H-D Hard Bag ConversionOne of the coolest things about the Road King Classic is also what hinders it most. Although the leather bags that come on the bike look cool and retro, their shape and size leads to a reduced amount of cargo space. To rectify this situation we decided to upgrade our '02 FLHRC with a set of hard bags. This would allow us to carry much more than a jacket and a few tools when commuting to the office. We really wanted to make this a hassle-free swap and didn't want our newly acquired bags not to sit in a paint shop for months on end. So we gave our local Harley dealer a call and it ordered us up a set of color-matched hard bags for our specific year. When the bags arrived we were amazed at how perfectly they matched the paint on the now six-year-old bike. Installation was a snap since the attachment hardware for both the leather and hard bags are the same. Once the new bags were quickly installed and the hardware was correctly adjusted, it looked as if the bike came from the factory with hard bags installed. Even the pinstripes matched perfectly! There are probably a few cheaper ways to put hard bags on you Road King Classic, but when all is said and done we suggest going the hassle-free route by giving your local dealer a call and ordering yourself up a set of Harley-Davidson color-matched hard bags. (1.)Here are the leather bags next to the new color-matched bags from Harley-Davidson's parts catalog.(1.)Here are the leather bags next to the new color-matched bags from Harley-Davidson's pa (2.)We removed the OE leather bags by pulling the two pins that secured them to the bike. (3.)We removed the old bags to gain access to the attachment hardware. (4.)The rear saddlebag mount was loosened and rotated almost 45 degrees for it to work with the new hard bags.(4.)The rear saddlebag mount was loosened and rotated almost 45 degrees for it to work wit (5.)The front saddlebag mount only needed to be loosened a bit and re-adjusted slightly to locate it correctly.(5.)The front saddlebag mount only needed to be loosened a bit and re-adjusted slightly to (6.)With the front saddlebag mounts correctly aligned, we safely attached the new hard bags.(6.)With the front saddlebag mounts correctly aligned, we safely attached the new hard bag (7.)As you can see, the rear saddlebag mounts needed to really be rotated to work with the new bags.(7.)As you can see, the rear saddlebag mounts needed to really be rotated to work with the (8.)These before and after shots definitely show a large difference both in looks and size that the hard bags make over the OE leather bags.(8.)These before and after shots definitely show a large difference both in looks and size SOURCES Harley-Davidson By Jeff G. Holt Enjoyed this Post? Subscribe to our RSS Feed, or use your favorite social media to recommend us to friends and colleagues!
