City Lids

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dbrick
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City Lids

Post by dbrick »

The stock saddlebags are pretty wide, and I seem to have more storage space than I need. Anyone put City Lids on? They're available from Sierra BMW:

http://www.sierrabmwonline.com/product_ ... idb-p-1571

and also on eBay (with more pictures):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-system-case ... 2c&vxp=mtr

Any first-hand experience out there?
David Brick
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mogu83
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Re: City Lids

Post by mogu83 »

From the pictures, I have the ones like the E-bay examples. First off the quality is no where near the BMW lids (but you knew that). I would use the word flimsy but not fall apart flimsy, and they would make sense in a state that allows lane splitting. Forget about waterproof the seal is a joke at best, maybe with some work it would almost seal the bag, but I've heard it never rains in California. I guess some would think they look better than the BMW lids. I have two sets of bags and use the BMW ones when I travel because the city lids severely cut down space in the bags. The hinge looks weak so I added a piece of aluminum stock across the inside bottom of the bag. I don't have a lot of miles on them but so far they show no signs of cracks or abnormal wear. Overall I don't regret buying them.

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dbrick
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Re: City Lids

Post by dbrick »

Thanks, Harry. How would you assess the surface finish (color, texture, reflectivity) compared to the stock bags' surface?

P.S. - It does rain in California. Sometimes.
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Re: City Lids

Post by mogu83 »

The surface texture is perfectly acceptable, it's not smooth but it works with the stock (rear) part of the bag.

Last summer I was in Barstow heading toward LA and the sky opened up, before I could get the rain gear on I was drenched. Good news was it stopped in short order, the sun came out and in less than a half hour I was completely dry.
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Re: City Lids

Post by SF_Hooligan »

I like the idea of city lids, but then again I split in some of the most hellacious traffic in the country with my regular cases on, so... Probably spend that money on other stuff first. I don't think the sidecases are much wider than the bars, if any.
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Re: City Lids

Post by deilenberger »

I've seen Harry's.. and they're good 5' lids (look OK from 5' away).. the fit/finish are not BMW quality, but they are thinner, and if I didn't use all the capacity of my bags and was lane-splitting in a dry climate, they'd be acceptable (and easy to swap with real lids - 4 screws per side.)
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Re: City Lids

Post by dbrick »

I couldn't resist and bought a set of city lids from Sierra BMW in Reno. No pics - they look just like Harry's on my also-black bike. The pebbly surface is just a bit too uneven for the 3M stripe tape, and I'm not interested enough to refinish them so I can apply it. I do have a pair of the rectangular red reflectors, which will provide some visual relief.

Perhaps coincidentally, rad and I did some lane-splitting Friday in pre-Memorial Day traffic on our way back from the 49er rally. It felt good having a narrower butt.

Because they're more flexible than the stock lids, they don't latch and unlatch as easily as the stock lid. With the stockers, it's just slam 'em closed and go; with these, one must be careful to make sure the tabs are inserted correctly. They don't release as easily, either.

The lids are pre-drilled, and metric allen screws, washers, and nylock nuts are provided. I didn't want to use the nuts, as I wanted to feel the torque more easily, and I did want to use the stock bags' Torx machine screws so as not to have to change tools in the middle of the job. That combination worked, but assembling the stack (nut and washer on the inside, while feeding the bolt through the hinge from the outside) was clumsy: one can't align the lid in its correct place by closing it and then tightening the screws, because the lids must be open to get a wrench on the nuts. Manipulating only the bolts with the captured nuts of the stock lids is much more convenient.

In addition to wanting the install/deinstall to be easier, I also want to reinforce the hinge edge of the lids. I'm thinking of some 1" x 3/16" steel strapping, cut into four pieces, each 2.5" long. I'll drill two holes in each piece, tap a thread in each hole, and epoxy the plates to the inside of the lids. Voila: captured nuts and one-tool removal and installation.

Another way to accomplish this would be to buy four extra hinges, and mount them on the new lids. To change lids, unscrew the bolts fastening the hinges to the saddlebag base (which has its own captured nuts), lift away the lid-and-hinges combination, and replace with the other lids. However, bits of steel strapping are lots less expensive than hinges.
Last edited by dbrick on Mon May 27, 2013 5:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: City Lids

Post by mogu83 »

Dave - Why cut the strapping in pieces. I did a similar thing but ran the strapping from side to side. Looks neat, it's stronger and things tend not to get caught on it. I used 3/4" x 1/4 aluminum and it works fine.
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Re: City Lids

Post by dbrick »

Well yes, that makes sense. A single longer piece at the bottom of each lid. Thanks.

Aluminum would be a lot easier for me to work than steel. Did you thread the holes? There's enough meat in 1/4" to hold without stripping?
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Re: City Lids

Post by mogu83 »

I used small nuts and nylock bolts. I think 6mm.
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dbrick
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Re: City Lids

Post by dbrick »

Thanks.
David Brick
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Re: City Lids

Post by dbrick »

dbrick wrote:The pebbly surface is just a bit too uneven for the 3M stripe tape, and I'm not interested enough to refinish them so I can apply it. I do have a pair of the rectangular red reflectors, which will provide some visual relief.
rad suggested that I clean the lids' surface with denatured alcohol. After I did that, the tape adhered:

Image

I'm still undecided if the reflector goes there (it's scotch-taped in place) or in the bottom corner.
David Brick
Santa Cruz CA
2007 R1200R
priors: R50, R50, R69, R69S, R65, FJ1200, K75S, R1100RSL
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