I have looked at ways to incorporate some version of a Givi bag for my soon to be purchased speedmaster and it seems that they do not make a bracket for the MT501 Metro - T bags that will work for this bike. What have you folks come up with for touring bags? The factory bags seem small & not secure. Thanks
I did get a response from Givi - USA but no answers as of yet. Will let you all know how this turns out.
I got a set of relatively inexpensive, Saddleman, throw-over bags. I'm not cheap, I just wanted something water resistant. They are not leather. They are Saddleman's proprietary material, but they do look like leather. I have had bad experiences with leather bags and rain, even those that are advertised as "water resistant." Anyhow, I took the pillion and the chrome bits off and just laid the yoke over the rear fender with a foam computer mouse pad under the yoke to protect the paint. I did not use the shoelaces they provided to keep the two halves of the bag yoke together. Instead, after measuring where I wanted the bags to hang, I marked them and I took them to a local leather guy and had him sew them together. I zip tied the bottom front of the bags to the frame (there's a little, nylon loop on the bottom front of the bags). The reflectors over the brake set-up on the left and over the chain guard on the right keep the rear of the bags away from the frame. No brackets. I should note that I had to Dremmel out the hole on the front pillion tab and bend it down a bit for it to mate up with the hole in the fender for the bolt that secures the pillion. I think they look pretty good and there's a lot of storage.
I will keep that in mind. I am still waiting to see what Givi tells me but I suspect I won't like what they have to say. One would think as popular as this model bike is along with the Bobber Givi would want to make brackets for it.
