Saddlebags on a DR650

[gocatgo]

OK, once again I'm needing to tap the vast knowledge and wisdom of you seasoned DS types out there :hail:
I have the Suzuki brand rack on the bike. I want to use saddlebags. Are there supports available to fit that rack? I got the rack when I bought the bike, and since then have seen the rack and supports offered by Dual-Star. Spare me the news that I have to dump the factory rack and buy the pricey rack just to get the saddlebag supports. Say it ain't so!:eek:

[kurt]

It ain't so. The Happy Trails racks either work with or require the the OEM rack depending on the model. A less expensive solution is the Dirt Bagz that include the bags and supports. No reason the wouldn't work with the rack either.

http://moto-sportpanniers.com/dirtbagz/

You can see the Happy Trails OSR racks mounted with the Suzuki Rack by clicking the link in my signature. The SU racks require the purchase of the rack.

[gocatgo]

Hey, txmedic, thanks for the info! Which saddlebags do you use? The Happy Trails supports are purchased by themselves and are not part of a saddlebag package? Are the Dirt Bagz any good? I have a Wolfman duffle, tank panniers and fender bag. :scratch:

[gotdurt]

I think the Dirt Bagz are the way to go for a "dirt bike" (but I can't afford it). They are light and narrow, but my only concerns with them is how water tight they are, and security. I'm building hard luggage for my DR using 3/4" square tubing and lockable plastic dry-boxes. It will be heavier than Dirt Bagz, but lighter/narrower than any hard luggage kits I've found, and I'll have invested well under $100 total (including boxes). I like my rack frame design much better than the Happy Trails rack, so if it works out well, maybe I'll draw-up some plans and have some made.

If you want hard luggage, and want it now, you might consider the Happy trails rack, and I'll show you the boxes I'm using. I got them at Academy and I think they measure around 13x13x6 (@ $9 each) for the large ones and about 13x5x6 (@ $8 ea) for the small ones. (If you want the actual dims I'll have to measure them) They are basically like the military ammo boxes, but plastic. What's cool is they are stackable; I plan to use the large one on the bottom with the small box strapped to the top. When I need to pack for a big trip, I'll use all 4 boxes, for daily use I'll just use the 2 large ones. They have handles and a hole in the latch for locks.

[kurt]

Hey, txmedic, thanks for the info! Which saddlebags do you use? The Happy Trails supports are purchased by themselves and are not part of a saddlebag package? Are the Dirt Bagz any good? I have a Wolfman duffle, tank panniers and fender bag. :scratch:

The OSR racks are purchased by themselves and you can use any of the throw over bags with them.

http://happy-trail.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=100&categoryid=20&startpage=1

I haven't bought any yet, but plan on the Ortlieb Dry Bags with a quick release latch built just for this rack.

http://www.aerostich.com/home.php?cat=280

You can get the Happy Trails SU racks with or without hard bags

http://happy-trail.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=77&categoryid=20&startpage=1

http://happy-trail.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=126&categoryid=20&startpage=1

[gotdurt]

You can get the Happy Trails SU racks with or without hard bags

http://happy-trail.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=77&categoryid=20&startpage=1

http://happy-trail.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=126&categoryid=20&startpage=1
This is the Happy Trails rack I was refering to, I forgot about the other one for soft luggage...

[kurt]

I came real close to ordering the SU rack and then buying the Pelican Cases to mount on them for MUCH cheaper than the metal cases.

[Hairsmith]

Not sure if this guy offers his set up for the DR yet. But it looks nice for the GS and KLR.
And the Pellican cases are some kind of tuff.

www.cariboucases.com

[kurt]

Hmmm.....for $90 each (Pelican 1550 cases) and the $230 SU rack, I'd still be over $250 ahead of that system although it looks very well thought out. I don't see a DR set up so I guess it wouldn't matter.

[gocatgo]

I revisited the Wolfman Luggage site today and spoke with Eric (I think) about possibilities, and gave up on saddlebags for now :giveup: - I got a tailpack. Less $ for now, no supports to install. Since I'm spending so much $$ getting some DS gear I'm trying to pinch a few pennies. I guess I didn't realize how much the brackets and bags were going to cost! :shock:
Thanks for all your help.

[Tourmeister]

:tab You can use regular soft saddle bags. The big thing is you need a way to keep them off the exhaust pipe so there is no fire hazzard. Many people use the guards because it keeps them both off the exhaust and out of the rear tire on the other side. I am still undecided what I will do with the KLR. I hope to check out Gotdurt's setup this weekend.

:tab I don't know about you, but I don't think I can carry all my stuff plus camping gear in a tail bag :eek: Also, when riding offroad, the lower the weight, the better ;-)

[gocatgo]

Yes, lowering the weight was a big concern for me, and I may end up with saddlebags if this doesn't work out. I have tank panniers too, and thought about putting more weight there compared to on the tail.

[Georgiapeach]

I saw your post about saddlebags, I have some I got from cyclegear. They are the cheap "cargo" brand and I got them for $80 for the set of two. It has three straps, one strap I put under the seat and the other two I wind around the rack. Then I put a tail bag on top of it. Then I secure the bags to the passenger peg mounts with a strap on each side. I don't know about the 650, but my DRZ400s had a plastic bracket on top of the muffler which bolted into the top of the muffler with about 4" between the holes. My husband fabricated a guard to bolt onto these holes using steel rod and washers. This keeps the one bag off of the pipe. The stock pipe doesn't get that hot at that point anyway, but it is good to have the bag an inch away from the pipe. I could send you a picture of what the guard looks like and if you are interested, maybe I could talk him into making one for you if it will work on your bike. Here is a link to the pic of my DRZ with my bags on it. http://photobucket.com/albums/d108/steve8250/after%20turkey%20day%202005/?action=view&current=IMG_0083.jpg

Good luck and let me know if you me to send you a picture of our homemade guard. Georgia

[gotdurt]

Yes, lowering the weight was a big concern for me, and I may end up with saddlebags if this doesn't work out. I have tank panniers too, and thought about putting more weight there compared to on the tail.
I've never carried much weight that far forward, but I'd be very careful about how much extra weight you put on the tank, especially if you already have a larger tank (ie 4.9G) and carrying more fuel. I'd be really concerned about it in places like sand washes, where you want the front tire to ride the surface rather than dig, also in lifting/pushing the front wheel over obstacles (weight on the rear isn't a big deal because the rear wheel is driving and will lift itself over rocks etc), and I would worry about it being a little squirrelly under hard braking and steep descents. Not to mention the fatigue that compensating for these things will cause by the end of the day...

[gotdurt]

I saw your post about saddlebags, I have some I got from cyclegear. They are the cheap "cargo" brand and I got them for $80 for the set of two. It has three straps, one strap I put under the seat and the other two I wind around the rack. Then I put a tail bag on top of it. Then I secure the bags to the passenger peg mounts with a strap on each side. I don't know about the 650, but my DRZ400s had a plastic bracket on top of the muffler which bolted into the top of the muffler with about 4" between the holes. My husband fabricated a guard to bolt onto these holes using steel rod and washers. This keeps the one bag off of the pipe. The stock pipe doesn't get that hot at that point anyway, but it is good to have the bag an inch away from the pipe. I could send you a picture of what the guard looks like and if you are interested, maybe I could talk him into making one for you if it will work on your bike. Here is a link to the pic of my DRZ with my bags on it. http://photobucket.com/albums/d108/steve8250/after%20turkey%20day%202005/?action=view&current=IMG_0083.jpg

Good luck and let me know if you me to send you a picture of our homemade guard. Georgia

I'd imagine that that would be a good set-up for mostly hwy riding where air-flow arounf the pipe is good, but I'm assuming Theresa is pondering packing for the AZ trip, and I'd worry about it off-road where rpm's will be up and the air-flow nonexistant at times. Also, my dad had some Nelson-Rigg bags that during the first trip one of the straps started to tear under the weight, and we were only hwy touring. Had we been bouncing around off-road, that strap would have gone quick... street bags aren't made for that abuse. If soft is what you want, I'd go with Dirt Bagz; designed for this use and priced pretty well considering their huge advantages over cheaper alternatives.

[gotdurt]

I am still undecided what I will do with the KLR. I hope to check out Gotdurt's setup this weekend.

My rack is only about 1/2 fabbed to date, but here's what it will look like:

DR pannier rack (http://www.clfry.com/MC/DRRACK.pdf)

It will mount at the passenger peg mounts and the stock turn signal mounts (both are threaded). Unlike the Happy Trails rack, this will not require the stock tail rack (NOT a good idea).

[gocatgo]

Thanks, Georgia for sharing your design for a guard for saddlebags, but Casey is right I'm accumulating gear for the Arizona trip and once it's on it has to stay put and can't get too hot. From all the good advice I've been getting I can see I need to put in quite a few "dry runs" fully loaded to tweak weight distribution. That can tell me if I still need to order a Dirt Bagz setup, too. Dang, that just means I'm going to HAVE to make lots of rides. :lol:
It's a tough job but somebody's gotta do it.
Last week I took the DR out to Rocky Ridge and rode some of those single tracks in the woods. Going back fully loaded will be interesting....:eek2:..they don't call it ROCKY Ridge for nothing.

[Sleepy Weasel]

My rack is only about 1/2 fabbed to date, but here's what it will look like:

DR pannier rack (http://www.clfry.com/MC/DRRACK.pdf)

It will mount at the passenger peg mounts and the stock turn signal mounts (both are threaded). Unlike the Happy Trails rack, this will not require the stock tail rack (NOT a good idea).


Why is is not a good idea? :scratch:

[gotdurt]

Why is is not a good idea? :scratch:
I'm sure it will work fine under most circumstances, and many people use them; it is the most popular set-up for DR's. I have, however, had experience with 2 broken subframes, so I am skeptical, and perhaps overly cautious. There are many things that I don't like about that rack, and one of those things is the way it mounts to the tail rack via the light gauge turn signal mounts at the very back of the tail rack. 1) there isn't much strength there on the tail rack itself 2) I'd be concerned that this would put a big load on the rack and leverage on the subframe under an abusive load 3) Again, due to the leverage on the subframe from the rear-most part of the bike, if you drop it on the pannier, that would partially transfer to the most delicate mount and part of the subframe 4) Requires the used of a rack you may not want to use. I don't know why they didn't use the beefy lower/forward signal mounts and just relocate the signals to the mounts on the tail rack...

I know there's a mount further up as well that will take a great deal of the load, but that also requires the use of the tail rack, and with the stacked tubes and extended thin bolt, it's not the strongest mounting scenario either. Again, this design may be entirely adequate, I'm just worried about it due to my own experiences, and think my own design will work just as good if not potentially much better for 1/6 of the price for the HT SU rack.

[Georgiapeach]

I'd imagine that that would be a good set-up for mostly hwy riding where air-flow arounf the pipe is good, but I'm assuming Theresa is pondering packing for the AZ trip, and I'd worry about it off-road where rpm's will be up and the air-flow nonexistant at times. Also, my dad had some Nelson-Rigg bags that during the first trip one of the straps started to tear under the weight, and we were only hwy touring. Had we been bouncing around off-road, that strap would have gone quick... street bags aren't made for that abuse. If soft is what you want, I'd go with Dirt Bagz; designed for this use and priced pretty well considering their huge advantages over cheaper alternatives.

You are right, these bags would not be for long distance hauling, I use them for my day trips. For anything long distance, heavy load You would need full bracket system. Sorry, I didn't realize you were talking about long distance packing.