rand1965 wrote:
jamie99roadstar, whats wrong with orange and blue!
Orange and blue are my favourite colours, but I like them on my trucks.

Bags look good Shamrock.

Ruprect wrote:
I was considering doing the very same thing to lower my bags but I had a few concerns about cutting up the (very expensive) stock mounts only to find some problem with the clearances, etc. I was actually going to cut the ends off (as you did) and then switch them side for side and upside down so the geometry would stay the same. If you notice the lower arm of the mount drops down but also away from the bike.

Rup

Keep in mind that the left and right mounts are completly different shapes. The left one has a different angle on the bottom to get around the belt gaurd. I had to remove the front vertical brace on that side to keep from hitting when I lowered it. You may not be able to switch side to side.

Oldgoat wrote:
Mr Shamrock

What make & model bags are they?

They are factory Road Star bags.

davej wrote:
Ruprect wrote:
I was considering doing the very same thing to lower my bags but I had a few concerns about cutting up the (very expensive) stock mounts only to find some problem with the clearances, etc. I was actually going to cut the ends off (as you did) and then switch them side for side and upside down so the geometry would stay the same. If you notice the lower arm of the mount drops down but also away from the bike.

Rup

Keep in mind that the left and right mounts are completly different shapes. The left one has a different angle on the bottom to get around the belt gaurd. I had to remove the front vertical brace on that side to keep from hitting when I lowered it. You may not be able to switch side to side.

Yeah I don't think you could swap side to side, but it can be done by cutting them and changing the mounting position like I did. If anyone needs more info or pics just let me know. I took it for a test run today and everything went great. I would be concerned about others doing it the way I did if they have different exhaust. I don't think it would work with the factory exhaust. My V&H longshots have about 1/2 an inch of clearance. So take that in consideration.

I tried to lower mine 2.5 inches down and 2.5 inches back. The picture shows the left side done.

From the back you really can see how dramatic lowering the bags really is. However, I ran into a clearance issue with my Cobra pipes and had to revert to the stock configuration until I can resolve the problem on the right side.

I used 3/16 x 1 flat stock for the top and a 5&3/4 x 1&7/8 x 3/16 piece for flat stock for the front bracket. I made a CAD drawing and printed it to scale. Cut the template out and stacked my pieces and cut two at a time. If anyone wants the drawing, I can email it in a PDF form just send me a PM. This set of brackets will lower and shift the bags 2.5 inches. If you have after market pipes that are lower than the stock pipe for the rear cylinder, this method should work and is relatively cheap and easy.
I now have to redo the drawing for to accomodate my pipes. I likely only be able to lower them an inch and move the back an inch. I'll be using 1/4 inch stock because I will have to tap the front brackets to clear my pipes. Fab time was about an hour and a half (without painting) using an pneumatice cut off tool and a hand drill.
Thanks goes to Mr_Shamrock for the inspiration.

Dave, can you tell me what type of hard bags are on your bike? They are just the style I'm looking for. Thanks, RSTAR 99

RSTAR99 wrote:
Dave, can you tell me what type of hard bags are on your bike? They are just the style I'm looking for. Thanks, RSTAR 99

Yes, They are HD police bags. The police bags have the knob on the top and different hinges than the regular HD bags.