Shoei Vintage Saddle Bags

[Domiken]

So I bought some SHOEI vintage saddle bags in poor condition, but they were cheap and came with the mounting hardware off a 76' GT250.

Anyone else own them?

I am in the process of re-doing them, but plan to keep costs low. They need paint really bad, so I will be using Plasti Dip spray on them (black) and doing a few coats. The good thing is that the Plasti Dip is cheap, no prep is needed, with several coats its very durable, and if I decide to paint later ill just go ahead and peel it off.

For the hardware, I am in the process of removing the rust (currently they are in Vinegar) but I might rush the process and go with electrolysis.

I currently took off all the rivets, the lights, all the hardware, bought new latches, will probably reuse the old rear latches, and hope to install them on the GT250 eventually.

[brewsky]

I have a set on my CB750 and love them.

May look a little large on a 250, I don't know.

I narrowed the stock mounting brackets, to get them closer to the frame though.

[Domiken]

I have a set on my CB750 and love them.

May look a little large on a 250, I don't know.

I narrowed the stock mounting brackets, to get them closer to the frame though.

Very nice! Thanks for sharing!

Mine are nowhere near as big as yours, ill post some pics.

[brewsky]

You won't be sorry.....

riding a bike with no bags is like wearing pants with no pockets

[oldjapanesebikes]

riding a bike with no bags is like wearing pants with no pockets

[ConnerVT]

riding a bike with no bags is like wearing pants with no pockets

Brewsky has a good point, and it was a battle I had been having with myself. Why buy a naked bike, to start putting a bunch of stuff on it? But then, running to the corner store for some milk is a burden, for where do I put it for the ride home? Doesn't help that I'm a 6'4", 240lb man burdening a 40 year old 500cc motorcycle. Adding more weight can't be a good thing.

I ended up compromising. Found an aftermarket, period correct rack (NOS from CCA), and top it with a leather barrel bag. The combo suites me pretty well, as now I always have some stuff in my "pockets", as well as a place to quickly put things for a day of riding. The bag comes off easily enough to take with me.

Hard saddle bags on a 250 seems to me as a big performance hit. Both in power and handling.

CCA rack.JPG

Barrel bag.jpg

T500_Oct2013_1.jpg

[brewsky]

Conner, I have the identical rack and a trunk that mounts on it, with another rack on top of the trunk lid.

It was quite a sight to see when loaded up with a week's worth of camping gear!

[pearljam724]

You won't be sorry.....

riding a bike with no bags is like wearing pants with no pockets

Riding a bike with saddle bags is like having a woman with triple D breasts. Yeah they come in handy............... just a little overboard for what you need.

[ConnerVT]

Riding a bike with saddle bags is like having a woman with triple D breasts.

And both are fun to ride!

[tz375]

Both sound too big and wobbly and hard to control.

There used to be a rack on the market in Australia that was very low, but had a replaceable vertical section to hold taller bags in place when they were needed. A quick swap from one to the other was all it took.

The trick with heavier tall bags is to put them on the seat and secure them to the vertical portion (sissy bar if you will). That avoids the weight being too far back and adversely affecting handling as much.

[T350guy]

When I bought my 77 GT 750 recently the seller offered me the Shoie bags that original were on the bike..Installed in the late 70's I think. I turned the offer down.
I use the throw over bags when needed.

[Domiken]

Here they are:

As you can see they are not that big.

Came off this disaster


So far the electrolysis worked, I scrubbed off the rust and paint, and the chrome is pitted. So I decided to spray the metal with high temp BBQ paint to prevent flash rust, and eventually I will spray it down with black truck bedliner as it will hide the imperfections and I personally like the way it looks.

The saddlebags themselves I took apart (PITA) and I drilled out the rivets, cleaned up the rear hardware and got new matching latches for the front. Ill eventually spray the bags with the PlastiDip or im thinking of doing the roll and tip painting method as winter is here and it's too cold to spray paint anything right now.