Do I need supports for soft luggage?

[Deluxe]

Hey, everyone. First time poster. I've had my NC700X for a little over two years and haven't made any mods to it. I'm wanting to add some luggage and I'm thinking about either these Givi bags:

Givi WP405 Waterproof Side Bags - RevZilla

or these Wolfman bags:

Wolfman Expedition Dry Saddle Bags - RevZilla

Do I need saddlebag supports? Because I didn't see any saddlebag supports online.

 

[bduffey]

You might want to consider the following.....

1. How low to the ground do the side-bags fit.
2. How much do the side bags 'toe-in' (the angle of the bottom bag in relation to the rear tire).
3. How close to the exhaust can does the bag sit.

As far as the dry bag goes, if you are mounting the bag onto the pillion area of the bike, you might have enough surface to prevent the bag from moving around. Otherwise you might need some type of mounting rack, i.e., Alu-rack or such.

There are systems out there that include a side support. Though they can be expensive, I have found they are well worth the money in terms of durability for the luggage. There are also sites on this forum where you can get tip/examples of how to build your own support system.

Hope this helps.

 

[OneGun]

Before I bought the Honda locking saddle bags, I had some neoprene cheapos. When I'd put them on and load them up, the weight of the contents made them both want to lean inward underneath the tail... leaning towards the middle of the bike... and they were hanging a bit loose.

I took (x2) 5" x 5" (3/4" thick) pieces of wood (square) and drilled holes half way through the thickness of each in the dead center of the squares. Into those holes I inserted a length of about 12" dowel and glued/screwed the dowel to the wood pieces.

Once dry, I painted it all black w/spray paint and then put some velcro on the faces of the 5" x 5" wood pieces facing outward. I put the matching velcro on the inside of the saddle bags. Then, when loaded, I'd stick that homemade support between the bags (and under the tail) and that worked great to support the loaded bags. Didn't even look bad.

Wish I had a pic, it's kinda hard to explain. Not sure if what I said makes sense.

 

[Old Can Ride]

This will get the job done, but you do need both.

 

[itlives]

Do yourself a favor and buy some racks . You will want them later when you upgrade. I suggest some Givi or SW-Motech. Go to Revzilla. They have lots of videos that will inform you as to what's out there and what you can use.

 

[Deckyon]

NC700X '12-'16 - Honda - Shop by Bike | TwistedThrottle.com

I bought the following last year, use them for nearly every trip, and they work great. When not on the bike, you can take the supports off, and it is clean-looking again.

SW-MOTECH Bags-Connection Blaze Sport Saddlebag System For Honda NC700X '12-'16 & NC700S | TwistedThrottle.com

NOW

I would also look into the following - I saw these first hand and fell in love, but since I have bags I am happy with already, I did not get them. They are well-designed and very durable with great reviews from a bunch of people on the ADV forums. Wish I had the money to swap over to them.

Moto Luggage | Mosko Moto

 

[nerrrd]

Here's my set up with the Givi WP405s. They work well without side racks for me, but mainly because of the Shad top box rack I have fitted - the side support bars run lower than the Givi ones so the bags rest on them nicely. I leave them on the bike all the time with a couple of the straps running under the pillion and have regularly carried heavy grocery loads in them on this and my previous bike with no problems.



Be aware that straps will damage any paint surfaces they rub against, but that hasn't been too bad for me. You may also notice the plastic side panels I added to them using foam tape – mainly because the harsh south pacific sun turned the hi-vis inserts on the bags white in double quick time – but they also help the bags keep their shape when not loaded up.

Having said all of that, I agree with others that if your budget can run to it, proper hard luggage side racks are a much better idea in the long run, because you will want to upgrade in time (I know I do ).

 

[Heavy-H]

This will get the job done, but you do need both.

View attachment 29953

View attachment 29954

This is what I use...

 

[BerndM]

You need to make sure that there is no possible way the sidebags can tuck into the underside of your seat and get caught between the tire and the bike.

I added 2 braces, one on each side made out of 1/2" EMT conduit. I bent them with an EMT bender, flattened the ends and drilled 2 holes for attaching to the frame behind the passenger footrests. There are 2 threaded bolt holes there. Perfect. The back end was also flattened with 1 drilled hole and that attached to the bolt holding the red reflectors. I bent them to work properly with MY particular soft bags and they work perfectly. No way my bags can tuck under.
An added benefit of these braces, which I painted a flat black and never come off, is that they provide a ton of support to the tail bracket and they make everything much more solid back there.
Nobody will ever notice them who doesn't own one of these bikes. They blend in like they belong there.
Here is a pic. Sorry about the quality, but you get the idea.

 

[Convict1997]

Keep an eye on those EMT brackets. I did the same thing on a previous bike. The EMT eventually developed cracks at the point where it was flattened. Didn't have them on very long either. That type of metal is not very strong and the flattened portion is a weak point. Had someone on a forum tell me the same thing when I posted pictures of mine. I thought he was full of crap until I saw it happen.

 

[BerndM]

Good to know, thanks, but these have been on there since day one in April of 2014 when I picked the brand new bike up at the dealer.
While I can imagine the EMT possibly cracking in the very edges of the flattened portions, I can't imagine that it would necessarily weaken the integrity of the tubing itself since everything is tightly bolted in place.

BTW, these homemade braces cost less than $5 for one 10' stick of 1/2" EMT and 4 short metric bolts.

 

[wingysataday]

I'm gonna try this! I love homemade solutions!