I know summer is fast approaching and you are excited to get out there with your buddies. Some of you might even be planning cross country or inter city tours over one of the following weekends. What comes to your mind when you talk about the long tours? Yes you guessed it right i.e. motorcycle saddlebags. This summer many of you might be buying motorcycle saddlebags for your motorcycle. I must warn you that there are a lot of cheap saddlebags that not only look horrible on your bike but also are of no use.

You can save the frustration and money by simply reading this article and making a better buying decision. The five features a saddlebag must have are as following.

It might sound a lot but lets start with the easiest one i.e. lock ability. By now you must have guessed it right. Having saddlebags that lock gives you a piece of mind. After all, your helmet and jacket need to be safely locked when you go to your neighborhood bar.

The second important feature of saddlebags is mounting hardware. I must say never install saddlebags on a motorcycle without the mounting hardware. Even the cheap throw over bag that come with stings to tie them to shocks and under the seat should never be used without hardware. Mounting hardware should be the responsibility of the seller of the saddlebag. Although it should come with the bags but I think even if the manufacturer charges you for the hardware it is fine. A motorcycle rider should never be left to figure out the semi complicated process of mounting the bags on a bike by companies that claim to be professional saddlebag manufacturers.

Third thing to keep in mind while purchasing a pair of saddlebags is the quick release buckles. It is not very easy to open a large leather bag again and again. Quick release buckle also known as easy locks give you easy access to the inside of the saddlebags.

The fourth most important factor to consider is re enforcement. Some of you might be wondering what that is. Every one who has riding experience of one year and more knows that leather is after all a skin of an animal and it tends to sag over time. However the bags that are reinforced with a metal frame are no subject to such problems.

The last and important factor to remember is to have bags which come off the motorcycle easily. Many of you would agree that you do not want to see the saddlebags on your motorcycle all the time. Having a way to take them off the motorcycle under few minutes would be a feature the saddlebags must provide.

You might have noticed that I did not mention the issues related to leather. The reason for this is that leather and quality of saddlebags is a completely different however equally important issue. Many manufacturers and resellers of saddlebags claim features such as quality leather and come with 30 day money back guarantee as a feature which have nothing to do with the functions or features of the saddle bags. It is strongly suggested to ask a lot of questions before buying saddlebags in order to avoid unpleasant rides afterwards.