So my Warrior Series Motorcycle Saddlebags finally came yesterday and I spent a couple hours mounting them. I wanted to leave you my thoughts and experiences. My order date was May 23rd 2018 @ 3:31 PM and they came around noon June 6, 2018. I live in Vancouver, BC Canada so they had to clear customs which added a time delay. Customs cost me about $24.71 Canadian upon delivery, they took visa.
The people at Vikings were great, twice I had to reach out to them and twice I did it through the in web browser chat thing in their site. The first issue I had was my own fault, I didn't add the promo code for the 15% discount which I noticed about 10 minutes after placing the order. I reached out to them and they refunded me the 15% with no hassle. The money was in my account the next day.
The second time was because I though they sent me the wrong brackets. Upon opening the box I had mounting hardware but it was absolutely nothing like what I saw on the picture on the website. I mean not even close. In hindsight I wish I took some pictures of everything dismantled. Oh well. After reaching out to VikingBags they indicated that the mounting hardware I received was correct. Apparently they had to change the hardware because some bags weren't lining up or something. Anyhow, I was like ok fine i have hardware, lets mount these suckers.
I want to state now that I don’t recommend to anyone doing what I did. This works for me and I am only sharing what I did. I don’t recommend you do this. It may void your warranty or give you unexpected results. This is purely informational.
So the first thing I noticed is that the instructions are garbage, they provided throw over instructions utilizing hardware that didn't exist and the mounting instructions were even worse. To mount these bags you need to be mentally competent enough to be able to 3D visualize the assembly in your head before it's put together, otherwise ur just gona get angry. Luckily, I've rigged enough stuff in my life I felt comfortable to do this, (barely though).
Second things is, I don't know if it's because the instructions were garbage but honestly after fiddling with them for about 30 minutes, trying different techniques and bracket positions I concluded that the holes didn't align with the bike. There are three hols in the bag after removing the throw over piece. After lining up the first hole with the first screw the back screw sat in between the first hole and the second hole. Additionally, the bracket used really makes the bags sit our very far and I really didn't like that look. So I improvised, which I will explain how in a minute. First I’d like you to consider my setup.
For my bike I have the Yamaha quick release back rest that I bought through the dealership and so I wanted to keep the option of quick release. The natural way of mounting the bags with the quick release meant that the bags would stick out a ridiculous amount away from the bike. I did not want this. SO, what I did is I flipped upside down the metal wedge brackets and mounted the bags to what was supposed to be the bottom of the bracket. This allowed me to bring in the bags about 1.5 inches closer to the bike. I think that's a big deal. The down side is I think I reduced the total amount of weight my bags can hold, but not to such a degree that they are not useful. Now regarding the actual assembly and mounting and my improvisation.
Using my teenage daughter as a helper (you'll want a helper) I mapped out two NEW holes on the back of the bags (one hole per bag) and used a simple drill to punch through. The back of the bag is plastic so it drilled nice and clean. All the hardware I used came either with the backrest or with the saddlebags. I didn’t have to buy anything extra which is nice. The bags came with various bolts and spacers. I used the really long screws on the back most mounting assembly and two slightly smaller for the assembly closest to the seat. I’ll try to explain the order below so you can try and visualize.
[Bike Itself][Backrest Hardware][Large Spacer][Bag Bracket][Bag][Large Washer][Bolt Head]
The bolt head is inside the bag and the bolt runs through everything into the bike itself. With all the dicking around it took me about 2 hours to install everything. A ratchet is your friend, don’t try and tighten the bolts with a wrench it will take you forever. Anyhow, once you figure out how you want everything mounted it’s pretty quick to slap them on. After all was said and done below is what my bike looks like with the quick release back rest.
Another thing to note is that I'm pretty much unable to lock my backrest. The key length is impeded by the bags. I'm going to see what I can do about this tonight. As far as opening the bags while the backrest is on, it's fine. The top of the bag rubs a little on the backrest but not to a degree where you're forcing it open. Overall, I am pleased.
![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
The people at Vikings were great, twice I had to reach out to them and twice I did it through the in web browser chat thing in their site. The first issue I had was my own fault, I didn't add the promo code for the 15% discount which I noticed about 10 minutes after placing the order. I reached out to them and they refunded me the 15% with no hassle. The money was in my account the next day.
The second time was because I though they sent me the wrong brackets. Upon opening the box I had mounting hardware but it was absolutely nothing like what I saw on the picture on the website. I mean not even close. In hindsight I wish I took some pictures of everything dismantled. Oh well. After reaching out to VikingBags they indicated that the mounting hardware I received was correct. Apparently they had to change the hardware because some bags weren't lining up or something. Anyhow, I was like ok fine i have hardware, lets mount these suckers.
I want to state now that I don’t recommend to anyone doing what I did. This works for me and I am only sharing what I did. I don’t recommend you do this. It may void your warranty or give you unexpected results. This is purely informational.
So the first thing I noticed is that the instructions are garbage, they provided throw over instructions utilizing hardware that didn't exist and the mounting instructions were even worse. To mount these bags you need to be mentally competent enough to be able to 3D visualize the assembly in your head before it's put together, otherwise ur just gona get angry. Luckily, I've rigged enough stuff in my life I felt comfortable to do this, (barely though).
Second things is, I don't know if it's because the instructions were garbage but honestly after fiddling with them for about 30 minutes, trying different techniques and bracket positions I concluded that the holes didn't align with the bike. There are three hols in the bag after removing the throw over piece. After lining up the first hole with the first screw the back screw sat in between the first hole and the second hole. Additionally, the bracket used really makes the bags sit our very far and I really didn't like that look. So I improvised, which I will explain how in a minute. First I’d like you to consider my setup.
For my bike I have the Yamaha quick release back rest that I bought through the dealership and so I wanted to keep the option of quick release. The natural way of mounting the bags with the quick release meant that the bags would stick out a ridiculous amount away from the bike. I did not want this. SO, what I did is I flipped upside down the metal wedge brackets and mounted the bags to what was supposed to be the bottom of the bracket. This allowed me to bring in the bags about 1.5 inches closer to the bike. I think that's a big deal. The down side is I think I reduced the total amount of weight my bags can hold, but not to such a degree that they are not useful. Now regarding the actual assembly and mounting and my improvisation.
Using my teenage daughter as a helper (you'll want a helper) I mapped out two NEW holes on the back of the bags (one hole per bag) and used a simple drill to punch through. The back of the bag is plastic so it drilled nice and clean. All the hardware I used came either with the backrest or with the saddlebags. I didn’t have to buy anything extra which is nice. The bags came with various bolts and spacers. I used the really long screws on the back most mounting assembly and two slightly smaller for the assembly closest to the seat. I’ll try to explain the order below so you can try and visualize.
[Bike Itself][Backrest Hardware][Large Spacer][Bag Bracket][Bag][Large Washer][Bolt Head]
The bolt head is inside the bag and the bolt runs through everything into the bike itself. With all the dicking around it took me about 2 hours to install everything. A ratchet is your friend, don’t try and tighten the bolts with a wrench it will take you forever. Anyhow, once you figure out how you want everything mounted it’s pretty quick to slap them on. After all was said and done below is what my bike looks like with the quick release back rest.
Another thing to note is that I'm pretty much unable to lock my backrest. The key length is impeded by the bags. I'm going to see what I can do about this tonight. As far as opening the bags while the backrest is on, it's fine. The top of the bag rubs a little on the backrest but not to a degree where you're forcing it open. Overall, I am pleased.
