Recently, a scooter shop in Avon, MA had a clearance sale because it was about to close down. I took the opportunity to take a ride there to see what I could get for my scooter. In their sale announcement, they said that they had Formosa saddlebags for only $29. Online, they're currently $55 (as of Dec. 29, 2011) but sell for up to $99. In the picture, they don't look durable but they are actually made of very good and sturdy material. The seat cover part is neoprene and the bags are made of a strong synthetic material. The velcro strip is quite wide and more than enough to keep the bags rolled up when they're not in use. I sewed a long strip of reflective tape on each bag for safety because they covered up the reflective tape that I had put on the scooter before I bought the bags.
There seems to be only one in-depth review of these saddlebags on Modern Buddy and I wanted to add to that review by showing you how much these bags can hold so that you can see how useful they can be when you want to buy a lot of groceries at one time. With these saddlebags, I have an extra two spaces to put my fruits and vegetables. If I carry my backpack, I have a total of 6 places to carry stuff - the hook in front, the helmet hook under the seat, the under-seat storage (aka "pet carrier"), the backpack, and two saddlebags. However, keep in mind that heat-sensitive things should not be transported in the pet carrier because it gets very warm as the scooter is running. It's perfect for transporting take-out food because it will keep your food warm as you're riding home but very bad for things like raw meat or delicate fruits.
Rather than repeating what has already been said on Modern Buddy, I took some pictures and made a video to quickly review the bags and then show you what you can carry in them.
I wanted to fill up the two bags but really didn't need any more food for the week. In just the larger bag, I managed to fit a large package of goat chunks, 2 lb bag of onions, bag of shredded collard greens, 5 plantains, a bunch of bananas, 2 packages of bacon, bunch of cilantro, and 6 bagels. The smaller bag had a 10 lb bag of potatoes and 2 mangos but could have fit more.
These saddlebags are made especially for scooters and the seat part stretches to fit most popular models. The most I've carried in these bags is 3 full (and heavy) bags of groceries. I could have put even more stuff in my backpack, put a bag on the hook in front, a bag on the helmet hook, and another one under the seat! Basically, these saddlebags can almost double the amount of stuff you can carry on your scooter. And, as an added plus, they don't look expensive so the chances of theft are lower than if I had fancy leather saddlebags.
(May 13, 2012): I went to buy groceries and managed to carry all of this in the saddlebags:
Video review of Formosa Saddlebags - May 11, 2012
There seems to be only one in-depth review of these saddlebags on Modern Buddy and I wanted to add to that review by showing you how much these bags can hold so that you can see how useful they can be when you want to buy a lot of groceries at one time. With these saddlebags, I have an extra two spaces to put my fruits and vegetables. If I carry my backpack, I have a total of 6 places to carry stuff - the hook in front, the helmet hook under the seat, the under-seat storage (aka "pet carrier"), the backpack, and two saddlebags. However, keep in mind that heat-sensitive things should not be transported in the pet carrier because it gets very warm as the scooter is running. It's perfect for transporting take-out food because it will keep your food warm as you're riding home but very bad for things like raw meat or delicate fruits.
Rather than repeating what has already been said on Modern Buddy, I took some pictures and made a video to quickly review the bags and then show you what you can carry in them.
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| In the smaller bag (over the exhaust) |
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| In the larger bag |
These saddlebags are made especially for scooters and the seat part stretches to fit most popular models. The most I've carried in these bags is 3 full (and heavy) bags of groceries. I could have put even more stuff in my backpack, put a bag on the hook in front, a bag on the helmet hook, and another one under the seat! Basically, these saddlebags can almost double the amount of stuff you can carry on your scooter. And, as an added plus, they don't look expensive so the chances of theft are lower than if I had fancy leather saddlebags.
(May 13, 2012): I went to buy groceries and managed to carry all of this in the saddlebags:
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| Approximately 3 full grocery bags of stuff can fit in the saddlebags |
wheres the video?
ReplyDeleteOh, I was about to make a video but got busy because school started. I'll have one up this summer.
ReplyDeleteOkay, the video is up! I hope you all enjoy it. :)
ReplyDeletethe video is fantastic ,as saddle bag are used to carry lot of things, you can see in the video.
ReplyDelete