ere’s an idea whose time has come. Saddlemen has just come up with an ingenious way to hard-mount most saddlebags to your bike, and still be able to take them off and then put them back on again in seconds. The components and kits making all this possible are sold separately, or they’re available as a complete package, and they’re available for all Softails, Dynas and Sportsters. Drag Specialties has them now.
     The key to it all, no pun intended, is the Saddlemen Docking Post & Fastener Kit. These docking posts replace the fender strut bolts on the bike and, once in position, allow you to put on or take off your saddlebags with no more effort than a quick twist of the “QTL” Quarter Turn Locking Fasteners at the end of each post. Simple as that. The Docking Post Kit comes with four Docking Posts along with all the fasteners, spacers, saddlebag grommets, support clips, nuts, bolts and fasteners needed for a quick and simple installation.
     Saddlemen’s Saddlebag Support Kit is the perfect complement to that Post Kit. The support kit includes two chrome-plated steel saddlebag supports to, well, support and perfectly position the saddlebags on the bike. You can round out the whole Quick-Disconnect conversion with the Saddlemen Turn Signal Relocation Kit. The Relocation Kits are all Harley-Davidson model-specific and they neatly and easily relocate the stock turn signals further back and out of the way of the saddlebags by attaching specially designed polished stainless steel extension bars to the fender struts, behind the saddlebags.
     Each of the kits–the Post Kit, the Support Kit and the Turn-Signal Relocation Kit–is available separately. It’s all offered packaged together as a complete kit, with applications for all Dynas, all Sportsters and all Softails. That package retails for $189.95 and includes all the required hardware specific to that model bike, for all the years. In many cases, and to achieve this universality, Saddlemen has included more hardware than is needed for any one particular application. They did this so dealers only have to keep one kit in stock for each style bike and know that it will fit any year or model variation, including bikes with additional accessories such as sissybar mounts. The stocking here is easy.
     The Saddlemen Complete Quick Disconnect Kit (including the Posts Kit, Turn Signal Relocator and Support Bracket), the Post Kits themselves, the Saddlebag Support Bracket Kits and the Turn Signal Relocation Kits are available for Sportsters from ‘94 through ‘07, Dynas and Dyna Wideglides from ‘96 through ‘08 and Softails from 1984 on. It’s all in stock now and available from Drag Specialties.

Saddlebags can be easily removed and re-attached by a simple twist of the Quarter Turn Locking Fasteners.