May 5, 2008 - Quick release tour bags setup
I got hold of a set of used Givi Wingrack bag mounts. These are meant to be multi-fit racks and you need a bike-specific hardware kit. Buying them without the hardware kit, I was able to get them dirt cheap; cheap enough that experimenting with them to see if the idea works was OK. Turns out it works pretty well. I had originally intended to install them permanently on the fender struts. After test fitting it and taking some pictures, my friend Wayne convinced me that we should mount them on the quick-release tour rack that holds the existing Givi E45N tour trunk.
So, I packed up the Wingracks and headed over to Wayne's Elkton Skunkworks for the initial work. Without the type of bags I wanted to factor into the test fitting, we completely guessed at placement and clearances, and as it turned out, once I got the Givi E21s in, we messed up a little. There was too little clearance between the tops of the E21s and the bottom of the E45N tour trunk. It was possible to open the bags, but it was difficult and nearly impossible with gloves on. But as a first revision, it was excellent.
Finally, I re-drilled the tour trunk rack and moved the Wingracks down 2 inches and back about an inch. That opened up all the clearance necessary to use the bags, easily access the locks and pop the bags off as designed. Worked out perfect.
To space the Wingracks out and clear the shocks, we used some tubular spacers that Wayne and I measured up and cut. Then I made a bracket for the lower holes to make the entire assembly a bit more rigid.
Using the quick-release tour trunk rack and mounting both the top box and the saddle bags to it, the bike can go from "tour mode" to "sport mode" in about 10 seconds. I still have to get a lock for it, but I now have a fully tourable Sportster.
sportieBags_0001.jpg - The Sportster in full tour mode, both saddle bags and the tour trunk installed. These consist of a Givi E45N top box and a pair of Givi E21 saddle bags mounted on the Wingracks.
sportieBags_0002.jpg -
sportieBags_0003.jpg - The bike is fully ridable with just the saddle bags installed for something a little closer to "classic" style (though there aren't too many Harley Davidsons with a full Givi outfit).
sportieBags_0004.jpg -
sportieBags_0005.jpg - The bike can also be used with just the top box for the "sport bike" type of touring mode.
sportieBags_0006.jpg -
sportieBags_0007.jpg -
sportieBags_0008.jpg - And of course the rack and bags can be fully removed for stripped-down use of the Sportster.
sportieBags_0009.jpg -
sportieBags_0010.jpg - The bags removed from the bike can be stored elsewhere when not needed for touring.
sportieBags_0011.jpg - The bags and rack can be installed and removed as one assembly in a few seconds.
e21_bags.jpg
