Customacces saddlebags

Custom motorcycle saddlebags are the luggage that suits a chopper or bobber best: they hang either side of the rear wheel and add space without spoiling the lines of the bike. Customacces makes soft ones in leather or waxed fabric and hard ones in ABS. Which to choose depends on how much you carry and whether you will be taking them off often.

Soft saddlebags: leather and fabric

• Detroit: black or brown leather with double buckles, 2.5 litres per side, for everyday essentials.
• Vintage: leather and waterproof Barbour-style fabric, lined, 8 litres per side, in orange.
• Barcelona: treated leather, 10 litres per side, with universal brackets and straps to the frame.
• HD: old-school treated leather, 10 litres per side, designed for the Harley-Davidson Sportster and supplied without fittings.
• Ibiza and Sant Louis: synthetic leather, 11 and 15 litres per side, with an optional metal back plate that keeps them stiff.

Each set includes a bag for either side, and on several models you can order just the bags or just the brackets.

Hard saddlebags and their brackets

Hard saddlebags keep their shape whatever you load, have a built-in latch and range from the 10 litres of the Small to the 33 litres of the Touring and Voyager, which include rear lights. The American, Easy, Silver and Touring open from the top; the Small and Voyager, from the side. They all need a bracket:

• Model-specific: SL (fixed) and SN (key-release) for side-opening bags, and SV (fixed) for top-opening ones.
• Universal KF bracket: fits any bike and both bags, but has to be adjusted by hand. It is for riders who are handy with tools.

Before you hang them

• On the exhaust side, the bag must not touch the silencer or sit over the outlet.
• With the bike loaded and the suspension compressed, it must not rub the tyre: that is what the brackets are for.
• On many cruisers the rear indicators sit at bag height; make sure they can still be seen.
• Leather benefits from a little cream or dubbin now and then so sun and rain do not crack it.

If you cannot see the bracket for your bike, ask us on the chat. To carry more, pair them with a top box or a backrest with rack; for tank or seat bags, see our motorcycle bags. The full brand range is on the Customacces page.