts and after-market parts is not exact science. I think the Yamaha parts look good on the bike but are over priced, but you can find great deals online. I ended up finding a Yamaha sissy bar, pad and mounting bracket thur a posting for $200 shipped (just required patience). Moral of the story, when you are adding stuff to that back fender, give alot of thought to everything you may ultimately want to add. Sorry I rambled!

Thanks bluezdawg,

That's exactly the kind of advice we were looking for. There's a whole lot of stuff that's got to fit together to make all that come out clean.

Appreciate the words of experience.

Pday--

I just did the exact same thing this weekend (sissy bar, backrest, luggage rack), and I used the Yamaha products. GREAT quality, and eBay is the only way to go as far as price.

A word to the wise, though (from the post-installation NOW wise - LOL). If you use the Yamaha products, do yourself a favor and don't follow the instructions...exactly. The instructions say to mount the sidearms and THEN bolt on the sissy bar. Well, I had the backrest support sidearms &amp; the saddlebag supports all mounted and was ready to put the bar on, and then realized it was going to take a lot of turning in tiny little increments with an open-end wrench to get the four short bolts on that mount the sissy bar to the sidearms. When the sidearms are mounted first, there's like an inch of clearance between the supports and the rear fender to try and get your fingers in there and start the thread of the four bolts. Well, I don't have small hands, and I knew in advance it was gonna be a knucklebusting, frustrating task. So, I took everything off again and assembled the backrest bar and sidearms BEFORE putting it on the fender.
Once you do this, it'll be a tight fit getting the whole unit to slide over the fender and line the sidearm bolt holes up with the holes in the fender. It's a trememndous opportunity to scratch your fender paint , SO...glue the felt washers (if you choose to use them) onto the inside of the sidearm spacers (where the bolts pass through) before you slide the sissy bar assembly into place. This will protect your fender. If you go with no washers, get a couple sheets of thin plastic (8.5 x 11 sheet protectors would work well) and use those between the sidearms and the fender as you slide everything into place. Once the holes are lined up, you can yank the sheet protectors out and you're good to go.

It'll save you a lot of frustrating wrenching in the end...hope that helps!

RK

pday,
GREAT catches by Roadkill... both got me, I first mounted the backrest brackets, bag supports etc and had to take them off and put everything together first (backrest support onto mounting bracket...) to ease wrenching them on. Also, the felt washers are great idea, I scratched my paint a little trying to slip the mounts/sissy bar over the fender once assembled. Take heed!

Thanks RoadKill and Bluezdawg,

I'll pass that information on!