Hi there from Holland,
have been driving the R18 Classic for over a month now, with great pleasure.
However, whoever drives also has to clean .... not that I mind or often do that, but,
I do not like the mounting method of the original saddlebags for the R18 Classic.
They are each attached to the frame with 2 massive M8 Torx bolts and these bolts also keep the rear mudguard in place.
If it is time to clean the bike, the bag torx bolts must be unscrewed and after the washing session, everything must be mounted again.
Not only cumbersome, but also with a high risk of damage to the paintwork of the mudguard.
Therefore my following, simple modification:
take 4 pieces of stainless steel M8 threaded rod of about 70 to 75 mm long. I took 75 mm to be ready for mounting a luggage rack on those same bolts.
Reuse the original plastic and stainless steel rings for the mudguard and add (in order of assembly) an ordinary stainless steel M8 nut, an 8mm washer, then the bag, then another 8mm washer and a spring washer and finally a stainless steel M8 wing nut. ...
Mount this with especially a lick of graphite grease on the screw thread which goes into the frame and use two counter-tightened nuts to secure it. Make sure that the threaded rod is screwed into the frame at least 25mm.
Removing and replacing the bags is now a piece of cake of 1 to 2 cents, without tools and virtually no chance of damage to the paintwork.
See the attached photos....
P1 - original configuration.
P2 - original Torx M8 bolt (2 pieces per bag)
P3 - my solution with "sketch" and measurements... the 4 nuts between the inner washers are an indication of bolt through the bags... use 2 of those nuts (tightened counterclockwise) to screw the threaded rod into the frame and tighten the left (lower) nut. After mounting remove these 2 nuts...
P4 - a threaded end solution and the original bolt
P5 - what you see in the bag .... so those wings fit exactly ...
nb... the bag is now a little further (M8 nut thickness) from the mudguard; definitely not a big deal....
have fun, Ser
have been driving the R18 Classic for over a month now, with great pleasure.
However, whoever drives also has to clean .... not that I mind or often do that, but,
I do not like the mounting method of the original saddlebags for the R18 Classic.
They are each attached to the frame with 2 massive M8 Torx bolts and these bolts also keep the rear mudguard in place.
If it is time to clean the bike, the bag torx bolts must be unscrewed and after the washing session, everything must be mounted again.
Not only cumbersome, but also with a high risk of damage to the paintwork of the mudguard.
Therefore my following, simple modification:
take 4 pieces of stainless steel M8 threaded rod of about 70 to 75 mm long. I took 75 mm to be ready for mounting a luggage rack on those same bolts.
Reuse the original plastic and stainless steel rings for the mudguard and add (in order of assembly) an ordinary stainless steel M8 nut, an 8mm washer, then the bag, then another 8mm washer and a spring washer and finally a stainless steel M8 wing nut. ...
Mount this with especially a lick of graphite grease on the screw thread which goes into the frame and use two counter-tightened nuts to secure it. Make sure that the threaded rod is screwed into the frame at least 25mm.
Removing and replacing the bags is now a piece of cake of 1 to 2 cents, without tools and virtually no chance of damage to the paintwork.
See the attached photos....
P1 - original configuration.
P2 - original Torx M8 bolt (2 pieces per bag)
P3 - my solution with "sketch" and measurements... the 4 nuts between the inner washers are an indication of bolt through the bags... use 2 of those nuts (tightened counterclockwise) to screw the threaded rod into the frame and tighten the left (lower) nut. After mounting remove these 2 nuts...
P4 - a threaded end solution and the original bolt
P5 - what you see in the bag .... so those wings fit exactly ...
nb... the bag is now a little further (M8 nut thickness) from the mudguard; definitely not a big deal....
have fun, Ser