Product Review - Saddlemen Renegade II Sissy Bar Bag

[BigJohn]

Saddlemen Renegade II by Travelcade
$239.95
http://www.saddlemen.com
Purchased from Roadrider Of Reno, Ltd

While on a business trip to Reno, (Yes, it really was for business) I stopped in at Roadrider of Reno. Just browsing, mind you, I ain’t gonna buy anything, hear? Just lookn’….

They had a whole bunch of sissy bar bags. To me, the best looking styles were from Saddlemen, but they were just a little too small for carrying two weeks worth of gear for Miss N and myself. The nice sales man said that he had something in the back that might fit the bill. He pulls out this huge unopened box. It’s like Christmas time now…open it up and WOW! Laying there on the floor is this big, black, tough as nails ballistic nylon, bag, resplendent with studs, and conches and leather trim. It even has a huge “stuff bag” stuffed inside. Sweet! Looks like it belongs an a Nomad.

First off, this thing is huge, even without the stuff sack, it is BIG. 15” wide, 8” thick and 21” high. For you mathematicians out there, that’s about 2,520 cubic inches. That’s about 1.4 cubic feet of space. Add to that the two side pouches and the stuff bag and you have some serious storage room. The main bag is accessed through a very large horseshoe shaped flap. The bag will either stand up by itself or can be laid on its’ back to load/unload. Very convenient.

There was more than enough room for us to stow our riding suits (ski pants and jackets), a pair of Wellington riding boots, and still have room left over to stuff the stuff bag inside the bag.

The “stuff bag” is designed to be attached to the top of the bag with a very secure set of straps and a mesh net. It was very convenient to keep all of the maps for the trip, both of our light weight jackets, and some miscellaneous “stuff” in the stuff bag.

The two side pouches are zippered to the side of the bag and are roomy enough to hold my shaving kit and Miss Ns’ make up kit in one bag, and have a bag left over for miscellaneous sundries that require frequent access while in gas stations. These bags can be zipped off and then zipped together and carried as a purse by the Misses (Yes, I am sexist and NO I won’t carry a purse, even if you paid me). There is a strap that comes with the bags to sling the pouch/bags over a shoulder and would look “stylish.” Each pouch is held closed with a double zipper and has a weather flap that is held closed by a leather strap and buckle.

On the right side of the big bag is another little pouch that can hold a cell phone and other miscellaneous stuff. It is protected and held closed by a flap with Velcro.

There are two large front zippered pockets on the bag. The upper pocket is large enough to carry all of the unwanted straps and hooks ups that you don’t need to hold the bag together. The lower pocket is equipped to hold papers, pencils and pens, very much like a small brief case.

At the very top of the bag cover is another little pouch. When you open this one, you will find a rain cover that will protect the whole bag. The rain-cover is attached to the bag with a lanyard, so you can’t loose it in a rain/wind storm. Very thoughtful…Only problem is that the cover did not slide down over the bag with the two side pouches are attached and the bag is on the sissy-bar. At least mine wouldn’t.

Fortunately, everything is constructed of ballistic nylon and has a plastic liner to keep the wet away form your stuff. Found that out during 45 minutes of hard, driving rain and sleet between Cheyenne and Laramie.
Now for the really interesting stuff…The bag comes with built-in padded back straps. Very helpful for hauling in all of the “stuff” to the hotel room at night. There is also a convenient top carry handle, which is strong and comfortable, if not a little awkward.

“How does it hook up to the scoot?” you ask. Easy, it looks almost too simple. There is a flap attached at the mid point of the back of the bag and a bunch of Velcro straps that are across the back horizontally. Combine these with two buckled straps at the bottom of the bag and you have a very secure anchoring system. All of the buckles and straps are very sturdy plastic or nylon. We experienced virtually no stretch or wear on the trip.

I would be hesitant to leave the bottom straps attached to the bike for long periods of time, like over the whole summer and winter. Especially in a hostile environment like Southern California or Aridzona/New Mexico. UV is really hostile to man made fabrics and plastics. The plastic buckles are tough and should take a beating for some time. They look like the same material as is on my backpack and on my roll around suitcase. Tough stuff, even the Gorilla Monsters in the baggage-handling department at the airport can’t brake that stuff.

To install the bag, the two bottom straps are unbuckled and laced through the bottom of the luggage rack. There is another buckle on each strap that attaches to the bottom of the bag. Secure these. Make sure that the loose straps are secure out of the way of the wheels/tires and other moving parts.

Unlace the Velcro straps on the back and unbuckle the flap. There is a buckle at the bottom of the flap, disconnect it. Slide the whole thing over the sissy bar, with the flap over the sissy bar. Buckle the straps that previously attached to the bike to the bag, pull them tight. Connect the flap buckle and pull it tight. This can be difficult, it is sometimes hard to see the buckle. DO NOT FORGET this buckle.

Now start pulling the Velcro straps tight, starting at the bottom and working your way to the top. You will probably compress the sissy bar pad, that’s OK.. Pull on it again…Tighter, dude.

Go to the back of the bike and grab the bag at the top and shake violently, knocking your motorcycle over in the process. Pick your bike up off the ground by the bag, look sheepish, and make sure that everything is still secure. You are ready to ride.

Once you have done it (put on and taken off) a couple of times, it becomes routine. In ten days of riding, over almost 3,000 miles, we didn’t experience a single problem with the bag coming loose or leaking.

All together, this is a really good bag. I would give it a 9.9 out of a 10. The ONLY complaint was that the rain cover wouldn’t fit over both the bag, the pouches AND my sissy bar all at the same time. Also, the cost was a little high at $239.95. With a little searching on the net you should be able to find the same bag for under $190.

But, I wanted it right now! Glad I did it. Would I do it again? You bet.

One of the best luggage buys I’ve ever made.

See the picture attached...

[Scotty Luv]

Nice review there John.

It sounds allot like my Universal Expandable T-Bag. The differences being that the side pouches don't detach and the combined capacity of the roll bag and expanded T-Bag it 2.5 cu. ft. (T-Bag = 2 cu ft/roll 0.5 cu ft). Sounds like you made a good purchase.

Scott