Rodan Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 I thought my experience in obtaining OEM hard luggage might be informative/useful for others, because things have apparently changed over the years since the bags were in production. When I bought my '07 Anniversary Interceptor a little over a month ago, I knew I wanted hard bags. I was unsuccessful in locating an Anniversary RWB bike with OEM Honda bags, so once I got it home, I started researching. I pretty quickly decided that I wanted the OEM Honda bags... even though they are basically Givi bags, the mounting brackets tuck them in better, and shape integrates better with the bike. Option #1 was to look for used bags (eBay, etc), but I couldn't find anything, so I started researching part numbers. I was able to find the part numbers for the brackets and bags pretty easily, and discovered that there were originally two separate part numbers for the brackets (side mounts and center brace) and additional part numbers for the bags. I was able to track down the center brace on eBay, and found what I believe to be the last set of side brackets in the US at a dealership in Ohio. I was also able to order the bags new from Honda, and was told at the time I got one of seven sets of blue bags left in the US. Side brackets: 08L41-MCW-1000W Center brace: 08L41-MCW-800B (number no longer in Honda's system) Blue bags: 08L41-MCW-1E0 To my great surprise, the bags purchased under the part number above included all the mounting brackets! None of my research had indicated that would be the case, but then again, almost all the threads I found on the subject were at least 10 years old... All in, it's not a bad deal, and only about $200 more than buying the current production bags and brackets from GIVI (not including my extra brackets... LOL). TLDR: there are still some OEM bags out there, and the blue ones, at least, come with the mounting brackets. On to the rest of the story... When I started installing the mounting brackets it was immediately apparent that they were not going to fit with my Delkevic exhaust. The mounting arm that bolts to the center bracket behind the license plate is angled to match the triangular OEM muffler and wouldn't clear the oval aftermarket muffler. I am fortunate enough to have the ability and tools to do some fabrication, so I cut off the offending mounting arm, and modified the center brace so the stay would be horizontal instead of angled, and thus clear the muffler. Then I welded everything back together. The rest of the mounting procedure was easy bolt-up, per the instructions. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodan Posted April 7 Author Share Posted April 7 Since I also have an Interceptor with GIVI bags in the garage at the moment*, here's a comparison back to back.... The Honda bags are about 6" narrower overall. OEM Honda: GIVI: * My BIL was shopping VFRs at the same time I was, and after a couple deals fell through, I put him onto a bike here in AZ that was my back-up plan if the deal on the one I bought fell through. He ended up making the deal, so I picked up the bike for him and am storing it until he can do a fly-ride or have it transported back to WI. So for now, I have double parked VFRs in the shop... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer bmart Posted April 7 Member Contributer Share Posted April 7 Sweet Jesus, that a wide load! lol I tried running with the three bag setup a few times. Not my bag. Just the top. I'd love two briefcase side bags... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodan Posted April 8 Author Share Posted April 8 14 hours ago, bmart said: Sweet Jesus, that a wide load! lol I tried running with the three bag setup a few times. Not my bag. Just the top. I'd love two briefcase side bags... I don't do as much touring as I used to, but I do like the utility of hard bags, even around town. I think the widest setup I've had was a 1st gen VStrom 1k with Givi bags... definitely needed a 'wide load' placard! I had Givi 'cruiser bags' on my 'Busa and that was a really nice setup. Much narrower, and top opening. Had to pile more stuff on the seat, but it was a surprisingly good touring mount. I run just a small top box on my FJ-09 occasionally, and that was a nice compromise, but the factory bags on that were pretty narrow, so I usually just ran the bags. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fabio222 Posted April 13 Share Posted April 13 Man that RWB paint scheme is the bomb. Nice job on the brackets. When I have my VTEC out on the road I usually just use one pannier. I'd considered getting some Delkevic cans for it so thanks for the info on clearance with the pannier mount! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Lorne Posted April 13 Member Contributer Share Posted April 13 45 minutes ago, fabio222 said: Man that RWB paint scheme is the bomb. Even better with a coat of pearl white on the wheels 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer ShipFixer Posted April 14 Member Contributer Share Posted April 14 12 hours ago, fabio222 said: Man that RWB paint scheme is the bomb. Nice job on the brackets. When I have my VTEC out on the road I usually just use one pannier. I'd considered getting some Delkevic cans for it so thanks for the info on clearance with the pannier mount! The round Delkevics that come with the VFR package will clear the bag mounts without modification. Looks like the OP bought a couple of their different short cans to go with the middle Y junction pipe from Delkevic...which is pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodan Posted April 18 Author Share Posted April 18 They are the Delkevic "X-oval" cans. I wanted something a little different than their round cans. They weren't listed as an application for the 6th Gen VFR on Delkevic's site, but most of their mufflers have the same inlet dimensions so I was going to mix/match parts. I then found the X-oval set as a VFR application on their eBay store. IMHO they do look a little better than the short round cans on the 6th Gen. They sound fantastic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.