Looks and Comfort for a Classic King

MAIL baggersmag@sorc.com

Before

Depending on what you do, sometimes it doesn’t take much to really change up the look of a bike. Take our friend Dan for example. For the past several years, Dan has been cruising around on his ’06 Road King Classic. A while back he ditched his windshield in favor of a full fairing and rockin’ audio setup. Just by adding a fairing, Dan drastically changed the look of his bike. Dan was content with his new styled bike for a while but like most of us, once again he got restless and when he turned to us for advice our response was, “Saddlebags.”

After

The tooled leather wrapped saddlebags on the Road King Classic help give the bike a nostalgic look; however, we told Dan that by simply adding some extended hard bags he could really make his bike look completely different. The more Dan thought about it the more he liked the idea because getting some new hard bags meant he’d actually have two bikes in one; the vintage-looking Road King Classic he originally fell in love with and a more modern/custom tourer with stretched bags and bumpin’ beats. While he was researching saddlebags online, Dan’s wife, Tina, let it be known that she wanted a more comfortable ride for herself and more room to store all here shoes on long weekend trips. So Dan broadened his search to include a new seat and a travel bag.

Dan found exactly what he wanted saddlebag-wise on the Dead Center Cycles (DCC) website. Dead Center Cycles offers its Smoothies extended saddlebags for ’93-and-newer FLH and FLHT models. What drew Dan to the DCC saddlebags was that they come complete with lids, locks, and hardware in a gloss black gel-coat finish (MSRP $1,399.99) so he didn’t have to order more parts from his local dealership to complete the swap. Most of the extended aftermarket saddlebags only come with the bottoms so you have to use your stock lids (if you own hard bags) or buy the lids, locks, and hardware separately, which can cost upwards of $600. By purchasing the DCC bags, Dan would have two complete sets of saddlebags.

As for the seat, Dan had heard good things about Saddlemen’s SaddleGel seats so he picked up one of the company’s Explorer seats. Saddlemen also offers a broad selection of travel bags, so while he was ordering his new seat, he ordered a Roller Sissybar bag as well. B

01. These are the DCC Smoothies Saddlebags that Dan ordered. The saddlebags are manufactured using a closed mold fiberglass process for a smooth and consistent finish. As you can see, the bags have a very clean and custom appearance and look much different than any other extended saddlebags on the market. As we mentioned before, they come complete with lids, locks, hinges, and necessary hardware, so there’s nothing else you need to buy. The DCC bags are offered in a finished gloss black gel coat or DCC can color-match them to your bike’s paint for an additional cost—Dan had his bags color-matched to his bike’s Brilliant Silver paint scheme.
01. These are the DCC Smoothies Saddlebags that Dan ordered. The saddlebags are manufactu
02. The Smoothies feature recessed, lockable, compression latches. With this flush-mount design and the hidden hinges, it’s easy to see where DCC came up with the name Smoothies.
02. The Smoothies feature recessed, lockable, compression latches. With this flush-mount
03. With the latches mounted in the middle of the lids it’s easy to open or close the lids while in the saddle, you simply lift up the latch and turn it, then you can lift up the lid.
03. With the latches mounted in the middle of the lids it’s easy to open or close the lid

04. The Smoothies mount directly to the bike with the stock quick-release saddlebag studs. The inside of the lids feature vacuum-formed lid liners to protect the inner latches and also houses the rubber seal for a tight fit and to keep the inner contents protected from the elements. Here you can see the outward opening hinge system that is hidden inside the bags.
04. The Smoothies mount directly to the bike with the stock quick-release saddlebag studs
05. The 3¼ inches of extended stretch and not having exposed latches or any other external hardware really give the bags a custom and clean look. And even though the bags are longer and provide more useable storage than Dan’s Classic bags or even stock hard bags for that matter, the Smoothies aren’t so long that they will interfere with Dan’s ground clearance or corning ability.
05. The 3¼ inches of extended stretch and not having exposed latches or any other externa
06. Currently DCC offers cutouts on both saddlebags for true dual exhausts but plan on offering non-cutout versions for 2-into-1 and short pipe exhaust systems. The rear of the bag follows the rear fender tip and the cutouts wrap around the exhaust nicely.
06. Currently DCC offers cutouts on both saddlebags for true dual exhausts but plan on of