Saddlebag Top Rails

[chainsaw]

Just bought a new set of saddlebag top rails for a 1600 on E-Bay for
$114.25 plus shipping. I thought this was a good price. There are quite a few on there if anyone is looking. Some as high as $260.00.

[bugman]

THATS A GOOD DEAL, GOT MINE 6 MONTHS AGO FOR $120,,

[cactusjack]

That's a good deal, Al. I didn't see any near that price, though.

[strobe]

Originally Posted by cactusjack

That's a good deal, Al. I didn't see any near that price, though.

Try this lnk (was $27 when I posted it):

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-SADDLEBAG-TO...3A1|240%3A1318

I bought mine from these guys. Not sure they are Fire & Steel, but they look pretty good definitely close to the same quality if there is any difference at all, they look identical to me though. Just need to get them mounted. :)

[Netnorske]

Strobe,
Have fun mounting those things.... . That was the most stressful thing I have done in a long time. Take your bags off and bolt them together when you are ready to do it so you can see them side by side.

Next...make damn sure your washers are in place when you mark your holes. I would suggest you use roofing washers rather than those cheap ones that come with in the package (see photo).

I used washers off of roofing nails....peeled the paint off of them...then used a drill bit and by hand carved the hole out a little bit bigger to fit over the bolt nice and tight. Lastly, no frosty ones till you are done.....period! Good Luck... .

[billyboy]

Take your time mounting those and remove the bags for sure. It will make it much easier to match the location on each bag. Put masking tape down and be absolutely sure before drilling!

I used faucet washers that are about 1/8" thick. I bought 12 faucet washers and used them on the inside of the bags as well. Figured it would isolate from vibration and seal the holes up good. Had to buy screws that were about 1/4" longer.

Here's the problem with using thicker washers. They raise the rails up enough so that the curvature causes the front and rear mounting holes to move closer together. You have to compensate for this.

I drilled and loosely mounted only the rearward mount points with the washers in place. Then I put a washer between the front mount point and the bag and checked that it was lined up correctly. I then carefully traced the washer on the masking tape for each bag to find the center. I removed the rails and drilled the front mount holes.

Even after all that, the front and rear holes were off just enough to make it hard to start the screw in the thread. I remedied that by redrilling all 6 holes with slightly larger bit. That gave me just enough wiggle room to get the screws into the rails.

[Top Cat]

I already have toprails but went to the site anyway.
What the hell does this mean;

US $81.90
(approximately C $100.44)

At first I thought it was some kind of currency exchange rate but I see they ship from Texas.

[strobe]

Originally Posted by Top Cat (TC)

I already have toprails but went to the site anyway.
What the hell does this mean;

US $81.90
(approximately C $100.44)

At first I thought it was some kind of currency exchange rate but I see they ship from Texas.

Well I am from Canada, and that link is from my eBay page, so it shows the price we pay....exchange to Canadian dollars....do a search for nomad saddlebag from ebay.com and the exchange rate will go away.... :)

I fixed the link to show only the US price to avoid any confusion.

[strobe]

Originally Posted by Netnorske

Strobe,
Have fun mounting those things.... .

Not too worried, have done lots of that before, just have not had time to mount them. Was more stressed about mounting the luggage rack and spoiler to the brand new Tour Pak I put on last fall. It can get tricky though to get it all right, just do it when you are not in a hurry.... :)

[chainsaw]

That link up to $88.00 now and thanks for the information on the install. Wife leaves town whenever I do any drilling on the bike. Measure three or four times then once more and drill once.

[strobe]

Originally Posted by "CHAINSAW"

That link up to $88.00 now and thanks for the information on the install. Wife leaves town whenever I do any drilling on the bike. Measure three or four times then once more and drill once.

Took me a while to get a good price (paid more than you, around $130 US) but if you are patient you can get them at a good price, or lucky and get them quickly at a good price. I saw them go for $170+ from this vendor on eBay at times...people get caught in the bidding frenzy I think.... :)

Here is two more auctions from the same guy (with no confusing exchange rate :))...

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-SADDLEBAG-TO...3%3A1|294%3A50
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-SADDLEBAG-TO...3%3A1|294%3A50

He has been selling them since last fall (October I think I first saw them).

[rhunt4]

that is my bid on there now. I was outbid

[Jared]

being patient is the only way to win on ebay.

[strobe]

+1 on patience....I have seen too many people pay full retail or higher for used parts....hard to stop bidding sometimes.

Someone paid 110.55 for them, pretty good price!

[ballast]

So now you've got us all excited about cheap rails, we'll be bidding against each other...