So you're the lucky owner of a vintage BMW R motorcycle?
Discover how our customers have rigged their own for travelling.
We will tell you which bags they're using and what the installation looks like.

Let's start off with this beautiful BMW R75 from 1973. A custom motorcycle that underwent a few modifications and custom paint.

The saddlebags are a set of Super Patriots SB. The owner can move quite a bit of cargo with that storage alone.

What enabled the installation of large saddlebags are the low profile exhausts on this particular bike. There is a healthy distance between them and the lower part of the bags, which means no risks of overheating and melting your things.

These saddlebags are fitted with our autonomous system: Saddleback.
You could link them together with saddlebags belts, a solution which will be illustrated later, but here, each saddlebag is individually mounted on the motorcycle's frame.

The back straps are looped over the frame that goes around the seat, a bit like a grab rail. The saddlebags lean against the shocks, and their lower end are tied to the frame to make sure they can't move around.

Next we have a BMW R75 with higher exhausts.
The owner went for a set of Mini Patriots SB to maintain a good distance between them and the pipes. 

The saddlebags are linked with saddle belts, and they lean against the suspensions.

Let's continue with this adventure-ready R75.
Fully rigged with a set of two Super Patriots, and a large Traveler tail bag.
This BMW goes on long journeys.

Here we have large saddlebags perched above high exhausts.
A non-ideal combination, but to the owner, it's the cargo capacity that matters most.

However, he once lost an inflatable mattress over this. Buried at the bottom of his Longride saddlebag, it melt because of how close to the exhaust it was...!

The solution would be to ask a custom garage to build a frame to keep the saddlebags away from the exhausts. Or more radically, to change the exhausts.

The saddlebags are linked with the saddle belts. Here, the owner locks one under the seat and leave the other on top.

Here's a 1971 BMW R60/5 from Florida.
A set of Mini Patriot SB in khaki connected with seat belts and locked under the seat. They are supported by the shocks directly, a common method on vintage motorcycles.

A white 1971 R75/5 BMW with a set of brown Mini Patriot saddlebags - SB (saddleback) system.

If your BMW is equipped with the original Krauser rack, mounting our saddlebags with the Saddleback system will be a breeze. This customer shares photos of his 1976 BMW R90/6. Krauser still manufactures racks for vintage BMWs, allowing you to embark on adventures with maximum luggage, effortlessly installed. The saddlebag is a Mini Patriot SB. Our customer loved that there was clearance for the muffler, shock, and turn signal. Like it was custom made! See his photos below.

 

 

Would you be happy to share a few pictures of your classic BMW motorcycle?

Please send them at shop@longride.com