Maxim 700 Bagger!

So I've poked around a bit and came across a few threads on this topic and thought I'd start one as I'm leaning towards bagging my 700. It is my main ride and be it riding to work or the longer trips, I'd like the convenience of semi-permanent luggage and the break from the pounding wind... especially through the winter as I try to ride all year.

Goal: Batwing faring and hard bags with the LEAST amount of permanent (or perhaps none at all) modification. Exhaust swap and bracket wizardry/relocation of turn signals would be ok, but I'd like to be able to put her back the way she was intended if need be.

There's tons of windshields/batwing farings out there so I'm not troubled by that. No brainer here, however the bags present more of a challenge.

In the "thinking/planning only" phase, I came across a small set of hard bags on Amazon, For the price, they seem to have fair reviews.

Here they are:
https://www.amazon.com/Saddle-Saddl...ds=hard+motorcycle+bags&qid=1583457990&sr=8-2

Here are the pics for future thread readers once the bags inevitably disappear from Amazon:


Based on the specs given in the Ad, I built a crude model out of foam core to see what I was dealing with. Here it is on the bike...
Don't laugh... OK, you can laugh...
This is what I spend time thinking about (and doing) when more important things need tending to.


If the general placement on the bike is correct, below you can see the problem with the exhaust.


The 700's exhaust kicks up a bit too high. It would be blowing directly on the bags. Which got me thinking about my Seca 650... That's one tasty exhaust (Not that she's a donor!) that might do the trick. She's sleeping under that cover in the below pic... shhhhh... don't wake her!

It has a downward bend after the collector and extends much farther past the center of the rear wheel.


PhotoShop to the rescue! I did my best to maintain the angle out of the collector and used the Seca rim edge to create some sort of uniformity between the two bike pictures.


Granted things are not exactly to scale when you start slapping pieces of different pictures together, but it does beg the general questions to my fellow XJers.

Fitment aside (bags, lengths, bends, bracketry, etc.), would a 650 pipe work on the 700? Difference in pipe diameter size? Correct necessary back pressure?

What exactly is inside one of these exhaust pipes anyway? Anyone got a cut away view?

I like the idea of staying with an XJ part rather than an aftermarket piece... However any and all ideas are extremely welcome...

Thoughts?

 

Great mock-up! I don’t think the info you request is readily a available unless Dave has it. Good idea though, you may need to spend some of your free time pulling the exhaust off each and seeing what works. Finding a set of 650 Seca mufflers might be a challenge too.

 

I think your mock up panniers look good. Be good to make them out of Aluminium.

 

Was thinking that too, however if the pipes are different diameters, I'd need an adapter of some sort.

There's a few singles out there on Ebay right now... though pricey... The "bullet" look of the 650 muffler (rather than the "bell" of the 700) just looks so much better beneath a hard bag.

If only I had the necessary skill set!.. and tools for that matter. That's a good idea too.

 

Nuch here is a video for you to watch. See this man's Hayabusa and his twin engined Triumph and his petrol tank made out of Aluminium. If you have oxy acetylene you can practice on Aluminium strip. I have seen people modify military ammunition boxes to make panniers too. I suppose it depends on what sort of finish etc you are looking for and how they would fit onto your bike.

 

If it is no problem to make an adapter between your collector and a new muffler, you could also consider to create a adapter with a downward bend between your collector and the factory mufflers.
This would position them more down and aft.
Only other work would be a bracket between the footrest and the muffler for support.

 

I am wondering if you can fabricate a turn down pipe extension to the existing mufflers. Wouldn't have to turn down much to deflect the exhaust down and away from your bags.

 

When I get out there again, I'll pop the seca pipe off to see is how good it is as a potential solution. Thank You! Update to follow.

 

You just jinxed it, whenever I say I’ll just pop it off it ends up being an endeavor.