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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Historical background of motorcycle saddlebags

By Harry Alan


Saddlebags are commonly utilized to carry luggage with a motorcycle. There are 2 major forms of motorcycle saddlebags. Throw over saddlebags and hard mount saddlebags. The idea of hard mount saddlebags originated from throw over saddlebags that have been utilized in early 1950 the very first time.

The motorcycle industry experienced a huge boom in 1960 especially following the Vietnam War the motorcycle luggage also evolved. As major motorcycle companies launched bigger and better motorcycles people started traveling farther on the motorcycles. With riders forming groups and riding cross-country and city to city. The throw over kind of saddlebags was soon replaced by the better plus more reliable means of carrying luggage.

A small grouping of riders drilled several holes in the back fender of their motorcycles to be able to permanently bolt the saddlebags for the motorcycle. This permanent installation ended in the saddlebags being more reliable and sturdy. This method also contributed on the aesthetic good thing about the motorcycle. The buzz soon became popular between the riders. Motorcycle brands like Indian Motorcycle Company and Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company noticed this trend and soon started producing motorcycles with struts. The struts enabled motorcycle riders to bolt the motorcycle saddlebags without creating any permanent changes for the motorcycle including drilling holes inside back fender. Later exactly the same struts enabled other accessories to get securely mounted on a motorcycle including motorcycle carrier and sissy bars.

Since the Asian motorcycle manufacturers like Kawasaki, Honda and Yamaha made their distance to American market they also made certain the riders get enough room to the luggage. Yamaha motorcycles can be a classic demonstration of this while they manufacture most of their bikes with a lot of room for your saddlebags. They also make sure that the turn signal will not interfere with the saddlebags, a typical trouble with smaller motorcycles. In 1980 the motorcycle companies remarked that most 1000 cc and above motorcycles were utilized for long rides. To help expand add value to their motorcycles they started selling motorcycles with fiber glass saddlebags. These motorcycles did well since most of these had the motorcycle specific luggage. And also this saved the motorcycle rider a lot of time and headache.

Despite the popularity of factory installed saddlebags motorcycle riders still prefer leather saddlebags typically. That is due to the fact that motorcycles leather saddlebags might be customized to your greater degree instead of motorcycle specific fiber glass bags.

Most early motorcycle saddlebag companies used studs, spots and conchs to decorate the saddlebags. Recently the more advanced motorcycle saddlebag companies have started manufacturing and offering saddlebags that are not only motorcycle specific but also match the color of the motorcycle. Another approach is to design the leather motorcycle saddle bags in such a way that it blends in with the overall design of the motorcycle. These advancements have resulted in more and more people willing to install saddlebags on their motorcycles.




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