Been working on my saddlebags. 1x4 pine frame with a cover of REALLY nice glove leather salvaged from a recliner.

They aren't really saddle bags, since they will be holding 2 batteries each, plus motor controller, plus a couple cans of pre-mix for the gas engine and a few tools. Just made to look like saddle bags.

I can mount them 3 ways I can think of right now.

#1 is 2 or 3 leather straps between them and just toss them over the seat then carbineer the bottom to the frame to stop the bottom swinging. A single electrical quick-connect makes the whole thing easily removeable to take in a store/timmies/restaurant/event if I want to for theft security. Downside to that is we are talking 50#-plus (I dont really want to carry that around too often) and it places the whole load on the seat. Eventually (sooner rather than later) it's going to leave permanent strap dents, plus I didnt really "engineer" the rear seat supports. Just "they hold in a lawn chair so they will hold here" I THINK the weight shouldn't be a problem, but I'm not 100% sure. (Hold mah beer and watch this test !! )

#2 is to permanently bolt them to the seat frame with some angle-iron runners. A little bit better load-distribution wise since it gets more forward to the seat post, but if somebody wants in them a pocketknife is all it takes.

And #3 is somewhere between the 2. I can come up with a removeable steel frame to hold the bags, with clevis pins and disconnects to take it inside at night, but that adds another 10-15 pounds or so and definitely isn't "portable", just removeable. It also gets all of the weight dir3ctly onto the frame with none on the seat.

I dunno, any other ideas ?

(Yeh, it's basically a seat cushion cover cut in 1/2 )



Edit...Seat structure underneath.





Those are 5/8" steel tubes from a canvas lawn chair (factory bends for the curve) and 1"x1/8" CRS angle on a 1/2 ply base.

[This message has been edited by MidEngineManiac (edited 10-04-2022).]