I bought the Edge Bracket saddlebag mounting system because I wanted to be able to easily switch between bags on (commuting) and bags off (free riding) modes.
The installation was straight-forward. I was able to do it alone, although it would certainly be faster if you had another set of hands to hold the bags on the bike to determine where you want them. To do it alone, I enlisted the help of a good roll of duct tape. The only bag that you need to fit is the right/brake side bag. Once that's done, you can just put the two bags back-to-back and use the first as a template for the second (for drilling the bags).
The second finicky part was shimming the fender bolts so that the brackets would slide onto them easily. The kit includes washers so that you can add as many as is necessary to get the brackets to slide on and off of the bolts easily.
My biggest warning about the system is that there are two different kits, depending on whether or not you have a passenger backrest installed. I don't have one and don't plan on installing one, so I got the "basic" kit, but I could see this being an issue for people who don't have a backrest but would like to keep that as an option down the road. Presumably the kit for bikes with backrests would also work on bikes without backrests, but I'm not sure.
For those wondering if the large bracket works with the saddlemen bags with shock cutout, I can say that yes, they do fit well enough (see photos, below), but that there is a bit of overlap with the rear seam and the brackets are not sitting flush with the back of the bags along their entire length. Will this be an issue? Probably. I just don't know how soon it will manifest. The shock cutout does allow easy access to the adjusters on the shocks without requiring you to remove the bags.
The bags are "Saddlemen Drifter Teardrop Saddlebags with Shock Cutaway" universal saddlebags. I like them because of their shape/style, quick-open buckle, top carry handles and the shock cutout. I think the styling complements the 1700's lines. I can't comment on durability, yet. The bags also come with their own mounting hardware as well as a yoke so you have a couple of other options for mounting them to the bike if you decide not to get a quick-release bracket system.
My ratings of the Easy Bracket system are as follows:
-Ease of Installation: 4/5
-Appearance: 4/5
-Quality: 4.5/5
-Price: 5/5
-Durability: N/A (still waiting for the snow to melt)
-Would I Buy Them Again? Yes
I've attached some photos showing the brackets installed on the bags, the replacement fender bolts installed on the bike, and the bags installed (a few angles).
Above is a photo showing the appearance of the back end of the bike with the bags removed. All that remains is the longer-than-stock fender bolts, giving a nice, fairly clean look to the bike. The bags go on in 10 seconds and come off in about the same.
The photo, above, gives a bit better view of the fender bolts. You can see that they are longer than the stock bolts, to allow the brackets to lock on.
The Edge brackets are bolted directly to the saddlebags. The process is straight-forward, but a bit tedious.
These saddlebags have a cutout to allow them to clear the shocks on bikes with exposed rear shocks. They allow enough space to get hands in and adjust the preload and rebound damping settings without having to first remove the bags. Of course, with the Edge brackets, removing the bags in order to adjust the shocks actually wouldn't be a chore, anyway, but it's nice to not have to do that at all (especially if the bags are loaded).
This shot gives you an idea of how the brackets look from the top, and how far the bags stick out to the sides. You can also see the locks, at the rear of the two brackets.
I'm very happy with the Edge bracket system as far as installation and apparent quality go. Time and miles will tell how well they hold up and how much noise they make.
