Question for those who use saddlebags. I got a set earlier in spring and am getting around to start putting them to serious use. I found the literature that came with it when cleaning around the house just now and noticed something I missed last time. I have the Dowco value series bags Scooterworks started carrying recently.
"WARNING.
Overloading any saddlebag will result in a high center of gravity, causing bike to become top heavy and susceptible to unexpected tipping on lean-in while negotiating high speed turns. SADDLEBAGS MUST BE LOADED EVENLY SIDE-TO-SIDE. MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE LOAD LIMIT IS 7 LBS."
Yeah, yeah, load evenly, keep the weight balanced and in the triangle. Kinda like pulling a trailer in a car, handles differently loaded up. Wait...seven pound limit?!?
My question: those of you who use saddlebags, how much weight do you typically carry and (for everyone) do you think this weight limit is something I should really watch...or is it probably just them covering their butts legally and it's more a suggestion? Do your bags have a weight limit, and whatcha got/what is it?
I read a gallon of milk weighs 8.6lbs and I am pretty sure I have carried more than that. I have with my prima roll bag and givi saddle bags carried $80-100 worth of groceries no problem and I am sure that is more than 7 lbs per bag, of course I wasnt riding far and not speeding through turns so not sure about that. Still did 40-50 mph on straights and slight curves
That really doesn't make any sense at all, since, if you have a passenger, you'll be carrying a lot more weight in that same region of the scooter and in an even more top heavy way. I'd say take that with a huge grain o' salt. They're just CYAing.
I assume that these companies are just covering thier ass legally when they put on these rediculousely low weight limits. It's like the top box I have being rated for 6.6 lb or the rack being rated for 10lb, I've had 28 lb in there with no problems but if I do that and it breaks then I can't sue them cause they told me not to do it. I would load them up with more and more weight slowly and see what they can do within your comfort zone. I'm pretty sure that at a certain point your going to feel the handling change enough and then want to back off a bit but 7lb is unreasonably low. I know I had to do this with my bicycle panniers and finally seddled on between 25-30lb per pannier. If a bicycle with its taller height can handle 60lb of total weight in the panniers at lower speed (which makes it less stable not more) my guess is that your saddle bags should be able to handle 15lb each comfortably.
"Only the curious have, if they live, a tale worth telling at all" Alastair Reid
On the other hand, it doesn't matter how many bags you have (saddle bags, roll bags, topcases, whatever) - if they all are hung from or attached to the same rack then the rack has to be able to handle the whole load. Failures of the welds in a Buddy rack are certainly not unheard of. To say that the Buddy will pack a 160 lb passenger is not the same as saying you can attach 160 lb of stuff to the rear rack.
....being that saddle bags are on the seat and not on the rear rack, I think it's safe to say you can put more weight in them.
I'm guessing I've put about 40 pounds in mine (Costco run, with lot's of cans of sodas <what wouldn't fit in the pet carrier>, wine, BIG jar of peanut butter, big containers of softsoap, etc).
I don't put my saddlebags on the scooter the way some might...meaning that I don't lift up my seat, put the saddle bags on, and put my seat down. I prefer to just lay mine across the seat. (I find that if I close the seat over them I have to move the bags forward to avoid the seat latch and then the front of the bags touch my legs at stop lights. Plus, I like the look when they are higher up--the tops of the bags are still level with, or slightly below the top of the seat).
Even empty I don't worry about them being blown off in the wind. For one, I never notice them flapping around, but mainly I feel comfortable about it since my natural place to sit is the place where the front strap goes across, so there's all my weight keeping it secure. If the bags weren't evenly loaded, and if I had a different brand of saddlebags I could maybe see there being an issue of flapping or sliding to the side if improperly loaded.
Come to think of it, I HAVE had them unevenly loaded...my work laptop on one side and nothing on the other--but no issues.
I have the Fieldsheer Expander bags.
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Past bikes: 08' Genuine Buddy 125, '07 Yamaha Majesty 400, '07 Piaggio MP3 250, '08 Piaggio MP3 500, '08 Aprilia Scarabeo 500
Current bikes: Two '09 Genuine Buddy 125's
Sweet. All this makes me much more at ease. I'll test them out like I was planning on to find what I'm comfortable with. Great info here: keep it coming!
It's half CYA and half an indication to what they'll officially claim as a working load for the Dowco saddlebags.
Stick with common sense and add a dash of calculated risk.
When I use saddlebags (rare) I put clothing and gear in them. Anything heavy goes on the seat behind me in either a roll bag or duffel that gets strapped down with a bungee net. I keep a bungee net and a nylon duffel (with compression straps) in the seat for unexpected supply stops.
