Stansport Saddle Bag

I've had these saddlebags in one of my Amazon lists for a while. I found them while looking for relatively inexpensive panniers for my motorcycles and thought they looked promising, but I wasn't convinced.I have two different bikes. One is a small, light bike that I jump on for shorter trips and around town stuff. The other is a sport-touring liter bike that's more of a handful, but really comfortable on the highway and still a lot of fun for short blasts. I ride whichever one I feel like wrestling on any particular day.One thing I've missed having is some sort of luggage for impromptu errands. I ride with a backpack, but that already holds my tool kit, water bottle, etc. I sometimes also throw a thin jacket or spare pair of gloves in it in case the weather changes. In other words, the backpack doesn't always have room in it if I decide to stop at the store.The goal was always to get some inexpensive universal bags. Both of my bikes are old and not super-popular so luggage that is application-specific for either bike are no longer sold new. Used examples are difficult to find and costly since there's not a lot of them floating around. I didn't want a tail bag because I sometimes ride with a passenger and there just isn't enough room on either bike for a bag and another person.I briefly thought about adapting universal hard panniers to the bikes, but they tend to be more expensive and require a fairly rigid mounting system. Neither of my bikes has any convenient points to bolt a framework onto, I probably would've ended up moving turn signals, and the whole thing would have turned into a bit of an engineering project. Not undoable, but I don't need another construction project. I just want to ride.What finally prompted me to buy these bags is seeing them used on a cross country motorcycle trip by the YouTube channel Jake Rides away. He rode from Brooklyn to LA with a pair of these bags on his Triumph Bonneville and the bags held up fine. Until then I doubted the durability of a pair of inexpensive bags like this. Seriously, how can they make and ship these things for less than $30?I figured that for the price, I'd roll the dice. My biggest concern was how well the bags would fit on my bikes. I bought one pair of bags and installed them on my small bike for now. I simply removed my bike's seat, draped the saddle on the back of the bike, then reinstalled the seat. The seat pan traps the bags in place. I then used the included cords to tie the bags together from side to side. This tucks them fairly close to the bodywork of the bike and keeps them from swaying side to side.I took them out for their first ride yesterday. I ran a couple of errands and put some weight in the bags, then spent some time riding around to make sure that nothing would shift or rub. This included some turns where I leaned the bike fairly far over. At the end of the ride, the bags were still firmly in place, and nothing had rubbed or come in contact with the rear brake rotor or tire. I should probably buy or build a set of support bars to keep the bottoms of the bags from moving around.These bags are a nice size for tool kits, a few small errands, maybe some riding gear. You won't fit the contents of a Costco run in them, but a few groceries are not out of the question. It's untreated canvas so be sure to take a couple of trash bags with you in case you get caught in the rain. You can also waterproof canvas using something like beeswax (there are several excellent YouTube tutorials on this) but trash bags are a lot quicker and easier.A few people have complained about the D-rings used to secure the top flaps in place. They're a bit cumbersome to use but once you're used to them it's not too bad. I considered switching them out to Fastex-style quick release plastic buckles. It would require some sewing (which I'm not afraid to do) but the D-rings are really secure and not enough of an inconvenience to be worth the trouble of modifying the bags.I'll put another few trips on this pair and then probably purchase another pair for my other bike. Ideally I'd like to keep bags on each bike permanently rather than having to switch them back and forth all the time. If everything works out, these will be a permanent part of each bike.

Images are when it rains, and when it is dry. Also with passenger seat removed and attached.I like how it looks. It is also an inexpensive way to have decent looking bags for your bike. They are cool, look nice, and hold almost enough for me. I use a bike as my daily vehicle so I probably should invest in something larger and higher quality.CONVENIENCESo the straps are a pain. I can do it pretty quickly now but they are annoying to open/close after getting groceries or whatever you need. I wish I had something with buttons, velcro, or a lide that snaps shut. It is not a deal breaker but the straps are a bit annoying.SIZESo I take a backpack with me if I am going grocery shopping. When I have a backpack and these saddle bags I can carry a lot of groceries. To give an idea of the size I took a photo with a large container of oatmeal, and a 48oz bag of frozen chicken. With those both in the bag I could have easily closed it enough to cover the contents and be secure. This helps if you are wearing a backpack and dont want giant items on your back while you are driving.WATERPROOFSimply it is not. You may be able to see in the photo where it rained the bag is soaked all the way through. That being said if you are briefly in the rain, driving home it would take a lot to get through and damage whatever you have in the bag. If you need to carry a laptop or electronic, use your backpack as I would not put anything expensive in these bags even when it is dry.EASE TO PUT ONIt depends on your bike. After I put the passenger seat on it helped a lot but even without it, it seemed secure enough even without attaching screws. I draped it over, and tied it where I could (with attached strings) and it seemed secure enough. Now I have the passenger seat over and it is even more secure. If the holes line up with fixture screws on your bike then thats even better but it didnt line up with anything on my bike.OVERALLIt looks cool - it does offer more convenience at a lower price point. I think I spent less than 30 dollars for this. But spending 100+ would be worth it to me to get a higher quality bag/case that attaches more securely, is waterproof, and has more space. Leather saddlebags would be better than these so if you have the money to spend I suggest doing that - otherwise these will do the job.

I bought these bags to use on my Mini-Bike when I go out for any kind of long distance ride. Plenty of room to fit essential tools, some food, water and a small first aid kit. There's a lining on the underside of the bag that I didn't think would hold up with the heat of the muffler and engine so close but so far...working great. Just gotta remember not to put heat sensitive items on that side of the bike. We got a lot more rain than normal for our part of the country and the bags do keep out water. Didn't think I'd ever have to worry about that feature in the middle of a desert but nature had other plans.Good bags and well worth the money I paid. And they look good too.

I use this for my scooter for tools and whatnot. They seem to hold a decent amount, and they are relatively sturdy in design, but when you go to close them, they sort of "bunch up" due to the flaps on top. These are not really needed, and actually make it somewhat of a pain to buckle shut without them looking like sinched up little black bags. Perhaps they will help make them a bit more water tight, and there are times that I DO get stuck in the rain, but a good top cover would also do the trick if the sides weren't sticking out due to how they close. They are ok and cheap enough to keep, but next time? I think it's time for hard shell cases.

They're not hard bags, so they do rub on the tire when full if you don't have the proper mounting, but all and all, they're phenomenal. I carry all kinds of stuff, from groceries to tool folds. For the price you, you can't beat em with a stick. I've got about 1200 miles with them, the straps are solid, the holes for mounting are sturdy as are the buckles, worth every penny. 2023 Royal Enfield Meteor 350.