Bags for a KZ900

I'm planning on making some trips this summer that could end up in over night stays or stops off at the beach. I will be traveling with a passenger, so I'm looking for some sort of storage solution that will keep my stuff somewhat secure. I do not have a back rest or a luggage rack. I'm thinking some kind of saddle bags.

What is everyone else using for storage on long trips?

try a small motorcycle trailer........lots of storage and can throw in a tent to camp out.

Maybe some soft bags, from Dennis Kirk, easy to put on & take off ...Pete

I have a universal fit K&G rack & a large trunk, and also use a tail bag on the passenger seat. The rack came w a sissy bar that will allow more stuff to be secured easier, but in your case it would be handy for the passenger. Add some soft saddlebags & you'd be able to carry quite a bit of stuff.
PS: never leave the loaded bike unattended, not for one second, especially at the beach.... soft bags are probably easy to steal.

K&G combo


From the KZRider gallery... KZCSI's bike?

I found a security bag from Saddlemen. It folds up into a small pouch but expands to 44 liters. It has a wire mesh cage and locks with a steel cable to the bike. It's not completely theft proof, but I think something like that will deter anyone looking to just walk off with my stuff. here is a link to it.

Might just do that and make my wife carry the back pack. We both ride with riding jackets, and they are to big to put in a backpack. Hence the need for some sort of storage.

Ebay or Craigslist can turn up vintage hard bags. I have a set of Shoei SB-4 and another set of Bates bags. Both are of pretty high quality. In the case of the Shoei, I cleaned them up and had them painted. They turned out pretty good and are currently mounted on a CB750. Shoei made very good latches and there are also replacements available from time to time.

Bates hardware doesn't seem to be quite as good as Shoei, but there is probably more of it available if you need a spare. There is also vintage Hondaline...

You might need to fabricate some brackets even if you get the mounting brackets that come with a set of bags.

There are several sets of Shoei saddlebags listed on eebbaayy right now & most of them look to be in pretty good condition. The "coffin" shaped ones probably hold a lot of stuff. Not sure about the ones currently available, but I believe some of them have sliding adjustable mounts for a somewhat universal fit.... you'd probably have to do some finagling, though.

Here's wiredgeorge's KZ900 w Shoei saddlebags. I think they are, anyway.
From the KZR gallery - click!

One little consideration though, is that hard bags can kind of make the bike rather wide. Our garage is small & hard bags were just too big.... for me it would be a pain to have them.

martin_csr wrote: ...One little consideration though, is that hard bags can kind of make the bike rather wide....

Hey, Martin! Is this you? :lol:



Good Fortune!

hahahahaha that video had me spitting coffee at my computer screen!

I put some motopak soft bags on my KZ750. They needed a little support to keep them from sagging. I found a buddy with some spare generic bag supports that were only about an inch too wide. We fabbed a small bracket to make them fit and all's well.

Here are the motopak bags: www.motopakluggage.com/luggage.html

You could easily ride two up with these. Just run it under the seat. I also found a vintage Kawasaki rear luggage rack that I put on to hold a soft tail bag. You can go a long way on soft luggage.

Patton wrote: Hey, Martin! Is this you? :lol:

[saddlebag mishap video]

Good Fortune!

Actually, that video kinda illustrates one of the reasons I decided against installing hard bags. Hopefully, I wouldn't have been that foolish, but I can imagine forgetting about them & clipping something. doh. :blush:

I use two soft saddle bags, one that sits on the seat and a small tank bag. I like the set up because I can take them off quickly and don't have them in my way for riding around once I get some where.