Three years ago I bought a brand new Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Classic. I chose the Vulcan 800 Classic because there are tons of accessories for the bike.
Right away I bought a sissy bar and engine guards. Last year(2003) when I was riding my old Savage it rained on me a few times, so a rain suit was a must have. I wanted to have it with me at all times so I needed saddlebags to store them. This year (2007) I bought a windshield for the Vulcan and I've got a set of Kuryakyn ISO grips from Santa.
When I checked out the saddlebag supports at the dealer I thought they must be crazy asking the prices that they were. For 2 pieces of metal, $75 was a lot to swallow. I don't mind spending money on cool looking accessories but this was something that you don't even end up seeing; they are purely there for support of the bags.
I knew that there had to be better prices out there somewhere for saddle bag supports so I began a search. I found the Beginnerbikersmagazine.com and I put up a post asking where I could get my hands on some reasonably priced supports. My search was fruitless. There was not a significant savings out there anywhere. Another biker on the board threw out a suggestion to me "why not make your own?" Great idea I thought. I fooled around a bit with materials, techniques and shapes and Supports by Raf was born!
My Vulcan with the supports
I have made many supports for the Kawasaki Vulcan (500 & 800A & 800B). A fellow biker from the forum that I am a member of suggested that I start a website and offer my supports to fellow bikers who don't want to spend lots of money on supports that you don't even see.
The supports are made of 3/16" diameter steel rods, finished with several coats of Rustoleum. I am asking $30.00 per set (that includes shipping). ACE hardware stores have chrome metric bolts.
If you are Vulcan owner and you don't want to spend big bucks on the dealer supports, I would love to hear from you. Send me an e-mail and I will contact you a.s.a.p.
Ride Safe!
Raf
A Vulcan 800 Classic from Canada
The supports on the 500 Vulcans
Pictures from a happy customers.
On the Vulcan 500 you may need a longer bolt (50 mm or 5 cm)
Coments from customers
"One thing that might be of interest to you is that the support bolts installed on the 2006 Vulcan 500 (or mine at least) were already 5 cm long and more than long enough to install your supports. No additional hardware was needed for me. I have also included a picture of this bolt as well, if it helps."
Newer pictures from another happy customer.
"Rafael, Finally got around to putting the supports on and taking a couple of pics. I am very pleased with your supports. They worked out perfectly. Thanks again."
