I have owned this saddlebag for some years but hardly use it because its too "floppy ". Now I know you can buy a support stay for it but I am blowed if I want to spend £20 on something just to do that. The idea I have is to take a pattern of the side and copy it onto a thing piece of ply to cut and fit on each side of the bag via nuts and bolts. Its got to be a cheaper way of being able to use the bag than buying the stay. Ok I admit it I am just a tight wad. What do you think good idea or not, or can you think of anything simpler or indeed cheaper to solve my problem.
I would suggest that you could stiffen the bag using correx (an estate agent's sign perhaps...) which is much lighter than plywood and by using stitched fabric loops to hold it in place (e.g. like an old style photo mount). That way you won't end up with a ruined bag, either.
In point of fact you could easily make a support bracket for the bag which is much the best option...
I've stiffened Carradice saddle bags with correx - it works well, but I stiffen the bag laterally, using one piece in a U shape, from the front to rear, fixed using leather rivets, which are easy to obtain on ebay.
I've also used karrimor sleeping mat as stiffener as well. An ideal stiffener would be err...well stiff, but not too stiff - so that you can bend it, but it has some tension in it. Rivet the stiffener at one end first, then add more tension by pulling it tight inside the bag before finally riveting the other end.
EDIT: Rethinking this, the first point of attachment is to sandwich the board between the bag and the dowel with the screws, so you only need two rivets at the other end. Hope that makes sense.
That Correx is available online in A4 or A3 size at reasonable size - I'm thinking of getting some to stiffen up a rack bag....... think I'll make a cardboard template first to trial fit to see how much I need!
Another + for Correx, a piece works well on my long flap Nelson bag. This bag is held on the revamped Carridice version of the the old Karrimor bag holder. The Slim Tour SQR bags come with a plastic stiffener rivetted in from front to back
