T-Sport: First Two Years

The Bags

On a Harley, soft sided saddlebags are expected to be made of genuine leather (or synthetic leather), so the ballistic nylon bags on the T-Sport are definitely not the norm. Not only are they not very sexy to look at (in my opinion), but they seem to have little carrying capacity at first. I also do not like the fact that I cannot lock the contents within the bags, or even the bags themselves to the bike. They do detach easily, and have carrying handles so that they can be transported like suitcases. Hanging them back on is not quite as easy, and sometimes it takes me a few tries to line up everything in place. I also found that the catches don't always lock (road grime and grit doesn't help) and have had the bags hanging by the stud mounting on the rails only. They didn't fall off, but I now check the locking catch frequently.

The first time I used the bags was after obtaining some real nice posters. If I still had my geezer glide, I probably would have bungee'd them on top of a hard saddle bag lid. But of course, on the T-Sport that wouldn't work as well. What did work was unzipping the bags in such a manner that I could secure the poster in place while projecting it from the bag in the most aerodynamic position; half in, half out. No bungees were used or needed. I was impressed that I could carry such an awkward item with ease.

For every day use, the bags have exterior pockets that are very handy for my gloves, hat, and other small articles that I need fast, convenient accessibility to. The main compartments can hold my Cobra Links, maps, and some larger items but are quite limited in capacity. That is until I unzip the bags to their full width. Then I can squeeze in an amazing amount of stuff. I think they hold as much as my old decker, perhaps even more, but organization of the contents is harder. The bags can be unzipped until only the bottom portion remains attached, which allows complete access. However, it also means that everything can end up on the ground. The bags in that case work much better when removed from the bike to pack, or unload.

The zippers are very heavy duty and I have seen no deterioration in their function so far. I do find them a bit troublesome at times when they catch on the lip that hides them, or on the contents. Unzipping the bags to their full capacity is rarely an issue, but zipping them back together requires a more deliberate and careful approach. Whenever I am in a hurry, it takes me twice as long simply because the zipper catches on wayward material easily. Once zipped, there is one more step to finish the job properly. The zipper's covering lip of material needs to be arranged back flat more often than not. Although not mandatory, it does look much better and probably offers some protection from the elements.

As far as the elements go, how does it perform in the wet? Actually, very well thank you. On their own, the bags are not officially waterproof. For the outer pockets I use sandwich baggies to protect and seal out the moisture. In the main compartments, there are waterproof inner bags that are attached by Velcro. I rode through some very hard and persistent rain storms and not a drop of water ever reached my gear. American-V magazine reported that they didn't need these waterproof bags during their tests since water never penetrated the ballistic nylon, but I am not as convinced, or at least not yet. I will have to do more field testing before I reach any conclusions in that regard.