novcadetshotz
Junior Member
OK,
This is a product / company review of the Tour Master brand "Nylon Slant Saddlebags," the Tour Master customer service, as well as Renegade Cycle of Richmond Hill GA.
I was at a pre-Daytona show South of Savanna Georgia. They were having a 40% off sale, and the saddlebags in question caught my eye. They also caught the eye of a buddy who had ridden down with me on his 2006 Suzuki M50 (I guess the styling is good for both cruiser / sport styles ! ). Long story short, we both ended up buying a set. I bought the mediums, he bought the large.
View attachment 2311
I paid for them, walk out of the door of Renegade Cycle (excellent service and people). I removed my Axio tail bag, and begin installing these puppies.
First thing I noticed is that the zipper that attaches the bags to the seat-spanning portion doesn't appear to be too heavy duty. The zipper on my track boots is of higher quality.
I got everything spaced correctly, and am ready for the final install of my tail bag over the seat-spanning portion. The left bag goes on no hassle; the right was a different story. First, the zipper seemed to be misaligned, so I backed it off to try again. As I was backing the zipper off, the small metal clamp on the seat-span side of the zipper came off and fell to the ground. I tried fixing it with a pair of needle-nosed pliers to no avail. I went back inside and told my sob story. They couldn't exchange them (everything out of stock), but offered to drop ship me a new set direct from their warehouse at no charge (Kudos Renegade Cycle!). So, I rode home (my buddy had his on no problem) disappointed and somewhat pissed. ~$80 and nothing to show for it.
Two days later I get my new bags, (again, kudos to Renegade Cycle). This past weekend, I installed them and was a bit more careful in handling them. Everything going well. My buddy (the one with the M50 and the other set of Tour Master bags) calls me. He had ridden from Charleston SC to Greenville (~ 3+ hours) to see his family. When he got there and went to take his bags off, the same thing happened to his bags as had happened to mine. He has since called Tour Master to enact the lifetime guarantee (kudos to Tour Master). Mine have worked well, but I'm being extra careful and don't like that I have to be "uber-gentle."
CONCLUSIONS:
Overall, I should have just spent the extra $40 on the Cortech version. From what I hear, great things come from Tour Master's parent brand.
The quality on the bags is OK at best. The zipper really kills it. If such serious details as that can be overlooked, I hate to think of what will break next...
The service from Tour Master is EXCELLENT. At every turn, they've bent over backwards to make sure I'm satisfied. I wish they could impart some of that quality on this product.
Renegade Cylce of Richmond Hill GA is a first class establishment. Their prices were near what I've seen on KneeDraggers and NewEnough etc. The service is top notch. As an example; I was torn on about three sets of saddle bags. They let me just take each set out to my bike and try them on for size. They wouldn't even accept my wallet as collateral. "We work on an Honor System, we trust you." Made me feel like the center of attention during my transaction and subsequent problems, even though the store was packed.
Again, if looking for saddlebags, I'd recommend steering away from the Tour Master Nylon Slant Saddlebags. If I could do it again, I'd spend the extra cash on a better set.
Hope this helps those looking to do some light touring.
- Ben
This is a product / company review of the Tour Master brand "Nylon Slant Saddlebags," the Tour Master customer service, as well as Renegade Cycle of Richmond Hill GA.
I was at a pre-Daytona show South of Savanna Georgia. They were having a 40% off sale, and the saddlebags in question caught my eye. They also caught the eye of a buddy who had ridden down with me on his 2006 Suzuki M50 (I guess the styling is good for both cruiser / sport styles ! ). Long story short, we both ended up buying a set. I bought the mediums, he bought the large.
View attachment 2311
I paid for them, walk out of the door of Renegade Cycle (excellent service and people). I removed my Axio tail bag, and begin installing these puppies.
First thing I noticed is that the zipper that attaches the bags to the seat-spanning portion doesn't appear to be too heavy duty. The zipper on my track boots is of higher quality.
I got everything spaced correctly, and am ready for the final install of my tail bag over the seat-spanning portion. The left bag goes on no hassle; the right was a different story. First, the zipper seemed to be misaligned, so I backed it off to try again. As I was backing the zipper off, the small metal clamp on the seat-span side of the zipper came off and fell to the ground. I tried fixing it with a pair of needle-nosed pliers to no avail. I went back inside and told my sob story. They couldn't exchange them (everything out of stock), but offered to drop ship me a new set direct from their warehouse at no charge (Kudos Renegade Cycle!). So, I rode home (my buddy had his on no problem) disappointed and somewhat pissed. ~$80 and nothing to show for it.
Two days later I get my new bags, (again, kudos to Renegade Cycle). This past weekend, I installed them and was a bit more careful in handling them. Everything going well. My buddy (the one with the M50 and the other set of Tour Master bags) calls me. He had ridden from Charleston SC to Greenville (~ 3+ hours) to see his family. When he got there and went to take his bags off, the same thing happened to his bags as had happened to mine. He has since called Tour Master to enact the lifetime guarantee (kudos to Tour Master). Mine have worked well, but I'm being extra careful and don't like that I have to be "uber-gentle."
CONCLUSIONS:
Overall, I should have just spent the extra $40 on the Cortech version. From what I hear, great things come from Tour Master's parent brand.
The quality on the bags is OK at best. The zipper really kills it. If such serious details as that can be overlooked, I hate to think of what will break next...
The service from Tour Master is EXCELLENT. At every turn, they've bent over backwards to make sure I'm satisfied. I wish they could impart some of that quality on this product.
Renegade Cylce of Richmond Hill GA is a first class establishment. Their prices were near what I've seen on KneeDraggers and NewEnough etc. The service is top notch. As an example; I was torn on about three sets of saddle bags. They let me just take each set out to my bike and try them on for size. They wouldn't even accept my wallet as collateral. "We work on an Honor System, we trust you." Made me feel like the center of attention during my transaction and subsequent problems, even though the store was packed.
Again, if looking for saddlebags, I'd recommend steering away from the Tour Master Nylon Slant Saddlebags. If I could do it again, I'd spend the extra cash on a better set.
Hope this helps those looking to do some light touring.
- Ben
Last edited:
Since then I've heard nothing. I emailed again two days ago and am waiting again.
