The whole package?

[dande]

Hi,

I'm new to this site and was looking for some help in getting the correct accessory items for my new 2004 VTX1300S. I'm looking for aftermarket items that will both look good and fit/work on my bike.

The items that I need are; Windshield, Saddlebags and Backrest but I don't have deep pockets and I want to have the best of both worlds, like everyone else I guess.

Windshield height is a concern because I don't want the head buffeting problem if I can help it, I am considering adding lowers to help with that problem.

Do studded saddlebags look good/ok on a bike with a plain factory seat and would it help if the backrest pad was studded? I want a wide backrest like I've seen on Suzuki's C50T bike, which is what got me looking at bikes.I want the biggest bag that looks good because I need to pack a lot of stuff on a daily basis.

Does anyone have links to where they bought their stuff at reasonable prices and if so would you share the links with the rest of us?

Thanks, I'm looking forward to your help/suggestions.

P.S. I'm about 6'1"(for windshield sizing)

Dale

[rebls]

Lots of info and suppliers on there. As far as the look you want it is all personal taste as far as I'm concerned. If you want studs get studs. Good luck with all your add ons sounds like you are ready to drop some serious $$$, great news is you are doing it on a great bike!

[NC Hammer]

Dale,

Rebls is correct, the choice is up to you. But, experiences of others should be taken into consideration as you arrive at various decisions.

Windshield. I have and would reccommend the Honda windshield. It costs a little more but no head buffetting. The reasons are: 1. The shield has a flair at the top that moves the wind higher over your head. 2. The buffetting usually comes from the wind coming up the sides and over the tank. The Honda shield is lower down the sides than Memphis, et al. The overall shape is also rounder. You should be able to see in the picture below a little bit of the shape differences. Compare to a flatter shield on some other bike.

Studs or no studs is totally up to you. Just a word of caution. If you get studs on the bags, you need to get studs on the seats and tank bib as well. It should all flow.

Seats. Wait, save your $$ and go with the Ultimate 4 piece Lowrider and the Honda Deluxe backrest. You and your passenger(s) will never be sorry! Ultimate has many more options than when I got mine 2 years ago. 22,000 miles and still like new. www.ultimateseats.ca (http://www.ultimateseats.ca)

Just FYI, the highway bars on mine are Lindby Customs. More $$ than some but I didn't have to add foot pegs at additional $$.

Figure out the big picture and then add what you can a little at a time.

Also check out the classifieds both here and on VTXOA. I saved $200 on my backrest.

Any other questions - feel free to post, email, etc. I'll be here.




http://www.vtxcafe.com/gallery/data/500/19Bike-7-18-04-1-800-med.jpg

[NC Hammer]

Sorry Dale, forgot to answer a few more of your questions.

I'm 6'3" and 190lbs.

My National Cycle bags hold quite a bit. I also pack alot of stuff to take to work each day. And I carry a laptop that I sit on the passenger seat and bungy to the backrest brackets. The Ultimate passenger backrest pad is too wide (not usually a bad thing) to slip the bag over. My PC bag has a slot on the back so you can slip it over those airport rollaround bags.

http://www.hondadirectlineusa.com HDL has some of the best prices.

http://www.nationalcycle.com/catalog.html

http://www.kuryakyn.com/catalog.asp


Ok I think that's it for now.

[Big-X]

I have the Honda bags and the Ultimate seats, both with studs...looks great.

I have the Memphis shield but I do like the look of the Honda better, when I bought it I couldn't afford to pay the extra for the Honda and needed the sheild for a long trip.

[dande]

Thanks for all of you info so far, it's been a great help, but because of the cost I've gone with aftermarket parts for now, Honda's just a little too much money for me at this time. The Honda dealer that I bought the parts from, when asked what the difference between the Honda and other parts were, said cost, paying for the name. I don't know if it's right or wrong yet, but they did say to mount the shield and try it, if I don't like it, they will let me trade it for a different one, great offer I thought.

Here's a update to what I've bought so far.

Memphis Fats 21" windshield & mount $225
Cobra Tall backrest with their 2nd widest pad W/mount $225

Tomorrow, I'm going to look at some saddle bags to see which ones will look good and give me the most room for the money. One Cycle place said that they have a hard bag style for around $220 (including mounts?). He was in too much of a hurry to explain all of the details to me, so he said to just stop in and look at what they have and see if they will look good on the bike.

I'll keep you posted, if you want me to.

Dale

[chazb458]

Funny you mention paying for the name. I was talking to a Harely dealer the other day. He was telling me that although Harelys were more expensive to buy the parts were cheeper in the long run. I haven't seen any major differances in the price of parts but we all know there is a major differance in the reliability. Before I bought my VTX I thought it was settling for a knockoff cruiser. I wanted a bike that I could count on getting me there and back and Honda has a good rep. Now that I've put a few thousand miles on it I'm glad I made the choice. It's every bit as much a cruiser as anything Harely puts out and the options for customizing are limitless. No regrets here and my next bike will just be the 1800, maybe F model. I'll ride this one till the warrenty runs out in 4 or 5 years.

[vtxrider]

you could also try www.cruisercustomizing.com that is where I bought alot of my accessories from, they also have an auction on ebay..