Some people have asked for pictures of the RKA expandable bag on the monster, so I have a small gallery here. Click on any thumbnail to see a larger image.
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The first step is to attach two short straps to the seat. There are wide rubber coated hooks to loop under the seat pan. I have a Sargent seat, but the fit seems about the same. You adjust the Velcro straps to tighten them. My only concern with leaving the straps on the seat when the bags are off is that the taper of the seat would allow the rearmost strap to slide off. Once the bags are attached this isn't an issue. Attaching them and removing these straps isn't a big deal anyway. |
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The second step is to attach a top layer of straps onto the originals. These snap and are also connected with Velcro. These are what you adjust to set the bag height on the bike. The bags have plastic fasteners that click into the buckles, so it is all pretty fast work. |
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Once the bags are attached (you only have to adjust the height once) you attach a strap on each bag to the footpeg bracket. There are little sliding buckles which make this pretty easy, and it all seems quite secure. You'll see the bags look quite close to the seat, but in practice I don't feel them while riding. Note too that passengers need to get their own bike! |
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The final step is to run a strap across the license plate holder. I have a fender eliminator, so I was worried about this, but as you can see it is not a problem. The bags are quite stable at speed, although I haven't overloaded them or done anything dumb like forget to attach a strap. (Yet.) |
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Here is how they look from the side. Given that most Monster owners care how their bikes look, I think the bags integrate pretty well with the bike's lines. And for the 90% of the time you don't need them there are no residual brackets to look at. (Of course you can leave bags on your bike 100% of the time like I did with my R90/6, but then it becomes a different ride, no?) |
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Here is a rear view. Note that you can expand these bags out quite a bit (not shown). I think the compact size will mostly work for me; they are bigger zipped down than many other saddlebags for the monster. Fully open they are 52L, closed 26. You can see more at the company website - and if you do end up buying a set, let them know you read about it here. Who knows, I might get a tailbag out of it! |