Shrike mounts and saddle bags

[markstertt]

My buddy and I just did a 650 mile ride up the coast and down Highway 36 before all the motor homes and vacationers come out for the summer. I was looking for a set of small bags about the same time Shrike became a vendor on this forum and I really liked the clean simplicity of his system so decided to give them a try. So here's a quick review of Shrikes mounts and bags and I like to think of them as 2 separate components since his mount/back plate design can be used as is or modified easily to accommodate other bags, ammo cans etc. With a little imagination and handy work, any number of options come to my mind, but I'll save them for later.
 
First I'll say that the quality of the bags and mounts is top notch, the installation and removal ridiculously easy and the size is adequate for weekend trips, we did 3 days with motel camping and I was wearing the bulky items. I did add a Nelson-Rigg 1060 tail bag for a bit more space but didn't need to expand it. I didn't take extra walking shoes as my bike shoes were adequate and found that the extra shoes would take up to much bag space, however, I guess I didn't need the large aerosol can of chain lube either. You can see in my pictures that the bags are smallish so one has to think light.
 
I am able to remove all 3 bags (at motel) in under 3 minutes, 1 minute for each Shrike bag and 1 for the tail bag (due to my own mount rack for tail bag). The side bags can be mounted with more security in mind should one wish (and come with the necessary hardware) but since the bags themselves don't lock I pretty much kept myself where I could see the bike and when I couldn't my buddy could. The tail bag (Nelson-Rigg) does have zippers with little padlock holes, I would like to see a feature on the Shrikes so that a similar small padlock could be added just to keep the mostly honest types out while I run in for a sandwich or some such. 
 
Not much else to add, the bags and mounts work as advertised with no impact to the base bike, they do require you to pack light but I think that's a good thing for a short trip and if more space is needed then add larger bags with a larger backing plate as needed, it's just 1/8th inch 6061- T6 so easily replaced for a different shape etc. If I were going to increase the capacity with larger bags, I would probably add a rear support and already have a simple design in mind that, like the bags, would require little to no bike modification or at least something removable.
 
The bags have a reflective bit on the back and appear to be of similar construction and material as the Nelson-Rigg (hmmm?) bag and they compliment each other well. I like to mount the bags in tight so removed the oem blinkers on my Yoshi tail tidy and added a MD led stop light/blinker tail light assy. This isn't necessary but something I'd wanted to do anyway, the mounts are adjustable and can be adjusted or located in such a way as to maintain the oem blinkers on the tail tidy.
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
Bags removed look, takes about 3 minutes

 
 

 
Bags compliment the N-R tail bag

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

[Cruizin]

That Shrike mount and bags are awesome and we are proud to have them in as a member. Be sure to tell them you are a member here when you call them!

[ShiftHer]

Does the mount system replace the rear pegs?

[markstertt]

Does the mount system replace the rear pegs?

Yes they do, what looks like the pegs in the up position is the mounting piece, although I feel this bikes rear pad is inadequate for a passenger for more than a short ride (just my opinion?) should one require rear pegs they would be easy to add for someone with basic metal working skills. The spacer used with the Shrike mount could be replaced with a homemade foot peg. A little more work and it could be designed as a folding peg. I've discussed this with James Mann of Shrike mounts and he says that this may be a future consideration once he gets the basic system worked out for other bikes...you might want to contact James if this is a concern of yours, check out the vendor section...Mark 

[ShiftHer]

Does the mount system replace the rear pegs?

Yes they do, what looks like the pegs in the up position is the mounting piece, although I feel this bikes rear pad is inadequate for a passenger for more than a short ride (just my opinion?) should one require rear pegs they would be easy to add for someone with basic metal working skills. The spacer used with the Shrike mount could be replaced with a homemade foot peg. A little more work and it could be designed as a folding peg. I've discussed this with James Mann of Shrike mounts and he says that this may be a future consideration once he gets the basic system worked out for other bikes...you might want to contact James if this is a concern of yours, check out the vendor section...Mark

Thanks for the clarification!