I just put a set of Saddlemen Express saddlebgs on my bike this weekend. The dealer from whom I bought them suggested I add some support to keep them from sagging in toward the tire; he said I could buy some brackets or better yet make some from scrap metal. I, being of Scottish decent, chose the latter.
I found a spare part from my wife's cltohes dryer that is about the size of a standard car license plate, but a little bit thicker. I cut this in half, removed any burrs and sharp edges (used a Dremmel for all of this), drilled a bolt hole and broke it slightly so it would angle out away from the bike just a bit. I added a small adhesive rubber bumper (that I had previously bought probably at Lowes or Wal Mart) to the bike-side of the plate and mounted it to the bike using the rear sissy bar bracket bolt. I then added a slot (again with the Dremmel) just wide enough for the bottom straps of the bags to fit through and voila, done. It works like a charm, looks nice, and didn't cost a dime. We'll see if it holds up over time.
I'm thinking an old license plate could be used the same way...
I found a spare part from my wife's cltohes dryer that is about the size of a standard car license plate, but a little bit thicker. I cut this in half, removed any burrs and sharp edges (used a Dremmel for all of this), drilled a bolt hole and broke it slightly so it would angle out away from the bike just a bit. I added a small adhesive rubber bumper (that I had previously bought probably at Lowes or Wal Mart) to the bike-side of the plate and mounted it to the bike using the rear sissy bar bracket bolt. I then added a slot (again with the Dremmel) just wide enough for the bottom straps of the bags to fit through and voila, done. It works like a charm, looks nice, and didn't cost a dime. We'll see if it holds up over time.
I'm thinking an old license plate could be used the same way...
