Improving tunnel bag mount

I got a Saddlemen's tunnel bag but was not happy with the mounting system. The bag attaches to a pad with velcro and straps that attach to the bag. The pad in turn was secured (I use the term loosely) to the pillion seat with straps with double rings on the end. This permitted the bag to slide laterally. So I got a spare seat and attached the pad to it. I made the holes in the pad with my soldering iron to not have any fraying fabric. I made the holes in the seat cover the same way. I made four sets of dimpled washers to accept flat head bolts to sandwich the pad. I also made aluminum spacers so the bolts could be tightened without over-compressing the seat cushion.








New seat on bike





Front mounting bolt detail, it fits into center of the support.





The rear mounting bolts.





You can see the washer between the pad and the seat that sandwiches the former.


Cheers


Lou

[yorkie_chris]

Cool, any pics of the bag?

Also I'd add some washers on the bottom, seems to help when fitting topboxes there.

Like this! Good work that man.

OK, here is the bag on the bike.



And from the rear:



And a detail of the front buckles:

Is it a standard tunnel bag or a wide tunnel bag?

Regards

It's the wider one. After measuring the seat I decided the standard would not fit. Even so the fit is pretty snug. But I like the fact that that it does not look like a camper shell stuck on the back. Also cool is that inside I can carry a pair of shoes (one each side, in the part beside the seat making the walls of the tunnel) and my laptop on top, which is what I do once a week going from San Jose to San Francisco. The shoes are for changing out of my boots at work.

The bag itself is a Saddlemen TS1450R Tunnel/Tail Bag.