Sissy Bar Duffel Bag

Well this weekend I was at the local Harley stealership and I was looking at the travel bags. The one I was most interested in was the round over the sissy bar style. But I wasn't crazy about paying the $120.00 bucks that they're asking. So I decided to make my own out of an old army duffel I had lying in the garage. I'd like to tell you that I had to ask my wife to use her sewing machine, but sadly it's my sewing machine. Anyway I started with a normal duffel and cut out the bottom round panel. Figuring that a full sized one would be much too big I cut it to about two thirds normal size. I then turned the whole thing inside out and sewed the bottom panel back in. Using the extra material that I cut out, I fashioned a panel that would become the sleeve that slips over the sissy bar. Before I attached the sleeve I had to remove the shoulder straps not figuring that I would need them on this size of bag. I stuffed the duffel with couch pillows to give it shape and positioned it on the bike to get the proper spot for the sleeve. I marked it and attached to to the bag with a few extra stitches at the corners for strength.

After re-fitting the duffel on the bike I notice that it wanted to swing around the sissy bar and off the seat. I want the bag to double as a back rest on long trips, so I need it to ride on the seat without moving to much. The solution was re-attaching one of the straps on the under side of the bag. It then slips under the rear seat and cinches down to secure it down. The strap is also still in a good position to act as a shoulder strap when carrying. That pretty much finished up the modifications of the bag, I just want to add a little more of a Harley flavor to the whole thing, so I added some paint and stenciling. With Daytona in just a couple of weeks this thing should prove to be useful, we'll see how it holds up.