It is another one of the many decisions you need to make when purchasing a saddlebag, do you want a bolt on or a throw over saddlebag.  A lot of it is personal preference.  Both will have great features and solid construction if you purchase from a quality company and not just shop for price.

Bolt On

Most companies that sell saddlebags also carry the brackets to attach them to your bike.  Bolt on does not mean that your saddlebags are permanently attached to your bike.

Permanent attachment is what you don’t what, and rarely does anybody do that anymore.  You want the option to remove your bag with your stuff still inside and not have to transfer your stuff to another bag or carry it in your hands until you get to where you are going.  Permanent attachment of bags also makes it harder to keep that area of your bike clean, always having to work around the bags.

Bolt on means that your bags are attached to brackets that hold them securely to your bike but the brackets have a quick release feature on them so you can easily remove your bag when you want.  The brackets will remain on your bike.  If at any time you wanted to change style of saddlebags you can remove the current brackets easily if they do not fit your new bags.

Throw Over

Throw over bags are also attached to your bike at a certain point.  You will have leather straps over your bike where your bags are located, that are attached to your bike.  When you want to remove your bags you just unzip them from the holding straps.  The bags themselves will still be closed, keeping all your belongings contained; they are just removed from the main holding straps.

The difference really is your personal preference of what you want to put on your bike.

FAQ

What about water damage to my stuff if I ride in the rain? No problem, if you purchase from a reputable dealer.  If you do, you won’t have to worry about any of that.  Your bag will be constructed with anti-rot, nylon thread, rust proof rivets, secure straps with heavy duty buckles that hold the lid tightly in place and from heavy duty leather that naturally is weather proof, but might even have additional protection from the elements added to it.

I liked like to get a throw over saddlebag, but the bag is just held on by a zipper? Yes, and what a zipper it is.  It is heavy duty, industrial strength, built with the capabilities of holding your bag securely in place.

How long can a saddlebag last and look good? A lot of that is going to be up to you.  What type of care are you going to give it, it terms of leather conditioning and cleaning?  Is it always going to be exposed to the elements, whether you are riding or not?   If you clean and condition your bags they should last almost as long as your bike and look good the whole time.

The other thing to consider is sagging bag. This won’t effect how long the leather will hold up in your bag, but it does effect how well your bag retains it’s shape over time.  It is best to consider buying a leather lid insert soon after you get your saddlebags. This leather lid insert helps keep your bag looking good it’s whole life by forcing it to retain it’s original shape through additional re-enforcements.

When selecting a saddlebag you have three different decorative styles to chose from plain, studded or full dress.

Choosing one style over the other does not mean you will be compromising on the construction or materials used in the saddlebag.  It just means how many and what type of adornments do you want on your bags.

Plain – This is pretty self-explanatory.  It is what it is.  A basic, good looking, straight forward bag.  It of course has the closure buckles on it, but in terms of other things that will dress it up, it usually doesn’t have any.

Studded – This decorative style uses studs to enhance the look of the bag.  The studs themselves to not typically add to the soundness of how the bag is constructed, but neither do they take away from it.  They are used solely as decoration.  The same bag can be studded in different ways so if you like the look, check around a bit to find the one that catches your eye the most.

Full Dress - This is the saddlebag with a tux on.  It has the studs, the leather decorative pieces under the buckles and of course, the fringe.  This style also can be done in a variety of ways so look at a few to see what you think.

It is no wonder it can take months to find the perfect bag.  There are many elements to consider.

Have you decided on a straight-sided bag or a slant bag?   Again that is more of a personal preference. You aren’t compromising storage space or quality by choosing one over the other.

In either one you can choose plain, studded or full dress, throw over or bolt on, leather or vinyl.

Other option to make sure your straight or slant bag keeps looking good is to invest in a leather lid insert.  With this additional re-enforcement you will never deal with sagging where your bags just don’t hold their shape over time.

No matter what style or type of bag you get.  The important thing is to not compromise on the quality.  You don’t want to buy the same bag twice.  Look for a company that is straightforward, no double talk in how their bags are constructed.  Also, check out their guarantee, so in the rare instance there is a problem you know how it will be addressed.

Within each type of bike there are different size bags.  For example, a Fat Boy can have a large or a small bag, slant or straight sided.  You get the idea.

The style of bike you have can often determine the size of bag available.  There is always the custom bag option, but we are talking about the typically sizing.

Fat Boy saddlebags are usually 10.5 inches tall, by 16 inches long, by 6 inches deep.

Sport bike saddlebags are 10.5 inches tall, by 10 inches long, by 5 inches deep.

Low Rider bags are often 10.5 inches tall, by 12 inches long, by 5 inches deep.

Not much difference really.  All bags are designed to by as aerodynamic as possible.  Some come with interior pockets for things like wallets and cell phones.  No matter the style you will still have options such as plain, studded or full dress, straight or slant sided, vinyl or leather.

To determine the right size bag for your bike, no matter the style, you need to take proper measurements, preferably twice just to double check.  Start at the back of the turn signal and measure to where your lower back will be on the seat.  For your height measurement, you’ll need to leave at least one-inch space above the exhaust pipe and about three inches below the top of your back fender.

The saddlebag dealer should guide you with the specifics of measuring.  But for now this will give you a guide to know what to look for in terms of size in a saddlebag.