My friend is currently going through the same thing with her 04 Sporty...she found that the difference in the spacing of the mounts was 1/2"...I told her buy the old ones and I'll bend them to fit...well, I won't do it, but I'm good friends with Superman...

 

Really, they're that close in size? Hell...I can manage to make those fit...the guy at the stealership said they were VERY different in size...Every time I go to that stealership, they're either out of stock, or don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. I'm going back to the shop where I bought my bike at lunch to buy the 03 supports...I'll use good ol' American elbow grease to MAKE them fit tonight. Tanks

 

I make all of my own saddlebags. Lately, I've gotten into the habit of making the back panel out of diamond plate. That way, I can shape them to clear whatever I need to and the bags really keep their shape. If you've got a pair of pre-made leather, you can just rivet or bolt diamond plate on the inside or outside of the back panel for the same effect.

The nice thing is that when you take the bags off, the supports come off with them because they're built in.

 

I make all of my own saddlebags. Lately, I've gotten into the habit of making the back panel out of diamond plate. That way, I can shape them to clear whatever I need to and the bags really keep their shape. If you've got a pair of pre-made leather, you can just rivet or bolt diamond plate on the inside or outside of the back panel for the same effect.

The nice thing is that when you take the bags off, the supports come off with them because they're built in.

OK, but what keeps the bags, diamond-plate and all, from swinging into the rear wheel?

 

Mmmmm diamond plate.... Here's my latest use of diamond plate...
http://hobbystage.net/miata/media.cgi?site=lola&folder=*&group=1&page=*&id=1078842101-000737

Update on the 04 Sporty supports. Today at lunch, I went to the dealership from which I purchased my bike. They pulled out a set of 03 supports, took them out to my bike, sized them up, and come to find out, they fit perfectly. So, if you run into a dealership who tells you that the 03 supports won't fit, tell them they are sadly mistaken.

 

Mmmmm diamond plate.... Here's my latest use of diamond plate...
http://hobbystage.net/miata/media.cgi?site=lola&folder=*&group=1&page=*&id=1078842101-000737

Update on the 04 Sporty supports. Today at lunch, I went to the dealership from which I purchased my bike. They pulled out a set of 03 supports, took them out to my bike, sized them up, and come to find out, they fit perfectly. So, if you run into a dealership who tells you that the 03 supports won't fit, tell them they are sadly mistaken.

thats good to know, just wondering if the wider rear tire hinders the bolt at all. If I get small bags like 11 wide non slant, will I have to relocate my blinkers?

 

thats good to know, just wondering if the wider rear tire hinders the bolt at all. If I get small bags like 11 wide non slant, will I have to relocate my blinkers?

I think it depends on which Sporty you have. According to the guys at the shop, the Custom blinkers are already set back...and shouldn't interfere. I'm not sure about the other Sportys. I'll let you know after I put everything together tonight.

 

I've got a set of dyna saddlebag supports I need to sell. Brand new, never installed. If you're interested I'll sell 'em for $30. If you give me measrements of the mounting holes in your struts I can check to see if they'd fit on your bike or not.

Dave

 

Well, the 03 supports went on just fine...just don't follow the instructions!

 

I make all of my own saddlebags. Lately, I've gotten into the habit of making the back panel out of diamond plate. That way, I can shape them to clear whatever I need to and the bags really keep their shape. If you've got a pair of pre-made leather, you can just rivet or bolt diamond plate on the inside or outside of the back panel for the same effect.

The nice thing is that when you take the bags off, the supports come off with them because they're built in.

Hi,

Can you give more info ?
I'm interested. I own throw over saddle bags, and I use leather latigos to secure them on the bike., but they still move...(the bike is a 2000 FXST).

Any input will be wellcome..

Ride safe.

 

shoulda been more specific. I ride a softail, and the diamond plate gets bolted via the fender strut bolts. not throw overs at all. I go with a rube goldberg quick release system of my own devising. This consists of longer fender strut bolts with nut securing the fender strut and then a collar on top of that that gives a little bit more clearance and leaves thread protruding. So, from inside to out, my fender strut bolts go through this sequence:

Flat washer
Fender
Strut
Flat Washer
Nut (go with regular or the thin wedge nut, depending on spacing) tighten at this point
Collar (not sure what this is called, but they have them at the hardware store. The ID is the same as the bolt but it isn't threaded, and the OD is about the size of a fender washer. they stay secured with an allen head nut that goes through the side)
- if saddlebags on - back of saddlebag
acorn nut

without looking at one of the dyna (or sporty) models closely, I'm not sure if a similar system could be devised or not.

I know that you can convert throw overs, because I've converted two sets of throw overs that I made 10 years ago for a couple of different bikes. You just cut off the yoke. If you want to really make it look right, take the lid off as well, and mount it over the back of the saddlebag. Pop rivets (you can buy a setter for ~$10) do the trick for mounting the lid to the diamond plate.

This system has worked pretty well for me and a couple of others. I've got a couple of different sets of bags (including some pretty large ones) that between them have thousands of miles on them with this system. Even with heavily loaded saddlebags, the stiffness provided by the diamond plate as it is bolted into the fender bolts is plenty to keep the bags from hanging inwards.

About the only trade off you have to make is a visual one. I could use an additional collar or maybe regular instead of wedge nut to completely clear the rear swing arm, but I don't want the bags mounted that far out. As a result, I've got some minor swingarm rubbing. Since I'm almost always running saddlebags, it's worth it. I've thought about slipping some black pvc over the top of the rear swing arm to completely prevent this, but haven't messed with it.

HTH