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|  | Topic : Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! |  |
| | | thanks4thefish42 | | Set |  |  | | Reg. Date | : | 11/11/2010 | | Posts | : | 269 | | Location | : | High Springs, FL, United States |
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| | Posted : 22 Jan 2011 - 13:24 Post title : Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! | | | Have to give a huge thumbs up to my local dealer Streits in Gainesville, FL. I was in the shop and mentioned my bags were saggy. He called somewhere and then told me to send them in. I just got my new bags and they do look like the old but have glue between the plastic strip and the leather on the top. The new saddle bags do look a lot better. Thanks Triumph in case you read forums. A friend wants to buy them so I will be looking for hard bags to replace these. So far this is my first Triumph and my visits to my local dealer and the Atlantic motorcycle in South Florida have been great. It was a big unknown to me taking a chance on the Triumph over the HD. It was a real close between the Road Glide and the Thunderbird as to me both are similar bikes in concept with the HD having better fairing (as opposed to a windshield on the bird) and hard bags and top case on the HD. I'm leaning toward the Hardstreet Slims. The HD would have come with nice big bags. To me the bikes are similar. Both have 6 speeds, fuel injection, 50 mpg on the road, low seat heights, 6 gallon fuel tanks, belt drives. Hard bags and fairing were not worth owning a v twin over this beautiful T16 engine that just seems to speak to me!
Ride safe and ride often,
Capt T Bird
| Other rides
Kawasaki Vulcan 900 LT
Suzuki Boulevard S50
BMW R90/6-Luftmeister fairing
Calling upon my years of experience, I froze at the controls. ~Stirling Moss
| | Post edited by thanks4thefish42 on 22 Jan 2011 - 15:08 |
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| | | FTL40 | | Jupiter | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 13/10/2009 | | Posts | : | 1,122 | | Location | : | massachusetts, United States |
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| | Posted : 22 Jan 2011 - 20:59 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: thanks4thefish42) | | | great to hear the stand by this stuff
| 2010 tbird 1700 silver (fastest color) BC exhaust, BC airbox removal
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| | | bandit21 | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 27/01/2011 | | Posts | : | 15 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 30 Jan 2011 - 12:15 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: thanks4thefish42) | | | Good news about Triumph standing behind their stuff. I'm about to go through the same thing with Gulf Coast Motorcycles. I've had My T-bird 1700 for two weeks and the top stiffener has already come away from the bag exterior, so the top of the bag has a concave area or sag. My dealer seems happy to put in a warranty claim for replacement. I hope I have the same outcome as you. 
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| | | curtis41 | | Set | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 28/08/2010 | | Posts | : | 191 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 30 Jan 2011 - 12:58 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: bandit21) | | | Speaks well of Streits as well in Gainesville, FL. I remember buying a used Cushman Pacemaker from Streits for $50, obviously a LONG time ago. Ran great and long. Good to hear they are still providing the excellent service they have been doing for a long, long time, and the writer for his impeccable choice of a great Brit bike. 
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| | | thanks4thefish42 | | Set | | | | Reg. Date | : | 11/11/2010 | | Posts | : | 269 | | Location | : | High Springs, FL, United States |
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| | Posted : 30 Jan 2011 - 21:49 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: curtis41) | | | I sold my new bags to a friend but I noticed that the new ones are going to sag as well so I took them back and put them back on. I may go the stitching route at a saddle maker as I can see it will fix it. I know there are a few in North Florida and I'm looking now in South Florida where I'm working this winter.... My wife has Suzuki bags with 3 rows of stitches between the plastic and the top leather. The stitches are inboard middle and outter and the bags hold their shape well....It's hard to get any glue to stick between the porous leather and the smooth plastic-it needs to be mechanical.
Yes this Thunderbird is one very impressively built machine-reminds me of the best of German Marine Engines-MTU......
This was a big factor in my decision-The whole article is here:Link
There are two machine shops at Factory 2, where castings of crankcases, camshafts and cylinder heads are machined with precision and crankshafts are manufactured. Parts pass through the CNC machines in cycles of up to eight minutes, creating machine features such as valve bores and seats, to tolerances as tight as 12 microns (12 thousandths of a millimeter). Crankshafts come in as raw forgings and are put through a six-hour stress relief process, which prevents distortion during hard engine running. Oil holes are drilled, gears are cut, webs are shaved and holes of different depths are drilled for balancing. Cranks are strengthened via plasma nitriding and tested for hardness before being polished and having gears pressed or bolted on. All parts are rigorously inspected via computer controlled machines before entering the materials warehouse prior to assembly.
I also see that the front fork corrosion issue has been taken care of with chrome fork covers-sweet.
I have been pestering Striets for a few decades and they have always taken the time to answer my dumb questions about new bikes. I feel they are honest to deal with and are very very happy to be Triumph dealers. The choice was easy once I took a test ride-My first Brit bike and the way it's built and how much I like riding it, might be my last. I will post back when I get the bags stitched....
Capt T Bird
| Other rides
Kawasaki Vulcan 900 LT
Suzuki Boulevard S50
BMW R90/6-Luftmeister fairing
Calling upon my years of experience, I froze at the controls. ~Stirling Moss
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| | | stripygitface | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 31/08/2010 | | Posts | : | 132 | | Location | : | Rochester, Kent, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 31 Jan 2011 - 08:52 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: thanks4thefish42) | | |
thanks4thefish42 wrote:
Have to give a huge thumbs up to my local dealer Streits in Gainesville, FL. I was in the shop and mentioned my bags were saggy. He called somewhere and then told me to send them in. I just got my new bags and they do look like the old but have glue between the plastic strip and the leather on the top. The new saddle bags do look a lot better. Thanks Triumph in case you read forums. A friend wants to buy them so I will be looking for hard bags to replace these. So far this is my first Triumph and my visits to my local dealer and the Atlantic motorcycle in South Florida have been great. It was a big unknown to me taking a chance on the Triumph over the HD. It was a real close between the Road Glide and the Thunderbird as to me both are similar bikes in concept with the HD having better fairing (as opposed to a windshield on the bird) and hard bags and top case on the HD. I'm leaning toward the Hardstreet Slims. The HD would have come with nice big bags. To me the bikes are similar. Both have 6 speeds, fuel injection, 50 mpg on the road, low seat heights, 6 gallon fuel tanks, belt drives. Hard bags and fairing were not worth owning a v twin over this beautiful T16 engine that just seems to speak to me!
Ride safe and ride often,
Capt T Bird
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Well I'm glad you had more luck than I have.
My Righthand Saddle Bag had developed a sag in the top of it, and I had also noticed that the buckles and press studs had badly tarnished.
Having followed this thread I thought that Triumph had been good enough to acknowledge that perhaps they had a problem with the design of the bags, so I called into my dealer to get them to take a look. OnFriday last week they contacted Triumph to find out about a Warranty Claim.
The answer:
As the leather softens with use, so you can expect it to sag, it is NOT covered, and try using paint polish on the buckles.
I don't know how badly your bags had sagged, but mine have a significant dip in the top, not helped by the fact the rigid plastic insert in the lid had come out from behind the stiched seam, and was offering no support at all.
All in all, what with problems such as water leak, alarm incorrectly fitted, and handle bar cable clips missing from new, I think Triumph are actually putting on a pretty poor show, and their quality control is appalling.
These problems have occured since buying the bike new on September 2010, it still has less than 500 miles on the clock, and NEVER yet been out in the rain, so god only knows what sort of condition other peoples bags are in if they are used regularly in all weathers.
I am going to write to Triumph about this and see what they have to say, worstcase I shall ask them to supply a goldfish to live in the pool in the lid of my saddlebag, which will occur whenever I go out in the rain.
One unhappy, never to be repeated Triumph customer!!!
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| | | thanks4thefish42 | | Set | | | | Reg. Date | : | 11/11/2010 | | Posts | : | 269 | | Location | : | High Springs, FL, United States |
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| | Posted : 31 Jan 2011 - 12:00 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: stripygitface) | | | Bad to hear that your getting such bad service. With a new bike all of us are taking a chance on a new unprooven design. Usually the Pioneers are the ones with arrows in their backsides.
The plastic can be softened with careful application of hot air from a hair dryer-don't over do it. Then when the plastic is soft pop it back in and then stuff the bags full of bath towels and stuff. They will go back and stay in shape for a while.
This bag is a disaster in design and I think Triumph should just issue a totally new bag to ALL SE owners. If stuff like this keeps popping up then it can't help a company try to reestablish itself in a tight market. I would write and remind them that thousands of people watch these forums. Potential buyers read this and worry about buying a new Thunderbird. I know I did.
As for quality control, I can say my bike is awesome. Prior to purchase I pulled off all the side plates and explored the bike with a bright flashlight and gave it a surveyI gave it a thorough test run and looked for leaks prior to purchase. -I was impressed enough to buy one... I am a professional marine surveyor and pay attention to how things are built and then fall apart. I wonder if the missing part was left off on assembly by the dealer? It would seem that the factory quality control is good in my case. But bad in yours. I hate to hear this.
As for leather bags in general-they suck for keeping things dry in the rain. I use dry bags from camping to store stuff I want to keep dry. I also use a North Face waterproof duffle bag for my clothes in a trip. The SE is billed as a "light tourer" I guess the bags are designed for looks. The design is flawed and ALL should be replaced for the SE.....
Where was the water leak? I found that after a few miles I had to retighten a hose clamp about 2 turns. It's best not to use a screwdriver but a socket on the clamp to snug up the clamps. No big deal.
That said, depending on the state you live in, there are many with "LEMON LAWS" where you are entitled to some pretty serious recourse if the dealer can't fix problems on a new car. I'm not sure if they apply to bikes but it's a powerful consumer tool to use. In my case I traded in a Saab for a different model plus a few bucks. You could use this to pressure the dealer to give you a different bike? Keep careful notes on your issues and keep up pressure.
I WANT NEW DESIGNED BAGS THAT DON'T LEAK AND HOLD SHAPE
| Other rides
Kawasaki Vulcan 900 LT
Suzuki Boulevard S50
BMW R90/6-Luftmeister fairing
Calling upon my years of experience, I froze at the controls. ~Stirling Moss
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| | | stripygitface | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 31/08/2010 | | Posts | : | 132 | | Location | : | Rochester, Kent, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 31 Jan 2011 - 12:34 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: thanks4thefish42) | | | All I can do is keep the pressure on.
It is such a shame that essentially a fantastic bike, I also have the SE by the way, is let down by rather basic little niggles.
I know that the Alarm issue was totally the dealers fault, but at the end of the day I bought a Triumph Motorcycle, and as far as i am concerned the quality of service from Triumph themselves, or the dealers are all under Triumph's control, and therefore are reflected upon them as a company. If their dealers are not undergoing the same quality control as at the factory, then something needs to be done, because most customers will only ever deal with the dealer, and if the quality control at this level is not good enough then it will eventually drag the whole brand down.
As for the bags I totally agree, they need a redesign. One of the salesmen at the dealership actually said to me sagging was a known issue on the Harley Softail, and I assume something was done about that, so perhaps Triumph should start looking a little further afield for a solution and issue a recall on all saddle bags!
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| | | mat1600 | | Thunderbird | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 06/03/2010 | | Posts | : | 8,596 | | Location | : | Bridlington, Democratic Independant State of Yorkshire, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 31 Jan 2011 - 12:39 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: stripygitface) | | |
stripygitface wrote:
All I can do is keep the pressure on.
It is such a shame that essentially a fantastic bike, I also have the SE by the way, is let down by rather basic little niggles.
I know that the Alarm issue was totally the dealers fault, but at the end of the day I bought a Triumph Motorcycle, and as far as i am concerned the quality of service from Triumph themselves, or the dealers are all under Triumph's control, and therefore are reflected upon them as a company. If their dealers are not undergoing the same quality control as at the factory, then something needs to be done, because most customers will only ever deal with the dealer, and if the quality control at this level is not good enough then it will eventually drag the whole brand down.
As for the bags I totally agree, they need a redesign. One of the salesmen at the dealership actually said to me sagging was a known issue on the Harley Softail, and I assume something was done about that, so perhaps Triumph should start looking a little further afield for a solution and issue a recall on all saddle bags! |
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If its any consolation, I dont think HD sorted theres out. When I used some on a softail, which was new, it was like trying to pack stuff into a cows fanny.
Just my bit. 
| My first natural instinct is to breathe. My second is to evade tax's.
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| | | stripygitface | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 31/08/2010 | | Posts | : | 132 | | Location | : | Rochester, Kent, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 31 Jan 2011 - 12:46 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: mat1600) | | | I don't even want to think about that, it sounds just wrong!
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| | | BlueNose | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 29/09/2009 | | Posts | : | 2,478 | | Location | : | United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 31 Jan 2011 - 13:20 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: stripygitface) | | |
stripygitface wrote:
All I can do is keep the pressure on.
It is such a shame that essentially a fantastic bike, I also have the SE by the way, is let down by rather basic little niggles.
I know that the Alarm issue was totally the dealers fault, but at the end of the day I bought a Triumph Motorcycle, and as far as i am concerned the quality of service from Triumph themselves, or the dealers are all under Triumph's control, and therefore are reflected upon them as a company. If their dealers are not undergoing the same quality control as at the factory, then something needs to be done, because most customers will only ever deal with the dealer, and if the quality control at this level is not good enough then it will eventually drag the whole brand down.
As for the bags I totally agree, they need a redesign. One of the salesmen at the dealership actually said to me sagging was a known issue on the Harley Softail, and I assume something was done about that, so perhaps Triumph should start looking a little further afield for a solution and issue a recall on all saddle bags! |
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I have found my dealer to be outstanding. Have had a few problems all sorted without any issue (so far). Which dealer did you use? I had the leather bags on my America and they were fine.
I am sure hard bags are the way forward tough.
Keep the pressure on mate.
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| | | stripygitface | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 31/08/2010 | | Posts | : | 132 | | Location | : | Rochester, Kent, United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 31 Jan 2011 - 13:26 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: BlueNose) | | | My Dealer is Laguna Motorcycles, Maidstone.
To be fair to them, following an initial blow up, and my using a sledge hammer to crack a nut about the original issues which should not have been there, the dealer straight away said they would contact Triumph about the bags without any questions.
What I forgot to mention earlier is that I have now also furnished my dealer with printouts of the thread concerninghte saddle bags, and am waiting to see if they get any further joy, since a precedent has been set by replacing some bags allready.
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| | | EnGage | | Thor | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 14/07/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,155 | | Location | : | Grand Rapids, MI, United States |
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| | Posted : 31 Jan 2011 - 13:55 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: stripygitface) | | | stripygitface wrote:
These problems have occured since buying the bike new on September 2010, it still has less than 500 miles on the clock, and NEVER yet been out in the rain, so god only knows what sort of condition other peoples bags are in if they are used regularly in all weathers.
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I've had my Triumph bags since the fall of 2009 and they are fine. I've logged thousands of miles and been through many rainstorms with them. They will "spot" when hit with water, but they are leather and a leather conditioner brings them back.
The plastic on the top of mine has separated as well - it bows in on the outside edge, but the front face of the bag keeps it formed so it doesn't bother me.
I put leather conditioner on the bags frequently when I am using them (I have easy brackets so the bags aren't always on). The number one cause of leather bags loosing their shape is the leather drying out. The outside dries much faster than the inside, which causes the leather to curve and loose its shape.
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| | | BlueNose | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 29/09/2009 | | Posts | : | 2,478 | | Location | : | United Kingdom |
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| | Posted : 31 Jan 2011 - 14:51 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: stripygitface) | | | My biggest fear that as Triumph go down the multibrand franchise model, service will become impersonal and substandard as they are with cars (personal experience with Merc & BMW has been dissappointing to put it mildly). Laguna have a reasonable reputation even though they are multi branded.
Good luck mate!
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| | | bandit21 | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 27/01/2011 | | Posts | : | 15 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 11 Feb 2011 - 06:32 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: thanks4thefish42) | | | Gulf Coast Motorcycles in Ft Myers submitted my claim on the saggin' bags and I received the new bags yesterday. Time will tell if the tops on the new bags separate from the inner stiffener, but right now they look great! I don't know why some dealers submit their customers claims and others blow them off with a line of BS. Glad I did business with Gulf Coast. They have handled everything via e-mail and Fed Ex, since I'm hundreds of miles away in Key West. Can't really ask for better.
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| | | ezrider3 | | Chaac | |  | | Reg. Date | : | 21/01/2010 | | Posts | : | 505 | | Location | : | Maryland, United States |
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| | Posted : 20 Feb 2011 - 23:35 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: bandit21) | | | My bags are saging in the tops also. Today I notice spots on the tops and with a closer look there is some type of clear
coating coming of the leather. Anyone else see this on their bags? 
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| | | EnGage | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 14/07/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,155 | | Location | : | Grand Rapids, MI, United States |
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| | Posted : 22 Feb 2011 - 01:05 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: ezrider3) | | | water drops will spot the leather. Use a leather conditioner to remove them.
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| | | thanks4thefish42 | | Set | | | | Reg. Date | : | 11/11/2010 | | Posts | : | 269 | | Location | : | High Springs, FL, United States |
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| | Posted : 22 Feb 2011 - 01:28 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: EnGage) | | | Well I did the water test and will show the photos-the water beads. But the inside of the lid "looks" like leather suede but so do my Nike Tennis shoes and I know they are "man made " leather. So perhaps my NEW bags are leather-
 
You think Vinyl or Leather?
Capt T Bird
Currently floating at sea!
| Other rides
Kawasaki Vulcan 900 LT
Suzuki Boulevard S50
BMW R90/6-Luftmeister fairing
Calling upon my years of experience, I froze at the controls. ~Stirling Moss
| | Post edited by thanks4thefish42 on 22 Feb 2011 - 10:31 |
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| | | EnGage | | Thor | | | | Reg. Date | : | 14/07/2009 | | Posts | : | 3,155 | | Location | : | Grand Rapids, MI, United States |
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| | Posted : 22 Feb 2011 - 01:52 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: thanks4thefish42) | | | The water will bead if the leather has been conditioned, but it will likely leave water spots if the water sits. With vinyl, I don't think you'll get spots.
Regardless, I think they are leather. My are leather and have the same sheen as yours (based on the pictures). I know companies bend the rules a lot, but Triumph advertises them as "genuine leather". To do that and then sell Vinyl bags is a bit much.
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| | | bandit21 | | Set | | | Reg. Date | : | 27/01/2011 | | Posts | : | 15 | | Location | : | United States |
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| | Posted : 04 Mar 2011 - 09:43 Post title : Re: Thanks Triumph-Bird Bags Replaced on warranty!! (Re: thanks4thefish42) | | | Who did the stitching on your bags? If the tops sag on my replacement bags, I'll probably go the same route.
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