Kriega Bags on XR 900

[NoGoodID]

Hi.  Has anyone strapped Kriega bags (30 liter) onto an XR 900?  I do not have my bike yet (and have not actually seen one in person), but looking at pictures, it does not look like there is a good place to secure the tie down straps. My bike will have the saddle bag mounts, but not the actual saddle bags. Thanks. 

[dirtrider]

1 hour ago, NoGoodID said:

Hi.  Has anyone strapped Kriega bags (30 liter) onto an XR 900?  I do not have my bike yet (and have not actually seen one in person), but looking at pictures, it does not look like there is a good place to secure the tie down straps. My bike will have the saddle bag mounts, but not the actual saddle bags. Thanks. 

Morning

 

I don't personally know anyone that has but it doesn't look like much on the rear of the XR 900 to, tie down to, and/or keep the bags from swinging in & contacting the rear wheel. 

 

I have mounted plenty of soft bags on off-road motorcycles so have seen the issues that you will encounter. 

 

My first  suggestion is to call Kriega & ask them if they have now, or have coming out,  a Kriega OS-Base for the XR 900 (maybe they have a mounting base in the works). 

 

Another option is to see if you can fit a Kriega universal bag mounting plate to your factory high bag mounts.

 

Another option is to make your own tube style bag mounting loops that you can attach to (or in place of)  your factory bag mounts (this is probably how I would personally do it).

 

Another option or at least a suggestion is to see if BMW (or aftermarket) offers a rear top luggage rack or top box mounting option. That will give you something higher to strap the side bags to as well  as allow you to strap higher so you can get your soft bags up higher on the factory bag mounts therefore farther away from the rear tire.  

 

Having run soft bags for years & years on my off-road motorcycles I can't stress enough to get (and keep) those bags away from that  spinning rear wheel. 

 

 

[NoGoodID]

Dirtrider, thank you very much for the detailed response.  I should have been clearer, but my Kriega bag would sit on top of the passenger seat.  The bag uses four straps to tie down, and I do not see any good tie down points. Since the passenger handles are open at the end, they do not look like a very good option.  

[dirtrider]

35 minutes ago, NoGoodID said:

Dirtrider, thank you very much for the detailed response.  I should have been clearer, but my Kriega bag would sit on top of the passenger seat.  The bag uses four straps to tie down, and I do not see any good tie down points. Since the passenger handles are open at the end, they do not look like a very good option.  

Morning

 

Then you probably still have some options. Like tying under the seat, or tying to the side bag hangers, or possibly even adding you own tie points at the factory side bag attachment points. 

 

Wait until you get the motorcycle then see what your options are.  (you CAN tie down you just need to be creative) 

 

[NoGoodID]

Thanks!  I’m flying in to pick up the bike and then directly going on a 3500 mile trip from there...so if anyone has any pictures of how they secured a bag to the back seat of an XR 900, please post pics. 

[dirtrider]

1 hour ago, NoGoodID said:

Thanks!  I’m flying in to pick up the bike and then directly going on a 3500 mile trip from there...so if anyone has any pictures of how they secured a bag to the back seat of an XR 900, please post pics. 

Evening 

 

Difficult situation, you can work it out but probably not quickly.

 

Do you have the bag in your possession? If so then ask the selling dealer to remove the seat & E-Mail you some closeup pictures of the under-seat area, the rear frame rails, the passenger handles, etc. 

 

You might be able to make a game plan with that info. 

 

You can probably still strap to those rear handles as long as you can also strap forward of the bag (crisscross is best) to  keep the bag pulled forward so the straps can't slide rearward off of the handles. 

 

Does BMW offer a rear luggage rack? If so that might be a good option to have the dealer install if they can get one before you get there to pick the motorcycle up. 

 

 

 

 

[NoGoodID]

Thanks Dirtrider.  I do have the bags and did get a picture under the seat from the dealer. Unfortunately, the rear frame rails are not accessible from under the seat. There is only one bracket that a strap could be looped around, and while it’s pretty far forward in the compartment, I think it may work (see the bracket behind the battery in the attached pic).  I was hoping that someone on this forum had actually done this and could verify whether it worked. 
 

BMW does offer a luggage rack...but I’m being cheap 😜. If the Kriega bags do not work out, I may just buy the hard panniers that are made for the bike,  

[dirtrider]

1 hour ago, NoGoodID said:

Thanks Dirtrider.  I do have the bags and did get a picture under the seat from the dealer. Unfortunately, the rear frame rails are not accessible from under the seat. There is only one bracket that a strap could be looped around, and while it’s pretty far forward in the compartment, I think it may work (see the bracket behind the battery in the attached pic).  I was hoping that someone on this forum had actually done this and could verify whether it worked. 
 

BMW does offer a luggage rack...but I’m being cheap 😜. If the Kriega bags do not work out, I may just buy the hard panniers that are made for the bike,  

 

Morning

 

That might work as well possibly going around the frame rail just behind that.

 

The rear passenger handles look better than I thought as there is that mounting pin  sticking out so you can strap in front of that so straps then can't slide off the rear of the handles (this is a good deal)

 

 

 

 

[NoGoodID]

That’s exactly what I was thinking. Will give it a try. Thanks for your help!