JGray

Needed a way to get more storage on the bike, so I roughed out a design to go along with the saddlebags I had already made and set to work. Had to take my best guess as to how to construct something that would fit over the seat like that. Some of the execution could have been better - either because of slight changes made to the design during the process of making it, or because I made slight miscalculations in accounting for the thickness of the leather - but overall came out pretty well and seems to be working as expected. Straps securing it to bike have quick-release buckles out of sight beneath the yoke of the saddlebags. The cross-straps (that you can't see the top of in the pic) have more of the gunmetal black rivets used in the same pattern as seen on the saddlebag straps.

Thank you Tugadude and DrmCa! I'm sure there was much swearing/pleading as I worked my way around those curved lines with the end of a round knife. I wanted to put a little spin on the strap & front flap shapes, so in a rough sketch I tried giving everything cuts at the same angle. It looked promising enough on paper, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

Thank you Rohn and Monica! To be honest, I'm not that thrilled with the buckles myself. I had it in my head this was just a test of a pattern I'd made, and they were what I had 3 of (don't remember what I had bought them for originally) so I just went with it. Next time I make one, I'll incorporate the little changes I want to make and make sure I have some different hardware on hand.

Thank you! The deal on the divider pocket is just a little 'pocket' for pens, laser pointers (anything with a clip that will fit, really). I left it open at the bottom and short enough to leave about an inch of pen exposed, to make it easier to push up if need be (and also so nothing falls in there and gets stuck).

There are a few tweaks I want to make to the pattern, but it came out fairly close to how I imagined it. The smaller rear internal section is sized for a laptop, the front external pocket is sized for an iPad or other tablet. Removable/adjustable strap. Made out of 6-7oz veg-tan with roughly 5oz gussets. Figured I would test out a couple of the eco-flow waterstains from Tandy while I was at it.

Very nice work! I'm impressed with how clean those beveled lines are.

Thanks Bill! They are hard to see in the picture (they are on the far side in the pics) but I do have some metal eyelets in the 'connector' strap just barely above where they meet the bag. We put 'em facing forward when they went on the bike (a Honda Shadow). I made some tie downs with some latigo lace I didn't include in the picture, but they aren't being used yet. Then again, the bike's owner never had the old mass-produced soft bags tied down, so maybe it wasn't too big of an issue for them for some reason. You've got me thinking it wouldn't be a bad idea to include a few more tie-down points for more flexibility in mounting for future design attempts though! If I had anything other than a GSX-R 600, I'd think about making myself some too. Might have to add a cruiser to the garage for an excuse to make more leather stuff. Yeah, sounds like you are basically across the state - a bit of a haul!

Thank you Monica! I appreciate that a lot, on both counts (I'm even newer to photography than I am to leatherwork)! Took a look at your site & etsy page - beautiful work, for sure.

Hi all - I started getting into leatherwork a year or two ago. Started buying tools here and there and trying my hand at a couple of projects. This forum looked like a great resource for learning more, so I figured I would sign in and look around. Some amazing stuff here! I'm originally from British Columbia, Canada, but am currently living in Maple Grove, Minnesota (Minneapolis area) - would eventually like to meet up with some local leatherworkers to see what we can learn from each other, if folks are willing. After a holster and a knife sheath as first projects (which of course were pretty rough), I made a laptop/messenger bag that turned out fairly well, and then decided to take a stab at some custom saddlebags for a cruiser. The black was drum-dyed veg tan, the orange was my first go with Angelus leather dye on veg tan (messed around with eco-flow, have mostly used fiebing's), and the rivets and buckles are 'gunmetal black'.