Historical Background Of Motorcycle Luggage

The motorcycle industry experienced a boom in 1960 after the war of Vietnam. As the motorcycle manufacturers started producing bigger and better motorcycles people started to travel long distances on motorcycles. This long distance travel raised the need for motorcycle luggage handlers. In the beginning it was only the throw over type of saddle bags which served the purpose of handling luggage of these motorcycle travelers, but soon this was replaced with more advanced form of saddle bags.

Some bikers started to drill holes in the back fenders of their motorcycles and bolted saddle bags permanently onto their motorcycles. Not only did this make the saddle bags more secure and sturdy but it also gave the motorcycles a whole new aesthetic look. Soon these bolted and permanent saddlebags became very popular among the bikers.

Noticing this trend companies like Indian Motorcycle Company and Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company started producing motorcycles with struts. This way riders didn’t have drill fenders to bolt the motorcycle saddlebags and could mount or un-mount saddlebags without making any permanent changes.

The Asian motorcycle manufacturers such as Kawasaki, Honda and Yamaha soon followed the trend and made sure their motorcycles provided enough luggage room. They made small but essential changes like relocating the turn-signals on the fenders giving room for luggage space.

Motorcycle companies producing bigger motorcycles assuming that these would be used to travel long distance started producing motorcycles with pre-fitted motorcycle luggage made out of fiber glass which came as a convenience for the riders, but some motorcycle riders still prefer leather saddlebags in most cases. This is due to the fact that motorcycle leather saddlebags are customizable to a greater degree as opposed to motorcycle specific fiber glass bags.

Some motorcycle saddlebag companies use studs, spots and conchs to decorate the saddlebags, some have gone on to produce matching color or matching design saddlebags luring more and more people into installing saddle bags.