Hi All,

While buying a cheap 100% wool surplus sweater and an Army surplus store I came across some "tacticool" gear that might work well as a crash bar bag.

The store I sold it from sold it for $25 as opposed to the MSRP you see listed in the link below:

https://shop.foxoutdoor.com/modular-...l-shoulder-bag

The size was good for the purpose. It has straps to attache to MOLLE webbing which keep it well connected to the top of my givi crash bars. It also has some webbing on the side which I tried to use to keep it from sliding towards the front or rear of the bike using some of the small backpacking rok straps.

This did not work though and I had to use my knee to keep it in place as I crossed the Bay Bridge.

Tomorrow I will be installing my new HT Center Stand and as I do I will try securing it with hook and loop to prevent that lateral movement.

I'm hopping that I will have discovered a voluminous and cheap crash bar bag that I can share with you all.

Worst case scenario it will become a medical kit for my backpacking setup (which is also Military Surplus and doubles as my motorcycle camping and touring luggage).

Here is a link to the color and approx. price I paid for the bag.

https://www.amazon.com/Fox-Outdoor-P...DER%2BBAG&th=1

Show us some pics as how you fitted it to the crashbars

I'm a big fan of surplus stores too. A few years back I was in one and saw a couple M40/M42 gas mask bags. I think they were six bucks each. I took them home, did some cutting and resewing (with a needle and thread, I don't have a sewing machine), and hung them on the crash bars of my V-Strom. They're great bags; real heavy duty nylon and canvas webbing, full length velcro closure for the flap, they even had a little external pouch (originally for a decontamination kit).

I traded the V-Strom in 2014 and got a Yamaha Super Tenere. The crash bar bags got remade then. I got rid of the big single pull strap for the flap, and the external pouch, and replaced the pull strap with a couple polypropylene webbing straps with quick release buckles. The old attachment points had to be removed since they didn't fit my new crash bars, so I made new ones out of that velcro tape you find at a hardware store. The bags were sprayed with black Krylon Fusion spray paint, which sticks pretty well (but not perfectly) to plastics. The finishing touch was an embroidered patch of the Taureg Man, which I sewed to the flap.

Eventually, I remade the bags one last time. Because the radiator on the S10 is on the left side of the bike, the position of the left side bag blocked too much of the airflow and made the bike run a little hot in stop and go traffic. I scrubbed all the black paint off (washed it on heavy cycle a bunch of times in the washing machine) and repositioned the attachment straps to fit the new bag position lower on the crashbars. The last photo is how the bags look now.

I love these things. They are tough as nails, they were cheap, and the modifications weren't difficult. They're perfect for carrying my and my passenger's rain gear so it doesn't take up room in the panniers.

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And the final photo, showing how the bags look now.

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I like those RCinNC.

I'm not much for sewing, I just don't know how and have never done it in my life. For those prices though maybe I should make it a little unit for "project based learning" for myself (because education needs buzz words for everything that is well established and effective teaching practice so that they can sell it back to school districts in "professional training").

Since I already have the one I'm gonna keep tinkering with that after I finish my center stand install.

I'll upload pics soon if I can figure out how to do so.

I like the bags you chose; they just violate my "how cheap can I actually make this project and still have it work well" philosophy. I almost went with a couple of the old style canvas M17 gas mask carriers, but these things were actually cheaper. The upside to the old canvas carriers would have been that they'd been easier to dye. Years ago, I taught myself to make holsters and gunbelts because I thought it was outrageous that Galco wanted 120 bucks for a shoulder holster LOL.

The kind of sewing I do is very easy. No fancy lock stitches or anything; just go through the material from one side, then go back to the other side, all in a (relatively) straight line. When you get to the end, go back to the beginning while poking the needle through the holes you already made. I learned to sew because I don't throw away jeans when they get a hole in them. My family members find this to be hilarious.

I'd love to see the project when it's done; I'm always interested in how other guys go about making stuff.

Here are some pics of what I did to mount them in reverse chronological order.

Crash Bar Bags And Fix For Crash Bar Vibes by HellsAekel | Photobucket

(Next time I will remember how to take pictures

The first pics are of what actually worked. The pics with the rok-straps did not work, they kept sliding back on the bar and I had to use my knee to keep them in place. Both tests were performed on the bay bridge between Oakland and San Francisco at highway speeds.

So for about $55 (which includes an excessive amount of hook and loop I have a crash bar bag system that will work when I need it.

I actually much prefer RCinNC bags for voluminous stuff but don't have the skill nor care to invest the time on that particular project.

They look good on the bike; the bags fit the contours of your crashbars really well.