Okay, so I decided when I bought my F3 that I was not going to pay the ridiculous price Can Am was asking for their saddlebags. They are very proud of their bags to say the least.
I had a set of Viking bags on the Yamaha Raider I traded in on my F3 and I knew Viking had a universal mount for the unusual ride so I decided to give them a try. The Viking bags came in yesterday. First off, I'd like to say that in hard mounting the Viking bags you will have to do a bit of bag drilling. The bags are made from hard plastic and require the drilling of 3/8" holes for the brackets. When I held the bags up to the F3's mounting points, I found the existing pre-drilled holes in the Viking bags almost fit the F3 perfectly...."Almost". The rear hole was about a 1'4" off. I also found that the bags would not work with the passenger hand rails, which I thought was going to be the case. Lastly, I found that for a really nice tight looking fit, you would have to modify the Viking brackets, grinding them down a bit. All in all, it took me about 1.5 hours to mount the bags.
1. Removed the seats.
2. Removed the hand rails.
3. Positioned the bags and marked the holes for drilling.
4. I used the existing front hole and grommet for the front mounting point and removed the grommet from the last hole which had to be drilled slightly by about 1/4".
5. Once I had the upper mounting holes set, I simply laid the brackets on the bag and marked the lower holes. Due to the bag size and the design of the F3, clearance was not an issue.
6. For a clean look and to avoid the purchase of longer bolts, I removed about 1/4" of material from the upper end of the mounting bracket with a cut off grinder then smoothed it on my shop grinder.
After fabrication, I simply bolted the brackets on the bag then bolted the bags to the F3.
I think they turned out very nicely and I saved around $1,200 over the cost of a set of Can Am bags.
Chris
Chris my wife wants to know what are you doing for the Passenger hand rails??? If someone rides on back they kind of need something to hang on to lol
look good with the f3!! how are they as far as water resistant, and do they have any rain covers?
Had mine in Texas during last months Monsoon, did not have any trouble. If you have not driven in heavy rain with the F3 need to watch hydroplaning on the BEEG WIDE REAR TIRE, just saying, but it is fun playing with if you have enough space....
Have an f3s pur last may & have been trying to get saddle bags ever since. Was told only brp sells them 1200 bucks any info I can get on where I can get a set??? John fargo nd
they look great. After all that I'm sure you will find a solution for the grab handles. If you run out of ideas and suggestions let me know but you have enough to work with... does suit the F3 nicely...
2012 RS sm5 , 998cc V-Twin 106hp DIY brake and park brake Classic Black
Installed the Viking LAM-100L with detachable hardware from www.greatbikegear.com..Saddlebags $249.00 plus shipping and $159.95 for hardware kit. I am very happy with this setup and the quality of the have.
Installed the Viking LAM-100L with detachable hardware from www.greatbikegear.com..Saddlebags $249.00 plus shipping and $159.95 for hardware kit. I am very happy with this setup and the quality of the have.
I have a dumb question, but only because I'm dumb. Are the bags low enough or far enough out of the way so that your passenger can mount easily and also have enough leg room. I warned you that it was a dumb question. Thanks!
Have no idea, this is a solo bike. The only riders I have are 2 of the 3 dogs we travel with. I have made a detachable rack for a pet carrier that will sit over the passenger seat. Have also removed the passenger pegs. My wife has her own F3 and she carries the other dog. With that all said it would nice to know in case of an emergency. I will check and post back tomorrow.
Fence post, Thanks for the pics..as well as having your wife sit on it to see if she had problems getting on the seat... which quick disconnect hardware package did you purchase cause there isn't a specific one for Canam F3's? ??
Fence post, Thanks for the pics..as well as having your wife sit on it to see if she had problems getting on the seat... which quick disconnect hardware package did you purchase cause there isn't a specific one for Canam F3's? ??
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Lol...nevermind Fence post found the right hardware kit 😆
Installed the Viking LAM-100L with detachable hardware from www.greatbikegear.com..Saddlebags $249.00 plus shipping and $159.95 for hardware kit. I am very happy with this setup and the quality of the have.
Fencepost, I note you were able to mount the bags with the passenger handles still on the bike. Two questions, 1) can you open the bags without the handles hampering the bag and 2) Did you have to get longer bolts to mount the bags with the handles on the bike.
Fencepost, I note you were able to mount the bags with the passenger handles still on the bike. Two questions, 1) can you open the bags without the handles hampering the bag and 2) Did you have to get longer bolts to mount the bags with the handles on the bike.
Thanks, Chris
Chris, the hardware kit is specific to the F3 and the bags open outwards so the passenger handles won't get in the way ...
The detachable saddlebag kit is specific to the F3. The only minor issue is using the key to remove the saddlebags as the key slot is under the grab rail and clearance is tight. The saddlebags are mounted to the side plate as low as possible given the flat surface available on the saddlebags. All in all I am very happy with the bags.