Soft saddlebag recommendations needed

[shadling]

I'm renting an MT-07 (2022 or 2023) for a 10 day trip thru NorCal & the Sierras, and looking for soft saddlebag recommendations.   As this is a rental bike, I can't mod or install anything of a permanent nature.  I'll hit the road one day after picking up the bike so there's limited time for any preps. I've seen some soft bags that require metal stiffeners below the rear fenders, but I'm looking for a different solution.

Thanks in advance.

[Subito]

Nelson Rigg makes nice, affordable stuff. These smaller saddlebags should fit easily:

Nelson Rigg Mini Expandable Sport Saddlebags | 10% ($16.99) Off!

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The compact size of the Nelson Rigg CL890 Mini Expandable Sport Saddle Bags is compatible with most bikes that have upswept exhausts.

Add some of this protective mesh material from Aerostich  to prevent paint scuffing:

https://www.aerostich.com/aerostich-paint-saver-mesh.html

 

[FZ not MT]

I'm a huge fan of Yamaha's saddlebags. You don't have to alter the bike other than bolting on the connection for locking the support rods in place. Obviously you can easily restore the bike to stock. It's amazing how much stuff you can get into their combined capacity of 42 liters. They are going for $250 retail, but if you post on this forum, there is a chance somebody has a used set that they will sell. (I'm updating my original post as I forgot the mounting gear is another $130.) 

There is a catch though - it appears that they won't fit the 2020 and 2021 MT-07 models which you can check on that link.

MT Soft Saddlebags | Yamaha Motor Corporation, U.S.A.

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yamaha

 

Edited May 17, 2023 by FZ not MT

[tomlichu]

You can also get Kriega bags. You can configure it to be similar to saddlebags.

https://kriega.us/usdrypacks-2/us-combo-40

https://kriega.us/usdrypacks-2/combo70

I have a 20 L for my MT07 and it fits better when it is full. You can see how the bag fit's on @FZ not MT post above. The bags are nice since you can move them between bikes, or resell them once you are done. No mounting hardware is needed; the loops from the pillion seat allows you to attach the center bag. There is a "chinese" knockoff on Amazon if you want to go that route if budget is of concern.

 

[FZ not MT]

16 hours ago, tomlichu said:

The bags are nice

Yeah, they are great - so well made and waterproof. I put the stuff I absolutely don't want to get wet in the Kreiga, and the rest in the Yamaha saddlebags. A total of 62L is a decent amount of storage space.

 

[shinyribs]

The Yamaha bags are great and they're bigger then they look. It's easy to get 2 one gallon jugs of oil in one bag when it's in it's expanded state. SW Motech makes the bags and mounting kits for Yamaha, so if you can't find them to fit your bike through Yamaha check through Twisted Throttle (North America SW Motech dealer who supplies RevZilla with their SW Motech stock) or just Google "SW Motech Blaze" bags. Might get lucky and find a closeout somewhere. 

 

I liked mine so much I ordered another mounting kit to move them to my FZ 09. Pushing 50k miles on them so far and all the seams and zippers are still like new. The bags are still nice and black, too. My Nelson Rigg throwovers still work fine, but they aren't as UV resistant and have badly faded to a weird purple color. They've seen maybe 1/4 of the use that my  Yamaha/SW Motech bags have. 

Edited May 18, 2023 by shinyribs