School me on saddlebags

[AlfromNH]

I'm thinking saddlebags would be nice to have. I see brackets and bags by krauser, Reynolds, and others. Are they interchangeable, or would I need brackets and bags from the same mfr? What else do I need to know?

[montmil]

I do not know of a manufacturer that sells bags and racks which are interchangeable with their competition.

Also, the R65 chassis may be a stumbling block as there are but a few bits for this model bike. And some may require a luggage rack to tie 'em all together.

Others have made racks fit with a few new steel straps and some welding. The racks must be secured near the pillion footrest area to prevent flex and failure.

Then there's the whole issue of hard cases and their condition. Some locks are even NLA so if there are no keys, that could be more concerns. Many riders use a wide webbing strap just to insure that the bags don't fly open and send your clothes trailing off behind you. In any case, a swift whack or kick will crack open the older bags, locked or not.

Our Classic Airheads are few compared to new bikes with integrated luggage systems. Limited demand makes it uneconomical to produce old school style cases and the required racks.

Keep an eye on eBay and Internet BMW Riders as racks and luggage sometimes turn up but rarely for R65s.

There's always ballistic fabric bags.

[Tony Smith]

I'd make the observation that Krauser and BMW panniers and frames are currently appearing with surprising frequency on ebay, I suspect as a byproduct of the bike owners doing despicable things to innocent airheads in the name of "art". (The next big wave in 10 years time will be to rescue Airheads that have been turned into ghastly facsimiles of "cafe" racers)
 
My advice would be to buy a set of frames and bags asap because as Montmil says, nobody is going to make new ones for airheads so when the current stock is gone - they are gone forever.

My wife was short of $s in 1979 when she bought her R65 complete with Krauser K1 frames and plastic Krauser "small" bags which were much, much cheaper than the "hard" larger cases. When I met her I used to occasionally rib her a little about the small bags and their somewhat "cheap" look and feel.

She is having the final laugh, my original hard bags are long retired due to the number of cracks and failed locks and the later set of BMW bags bought to replace them in 1985 have not fared all that well either, I suspect I have no original locks at all, indeed I used to carry a bundle of keys just to get the things on and off the R100 and to open - I got tired of that and did a number on the locks so that now any key works in them.
 
So, my advice, find a set of frames that come with the unloved thermoplastic Krauser cases, they are clearly one hell of a lot more durable than anything before or since (with the obvious exception of the newer aluminium boxes which seem to be made of the same stuff as aircraft black boxes.

[georgesgiralt]

Hello !
I own Krauser plastic bags for the R65 with the Krauser support bought new in ~84 or 85.
The bags have been replaced due to accidents. They are not weatherproof and the locks are a real PITA to open and close.
On other bikes I bought GIVI classic cases. Waterproof, with real locks, and with a simple enough support one can easily make or adapt the mounts to any bike. (they sell an universal mount for this exact purpose).
They exist in various capacity so you can adapt the size to the trip and/or the look on the bike.
And last but not least, as they are "more cubic" than competitor's offering, you can put a lot of things inside...
Just my 2 cents.

[clonmore1]

"(The next big wave in 10 years time will be to rescue Airheads that have been turned into ghastly facsimiles of "cafe" racers)"

Spot on Tony, you can see it coming can't you, I wonder what our airheads will be worth then??

With regard to saddle bags & racks, I have a perfect original set which I intend to keep nicely stored away. When I bought the bike, I wanted to use it for light touring, but personal circumstances are going to prevent me from touring and I will be using the bike for recreational use only and probably only once a week ( ), so the bags won't be needed.

I will watch the value rise disproportionally over the next 10 years and then sell them and retire on the proceeds as my pension won't be worth much by then once the UK tax payer has paid off the national debt, banking crisis and the public sector pension deficit which is eye watering huge and many times our GDP...

[steve hawkins]

I actually like the "ghastly facsimiles of "cafe" racers".   Long may it continue.

However it is having an affect on prices of Airheads which are all on the rise.  Even the R65.

The prices of Airheads in general, are now past their lowest point in the UK.  Many adverts for 'junk piles' and 'basket cases' are appended by the words "great café racer project" plus another £500 fashion tax.

Very soon it will get to the point where one of the primary reasons for using the airhead as a basis for a special (i.e. cheapness and availability of spares) will be lost.  

Have you seen the rise in prices of the old Honda CX 500 maggot?  Even the prices of old 80's Honda Superdreams are on the rise...ghastly things.

People are looking for simple, aircooled, steel framed, all rounders. The days of the 'race rep' are numbered.

Keep a hold of your R65.

Cheers

Rev. Light

[livingdeadhead]

the reason airheads are relatively cheap is that they lasted , mines all original apart from the seat cover ! my rack came from ebay for £20 , pannier brackets motorworks £65, panniers £30.00 ebay vgc , pannier keys were i think less than a fiver .

[AlfromNH]

Thanks for the info, guys. I'm going to keep an eye on eBay, ibmwr, etc.

I assume the racks are model-specific, but are the bags themselves unique to the R65?

And I agree with others, it's inevitable that the cafe/bobber fad will end, leaving the market with a glut of poorly thought out and poorly executed "customs". A bike showing good design and workmanship will likely stand the test of time. But bikes resembling original condition will be all the more attractive and valuable! 8-)

[k_enn]

Like others say, you need a set of mounts that is made for the R65, the one for ohter R's are too long.  

 I have the old BMW/Denfield hard cases for my bike.  (They are rectangular with slightly rounded corners, different from the BMW/Krauser bag that is higher in the front than in the rear).  They have held up well for 30 years, with all the locks intact.  The only issues is that on one bag the piece that keeps it from opening too far has come loose, and last year both bags were starting to show cracks.  Cracks are very common as these bags get old.  I hear that cracks are easy to repair if you get to them before they get too bad.   I hear that glue for ABS plastic works well for sealing small cracks.  I will try it on mine this year.

Advice - determine whether the bags have keys and working locks, so you know what you are getting.  Also, check for the extent of cracking.  

k_enn

[livingdeadhead]

someone in the trading post is selling something you may be interested in !

[Tony Smith]

I
Have you seen the rise in prices of the old Honda CX 500 maggot?  Even the prices of old 80's Honda Superdreams are on the rise...ghastly things.

Keep a hold of your R65.

Rev. Light

You are not wrong! I have sort of half wanted a CX500 for a while. I have missed the boat. A lesson I seem doomed to repeat. I also should have bought a R90s and an R60 when they were cheap.. Still I have at least been smart enough to keep my R100RS.
 
On a related topic as I was about to hop on my 30 year old XT250 last night I was stopped by a guy who wanted to have a yarn. We breifly established that we both knew it was a model that only lasted two years (1984/85) and that mine was the last Jap trail bike over 125cc to be made with a drum brake. He wanted to know if I still had the original tank (I do but it is well rusted due to careless storage on my part) and then he wanted to know if I'd accept $3,000 for it. I said no, but then I have just invested 150hrs in getting it running and registered. And to be fair to him I did disclose that there are modifications to the frame to accommodate the 25lt Acerbis tank fitted to it and the seat base has been shortened up a few inches even though it looks stock. The engine is a "bitzer" incorporating various parts from XT 250/350 and 500, with a few road going SRX parts thrown in. He said he didn't care as the engine number matched the frame number.
 
We left it at that, he has my business card and I have his, along with a general undertaking to give him first refusal.
 
I went looking for the dealer's receipt for the thing last night but could not find it, however I am pretty certain that it didn't cost $3,000 brand new in 1984. There would seem to be collectors for everything.


Final thing.
 
In the "rants" section, please post the story of your "Rev Light" moniker.

[livingdeadhead]

sad thing is people seem more interested in buying and selling and investing blah blah blah , get a bike and put some miles on it , most people i talk to have just sold or looking to buy

[Matt Chapter]

Saddle bags, new, from http://www.motobins.co.uk.. click r 2 valve aircooled, luggage, then browse the different manufacturers for an idea of what the new stuff could cost you.

I'll get some, one day when my money tree flowers.

[Ed Miller]

Bob's BMW has them for about $230 each.