[Blackvapor]

Hey everyone!

So this is my first post on the forum. I am a proud owner of a brand new 2012 Raven Stryker. I love it more every time I ride it.

I have some nagging questions that I would really love to hear from everyone who has already worked through these issues.

I have been scouring the forum gathering all the info I can regarding the Hard Street Slim Saddlebags. Like so many of you, I REALLY hate to put bags on my sleek, beautiful bike... But I am sick and tired of slinging a backpack on everywhere I go. And the hard street bags really seem to fit the lines of the Stryker quite well. I've decided on the Slim version, because I like the sleeker lines with the rest of the bike. So, here's what I'm confused about...

1. Are the hard bags sold individually, or as a pair? On hardstreet.com, the glossy black slimbags (1-HAR-4001-SB) are listed at $599. On Amazon, I found the same 1-HAR-4001-SB part number for $467. But after doing a live chat with an very helpful Amazon employee, he verified that would be for ONE saddlebag only. Does that make sense? Where is the cheapest place to purchase a pair of the glossy black slimbags?

2. I am completely lost as to which brackets I would need to mount to my Stryker. Here's what I want, you guys tell me if I'm crazy.... I would PREFER them to be QR, but I also want them to be as close to the bike as possible. I don't know if both of those are possible, or if I can only do one or the other.

3. Right now I am still running the stock pipes, but eventually I will be putting the Cobra Speedster Swept exhaust on it. I'm assuming that neither one of these pipes will interfere with the slimbags. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can offer. I look forward to being an active member of this forum!

--
Kevin

 

[11Stryker]

Can' give any advice on bags or exhaust, but welcome to the forum anyway.

 

[jeff281]

Hey everyone!

So this is my first post on the forum. I am a proud owner of a brand new 2012 Raven Stryker. I love it more every time I ride it.

I have some nagging questions that I would really love to hear from everyone who has already worked through these issues.

I have been scouring the forum gathering all the info I can regarding the Hard Street Slim Saddlebags. Like so many of you, I REALLY hate to put bags on my sleek, beautiful bike... But I am sick and tired of slinging a backpack on everywhere I go. And the hard street bags really seem to fit the lines of the Stryker quite well. I've decided on the Slim version, because I like the sleeker lines with the rest of the bike. So, here's what I'm confused about...

1. Are the hard bags sold individually, or as a pair? On hardstreet.com, the glossy black slimbags (1-HAR-4001-SB) are listed at $599. On Amazon, I found the same 1-HAR-4001-SB part number for $467. But after doing a live chat with an very helpful Amazon employee, he verified that would be for ONE saddlebag only. Does that make sense? Where is the cheapest place to purchase a pair of the glossy black slimbags?

2. I am completely lost as to which brackets I would need to mount to my Stryker. Here's what I want, you guys tell me if I'm crazy.... I would PREFER them to be QR, but I also want them to be as close to the bike as possible. I don't know if both of those are possible, or if I can only do one or the other.

3. Right now I am still running the stock pipes, but eventually I will be putting the Cobra Speedster Swept exhaust on it. I'm assuming that neither one of these pipes will interfere with the slimbags. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can offer. I look forward to being an active member of this forum!

--
Kevin

My 2011 Stryker is in for paint. I am getting the hardstreet bags and a small batwing faring painted and mounted to my bike. I should be getting her back first of the week. When I get her back I will send you some pictures of what I have done. I have the cobra swept pipes and a cobra fi2000 auto turner on my bike as well. Stat tuned and I will help you out as best I can. I got all my info from this forum.... Its a GREAT forum by the way, people are real helpful....

 

[Blackvapor]

Thanks, Jeff!

Where did you purchase your hard street bags? Were they sold as a pair?
Are they the Sixers or the Slimbags?
Which brackets did you get to mount them?

Looking forward to the pictures!

 

[jeff281]

Thanks, Jeff!

Where did you purchase your hard street bags? Were they sold as a pair?
Are they the Sixers or the Slimbags?
Which brackets did you get to mount them?

Looking forward to the pictures!

I got mine from my Yamaha dealer they are the slim bags and I got my brackets directly from hard street.

 

[Blackvapor]

Hey Jeff,

I know it's been a while... How'd your bike come out? Specifically that Hardstreet bags? After waiting 6 WEEKS, I finally received my Hardstreet Slimbags from Hardstreet. I also got the edge lockable quick-disconnect mounts. The mounts fit perfectly on my Stryker, but I'm concerned that they are going to keep my hardbags pushed out a ways from the bike. I was really hoping to have them tucked in closer to the rear fender.

Do you have any pictures of how yours came out? I haven't had a chance to measure and drill any holes yet. How about exhaust clearance? I haven't had the money to get the Cobra pipes I want yet, so I'm still running the stock chrome pipes. That's the main reason I got the Slimbags as opposed to the Sixers. How much clearance did you leave between the pipes and the hardbag?

Any pics or info you have would be greatly appreciated!

--
Kevin

 

[jeff281]

Hey Jeff,

I know it's been a while... How'd your bike come out? Specifically that Hardstreet bags? After waiting 6 WEEKS, I finally received my Hardstreet Slimbags from Hardstreet. I also got the edge lockable quick-disconnect mounts. The mounts fit perfectly on my Stryker, but I'm concerned that they are going to keep my hardbags pushed out a ways from the bike. I was really hoping to have them tucked in closer to the rear fender.

Do you have any pictures of how yours came out? I haven't had a chance to measure and drill any holes yet. How about exhaust clearance? I haven't had the money to get the Cobra pipes I want yet, so I'm still running the stock chrome pipes. That's the main reason I got the Slimbags as opposed to the Sixers. How much clearance did you leave between the pipes and the hardbag?

Any pics or info you have would be greatly appreciated!

--
Kevin

Go to my gallery, there are several pics there....or shoot me a e-mail to [email protected] and I will send you some...

 

[Strykeback]

Blackvapor did you ever get your bags mounted? I am looking to do the same with eithier the slims or the classic tour. I have not seen you around these parts lately?

 

[bozzly]

I ordered the sixers from Amazon. They are due to arrive at my house today. Guess I will be fitting some bags this weekend.

 

[Blackvapor]

Blackvapor did you ever get your bags mounted? I am looking to do the same with eithier the slims or the classic tour. I have not seen you around these parts lately?

Hey there. I've actually been getting much more active on the forum lately. I've been bitten by the mod bug something fierce, and I've been going nuts on my Stryker.

I did finally get the Hardstreet Slim Bags and I mounted them with the Easy Brackets, so I had the option of removing them quickly and easily.

First of all... Dealing with Cycra to get my Slim Bags was one of the most painful experiences I've EVER had with an online retailer. They took 2 MONTHS to ship my bags aft I ordered them. Every time I called them, it was "They're shipping this week, they're shipping this week..." 8 weeks later.... Very frustrating. But anyway...

I like the bags and I like the brackets, but I'm still not completely in love with them together on my bike. I love the storage capacity, but the stick on weather stripping around the lip of the bag covers keeps falling off, and I've lost 2 of the corner rubber pieces while riding. I'm going to call Cycra to see if I can get some replacements, but I'm expecting it to take forever.

I love the convenience of easy on, easy off... But what I don't like is how far they stick out on the sides of the bike. I was really hoping to have them tucked in closer. They don't look bad... Just not quite as I was expecting.

It was also quite a challenge getting the brackets mounted exactly the same place on both bags. I'm pretty anal about that kind of thing and measured 20 times before I drilled the holes... The right side is absolutely perfect. I couldn't have mounted it any better. But, I also had the exhaust I could sit it on and measure. Although I took a long time to make sure the left side bag was in the exact same spot, it is off a little and I don't understand why.

I'm just dealing with it for now, because I love having the storage capacity. I have one bag filled with a ton of everyday biker necessities... Gloves, half cover, kickstand plate, first aid kit, tire repair kit, sunscreen, etc, etc. now I never have to say, "****, I forgot to grab the ..... " The other side I leave open. Fits my large leather jacket so I don't have to walk around with it, a few groceries if I need to stop, shopping, etc. the biggest benefit is I don't have to wear a backpack anymore.

The Vance & Hines 2-into-2 Big Radius pipes are in my near future. Because those pipes look like they come down lower, especially since they sweep downwards, I'm going to take the easy brackets off and remount my bags lower, so they're following the curve of the rear fender better. I'm really hoping that will allow me to get the brackets in a better spot of the back of the bag so they are more even. Then, I'll just have to worry about filling in the existing holes I already drilled in the bags.

I'll definitely try to get some pictures posted of how they look now. I've actually been meaning to start my own mod / build page like everyone else.

 

[WildFan]

Blackvapor - glad you're at least mostly happy with the slim bags. I have the sixxers on mine. As for getting the bags mounted evenly left to right, here's what I did - position the right one first and drill the holes. Then set both bags on the floor (or any even surface) back to back. Take a pencil and mark the holes on the left one through the holes you just drilled on the right one. They should be dead on. Hope this helps if you end up relocating them.

 

[bozzly]

I know what you mean about the wait from Hardsteet. I ordered my sixers from Amazon but they are out of stock on the Satin ones so they had to get them from Hardsteet. I am getting them right at the two month mark.

Very painful waiting game.

 

[sonic635]

I have the Hardstreet sixers with the easy brackets on mine. I have a post on here that has some pictures of the brackets mounted on the bike which gives a pretty good idea how the brackets fit on the bike. They do stick out more than the other mounts but ease of taking them off to rear maintenance (even just for checking the air in the back tire), to me, is worth the extra distance from the bike. Nobody but me has noticed how far they stick out. Actually, the sixers look so natural on the bike people didn't even notice when I put them on until I pointed it out.

I ordered them from a Elite Motorsports on E-bay and they took about 8 weeks to get them. They were good to deal with but they had to order them from Cycra and that is where the delay was.

 

[Strykeback]

Thanks Blackvapor for the feedback. I guess the standoff distance of the bags from the bike is going to be the tradeoff for going with eithier the Slim brackets or the Easy bracket. Thanks to this forum and Stryker1 posting the side by side rear shot of his and his wife's bike with the Custom Classic vs the Slims, it confirmed my decision to go with the slims. Those Classics are huge and the Easy Brackets are not for the classic. Now for the waiting game.

 

[Blackvapor]

Thanks Blackvapor for the feedback. I guess the standoff distance of the bags from the bike is going to be the tradeoff for going with eithier the Slim brackets or the Easy bracket. Thanks to this forum and Stryker1 posting the side by side rear shot of his and his wife's bike with the Custom Classic vs the Slims, it confirmed my decision to go with the slims. Those Classics are huge and the Easy Brackets are not for the classic. Now for the waiting game.

I'm sure you'll love them. But, like sonic said... I think I'm my harshest critic. Nobody notices but me. In fact, I had a guy at Daytona Bike Week stop me and tell me how awesome they looked.

 

[Strykeback]

Blackvapor do you have the part number for the Easy Bracket. I called yesterday and they said their website was not updated and they would have to get back to me on which Easy bracket would fit the Stryker but they have not yet. I figured it would be V-Star 1300 (Min. bag width 15 in. at mount point) with OEM backrest (#GB-Y-VS13OBK-106)

 

[sonic635]

Easybracket makes a specific bracket for the Stryker for no backrest, fixed backrest, and quick-release bracket. You can go to http://www.easybrackets.com/ to check them out.

 

[DraEagWol]

Easy bracket without backrest:
http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/e...stryker-models-2011-and-newer/part/EZ-STKR-R1

Easy Bracket with backrest:
http://www.cruisercustomizing.com/e...mount-backrest-11-and-newer/part/EZ-STKR-R1BR

I just ordered a set from them... they are back ordered until the 16th of May.

 

[Blackvapor]

Blackvapor do you have the part number for the Easy Bracket. I called yesterday and they said their website was not updated and they would have to get back to me on which Easy bracket would fit the Stryker but they have not yet. I figured it would be V-Star 1300 (Min. bag width 15 in. at mount point) with OEM backrest (#GB-Y-VS13OBK-106)

Sorry... DraEagWol beat me to it. I ordered mine directly through Easy Brackets, but Cruiser Customizing has a better price. And there are 2 different versions, depending on whether or not you have (or will have) a backrest. My wife has her own bike and doesn't ride with me enough to warrant a backrest, so I just have the standard one.

 

[sonic635]

There is also a third bracket for the quick release backrest, though the difference is probably just the length of the bolt (just a guess.)