[spectreman]

Givi 3D600 Easylock Saddlebags - TwistedThrottle.com
SW-MOTECH Bags-Connection Blaze Sport Saddlebag System Kawasaki Ninja 1000, '11- - TwistedThrottle.com

So I'm looking @ swapping out my Cortech sport saddle and tail bags for the '11 N1K. I had purchased a set of Givi/Kappa bags but wasn't enamored of them because of the weight & how far they stuck out from the bike frame so they got sold. I've narrowed the possible replacements to the Givi Sidelock bags and the Blaze system.

The Givi bags are much bigger than the Blaze bags, expandable & lockable- all pluses- but I've found reviews about them delaminating & difficult to get replaced or covered under warranty. I also don't see what type of mounting hardware they require. If it's the same as the Kappa bags, then the deal is off.

I saw the Blaze bag system @ the AIMExpo & they were awesome; I loved the quick on/off concept. But even expanded, they appear pretty small. I'm not sure they'll fit my needs when I travel. I think I can slide just about any tailbag onto them but they're not lockable either.

Anybody got any experience w/these bags and care to offer an opinion? I've emailed SW Motech for more info too.
Lee

 

[2wheels1<3love]

Lee,

I had the blaze bags on my 2011 Z1K and i think I used them twice. Overall, I didn't really care for them. Lots of guys love em but here are my gripes with the panniers:

1) the material that is on the inside of the bags (that rubs against our plastics) is NOT soft. It rubbed right through the clear coat on the same spot on both sides of my tail fairing. Now I know your supposed to use that cheap "clear adhesive" stuff that they give you with the kit, but unless you can magically shrink this stuff around every single contour of the bike, its going to look absolutely horrid. A total oversight in my opinion. Just put some super plush material on the inside of the bag and be done with it right? I wound up using foam adhesive to go between my body work and the bags in order to prevent any more damage from them. BTW, the damage was so bad that it actually made a hole in the material that's on the inside of the bags.

2)SW-Motech prides themselves on customer satisfaction, right? Wrong. In my experience, don't expect to have ANY contact with the guys over seas. If you try to contact them directly, they either divert you to twisted throttle or just plain old ignore you. When I told them what happened to my bike, they didn't want to do anything about it and basically told me to get lost.

The only thing i really liked about the bags was the bracket system because stupidly I "thought" that the system would actually do its job and keep the bags off my pretty tail section. INCORRECT, in fact in some cases it made it worse because it pushed a part of the bags onto the corner of my tail plastics were the damage occurred. Now, i could see if the bikes tail was relatively linear and less curvy, but that is not the case on our bikes and certainly not the case on most modern sport bikes so...all in all, I think they could of done way better.

BTW, that's not the first or last time i have had an issue working with SW-MOTECH. Weather that's through SW directly or TT. It just seems that they don't believe in backing up their products.

You are better off going with the nelson rigg stuff from competition accessory. (Compacc.com) My father has the tailbag along with the matching saddle bags and they are pretty well constructed. They all "snap" together and you can snap them to your passenger pegs and tail sections to keep them in place. All in all, much cheaper and wont fudge up your plastics (nice plush material on inside of the bags)

Ill try and find some pics of the damaged bag/plastics but that bike is long gone now. I sold it a few years back.

-Dan

 

[2wheels1<3love]

As you can see, holes in BOTH bags...and this was only after using them TWICE. Imagine if I used them like they were supposed to be used? Unfortunatly, I can't find any pictures of the damage to my plastics. I must of deleted them a while ago.