saddlebag chaps now available

[dragon]

Saddlebag chaps are now available from Sage at

www.sagebrushdesigns.com check them out for your

1500, 1600, 1700, Vaquero

[Jared]

Originally Posted by dragon

Saddlebag chaps are now available from Sage at

www.sagebrushdesigns.com check them out for your

1500, 1600, 1700, Vaquero

Whoever at Sage is in charge of their design ought to really consider attaching them to the bottom of the bags, where the bags rest in the mounts. It looks like they are just velcroed on. Am I right?

[jendesigner]

That does seem like a strange design. Having the seam at the top is kinda strange also, at least the Vaquero sample it did.

[Top Cat]

They look kinda cheaply made to me. Especially the stitching on the ends.
Any other chaps I have seen wrapped down under the bags and hooked where the bags set in the mounting holes like Jared said.
I agree with Jen on the seam being right on top of the Vaquero chaps.
Looks like an after thought. Not a good design.
No way I would pay that kind of money for them.
But then again I have seen people on here who have no taste at all so they will probably sell a few of the bag chaps.

[Jared]

Here's the set that I made years ago and I can barely thread a needle. A company that makes sewed goods should be able to do a lot better. BTW, this was the first and last set I ever made.

[danimal2]

Originally Posted by Utah Motorcyclist

Here's the set that I made years ago and I can barely thread a needle. A company that makes sewed goods should be able to do a lot better. BTW, this was the first and last set I ever made.

Those are perfect. You should market those. I'd buy a set. Drop me a line when the production line is fired up..............Quite a few others interested too if I remember right.

[yoda]

I would have to concur with the rest. They shortcutted a good design and it shows. Glad I have the originals...

[Top Cat]

BTW, this was the first and last set I ever made.

A little too much work for you Jared?

[Jared]

Originally Posted by Top Cat

BTW, this was the first and last set I ever made.

A little too much work for you Jared?

No necessarily too much work. I'd imagine I spend about four hours designing and making them. The most time consuming part was putting all the studs on perfectly spaced.

After putting all the studs on it, and riding around the country (I took this one to Florida from Utah) I decided the style wasn't quite what I wanted. The person who bought it sure loved it, so it worked out great in the long run.

These are actually some of the picture I took to use when I listed it for sale. It sold in 13 days, for $900 more than I paid for it. All I added was the seat, tank bib, saddlebag chaps and about 25K miles.

[Sage]

Good morning fellow riders, Chris here at Sage Brush Designs. I want to thank you very much for your comments about our Saddlebag Chaps, this is the kind of feedback we need in order to bring a product to the market that suits the requirements of the majority of the community.

While economies in production are important in bringing an affordable product to the public, it is certainly nowhere near my primary concern; a good design with fit and style and easy to install and remove are paramount. What we thought met those requirements in this first version apparently fell short.

The wrap around version that hooks to the two mount pegs underneath didn't provide as snug a fit as I wanted as there is no easy way to maintain a contineous tension to the fabric, thus the velcro option. It also required removal of the bag to install or remove the covers which I think is a huge inconvenience as it also requires one to empty the bag.

The studded version comes with a felt underside to protect the bag from the studs so we added an additional strip of velcro across the fabric because we believed the felt may cause the cover to slide sideways due to reduced friction between the chap and the bag. Upon further testing we determined it wouldn't be needed and removed it from the details. The photos of the standard covers illustrate the look without the additional strip.

We are going to try a version that hooks one end to an underside mounting post and the other attached using velcro to maintain tension. The back end will wrap under the bottom of the bag and may be the end to connect to the mount peg. I cringe even as I type this, I'm that against it.

Your feedback is invited for the length of the cover travelling down the front of the bag and on any other design detail. Personally I don't think there's a need for it to travel down the full length of the front below the dresser bar to the underside of the bag, however your thoughts and suggestions will be considered.

Thank you for your time and input. Pleas feel free to contact me directly at sage(at)sagebrushdesigns.com or post them directy in this thread.

best regards
Chris McVean

[Jared]

My design was simple... and worked well. You guys obviously have more experience than I do, so take it with a grain of salt. There are two mount pegs under the bags. I made mine long enough to wrap all the way around, from peg to peg. I made them in such a way that it require just a bit of stretch to mount on the second peg, which pulled them tight to the bags. After the vinyl sat in the heat they formed to the bags and didn't need additional stretching. I used some sort of marine vinyl and I too lined the bottom with felt to prevent scratching.

If you're trying to keep them from stretching, I can't see how velro would be a better option than a permanent peg. Perhaps you're expecting people to reapply them as the stretch? But that too causes problems with the velcro. If anything, I'd be worried that the velcro would come loose and the wraps would go flying.

Good luck with the designing!

[Top Cat]

Chris, glad to see you are willing to take some constructive criticism in order to make the customer happy.
In my mind the chaps need to wrap completely around the bag from where the bags mount in the holes. If for no other reason that they look much better. Most riders will not put something on their bike that does not look good.
As for your concern about the inconvenience of removing them I think it is a non issue. Most guys will leave them on the majority of the time.

[danimal2]

Like TC said and for what it's worth, my intention is to put them on the bags and leave them on. I don't plan on taking them off other than to clean (even then I'll probably just sneak a cleaning cloth under them) so it's not an inconvenience that they're a more permanently attached design (aka stretched the full length and fastening underneath).

I think it's great that your checking to see what people are looking for. Come up with something a little closer to Jared's (Utah Motorcyclist's) design and I'm in for a set.

[crazygene49]

My bike came with chaps installed, I have not removed them in the 2 years that I've had it. I agree with everyone else on the all the way around mounting.

[Sage]

Originally Posted by Top Cat

Chris, glad to see you are willing to take some constructive criticism in order to make the customer happy.
In my mind the chaps need to wrap completely around the bag from where the bags mount in the holes. If for no other reason that they look much better. Most riders will not put something on their bike that does not look good.
As for your concern about the inconvenience of removing them I think it is a non issue. Most guys will leave them on the majority of the time.

Constructive criticism is the best kind TC. It allows one to meet clients needs rather than try to push a rope uphill. I'm in the business of providing customer care and satisfaction and giving customers what they want whenever possible. I have another pattern in the works tonight that will wrap around and connect to the mount pegs. It will be a few days before I can show one off. My mother may not be with us much longer and I'm a bit side tracked currently. y'all will hear from me as soon as I have something to show.