Advan Black Review (Tour Pack, Lower Fairings, Extended Bags)

Are you looking for a tour pack, lower fairings or extended saddlebags for your bike? Are you looking for high quality products comparable to Harley Davidson?

Then look no further than Advan Black (www.advanblack.com)

These are not cheaply made, fragile and thin plastic products or as I call them garbage bag products that you can find all over the internet or at your local motorcycle show. These are thick, well-made and in my opinion they absolutely rival Harley Davidson themselves. Did I mention the come pre-painted with the factory paint of your choice!?!? Did I mention they cost about 1/4 of what Harley Davidson wants!?!?!

Ok, ok where do I start?  I’ll start at the FREE SHIPPING to Canada, the US and Australia. I have made two large orders through them. I’ve ordered a chopped tour pack, lower fairings and extended bags, all of which shipped free with minimal duty levied because Advan Black is honest and awesome with their customs declaration. The products come wrapped in Styrofoam cushioning, Advan black branded plastic bags and arrive in large spacious thick cardboard boxes. I have not had any products damaged during shipping.

The next plus is being able to order in your native currency; Advan Black will allow you to order in CAD, USD, GBP, BRL, AUD and EUR. How awesome is that!

Extended Bags:

The extended bags were flawless, they installed smoothly and were identical quality to the Harley Davidson OEM bags, in fact they were such a match I used my OEM Harley Davidson lids, yes your stock OEM lids work with the Advan Black extended bags.  I had to make a small adjustment to make enough clearance for my pipes; I have 4” RCX pipes.  Advan Black has a tutorial video posted on YouTube (Advan Black Exhaust Spacing Tutorial) that made that adjustment extremely easy and straightforward.  

The next thing I wanted to address because I hear it a lot on the Advan Black Facebook group; do the extended bags scrape? Well, I have not personally scraped my bags but a Brother riding behind me said it was close on a couple of turns.  I truly believe it’s all about riding style, and how aggressive you are. You just need to be cognizant that you are now running extended bags.

If you’re really concerned Advan Black offers high quality stainless steel skid plates that match the underside of the bags perfectly. I installed them as insurance and as a precaution, after my club Brother said I had a close call.You will not be disappointed with the extended bags or the skid plates!

Chopped Tour Pack:

The chopped tour pack paint was flawless, the hinges are sturdy and appear to be high quality (I will be able to confirm this when riding seasons starts in May). The blacked out mounting bracket was also solid.

I went with the larger passenger backrest for a plethora of reasons, look and passenger comfort being the front runners.

The tour pack is spacious and exactly what I was looking for, an affordable part time option that would allow me to ride with a passenger and pack extras for long road trips.

Advan Black has even thought ahead on longevity and stability. They provide a metal insert for the tour pack so that the mounting bracket isn't just secured to the tour pack. a welcomed addition and an excellent idea. They also have a self retracting lanyard on the inside which will hopefully stop the lid from flopping open.

The quick detach points are very tight, and at first they didn't appear to line up or fit properly. That being said, if you back off the screws on the rear posts of your four point dock (the bracket on your bike) then put the tour pack in place, the quick detach hooks will slide into place. Once the tour pack is in place and the quick detach hooks are engaged simply re-tighten the screws on the four point dock rear posts after which the quick detach will work flawlessly. It is a one time adjustment.

Lower Fairings:

There isn't much to say about the lower fairings except the paint was flawless, the fit was perfect and the install was easy.

My only complaint about the Advan Black lower fairings is the inside panel. The materials used and vent system is a little on the "cheaper" side and isn't really consistent with Harley Davidson quality as a matter of fact it's not even consistent with Advan Black quality. I also find the compartment door sometimes sticks, again not really consistent with Harley Davidson or what I have become accustomed to when it comes to the quaility products Advan Black produces. I hope they look to improve this component in the future.

Is it a deal breaker? not a chance the outward appearance is excellent and the "cheaper" feel and quality is still 1000% times better than the "actual cheap" brands you find online. It is also better than paying Harley Davidson 6 times what they are actually worth. The lower fairings are still completely functioning and maybe, just maybe I'm being a tad picky.

I have nothing but love for the amazing customer service Advan Black has provided, I have never brought something to their attention that they haven't been able to immediately fix. They also offer a 6 month, no hassle guarantee. 

On a personal note; and I'm not sure if this is a one off because I have referred them so much business and basically ordered every big ticket item they offer but....... 

I had mini apes installed over the summer by my local Harley Davidson dealer, the mechanic ended up pinching the clutch line during the install, which was unbeknownst to me. I parked my bike in the garage and came out in the morning to find some clutch fluid on my left lower fairing. The fluid had caused some damage and bubbling to the paint on the exterior lower fairing and striped a lot of the black colour from the inside panel. It had also damaged the plastic so repainting wasn't really an option.

I explained my dilemma to Advan Black Customer Service while I was ordering my tour pack and they agreed to send me a replacement lower left fairing at no cost. This replacement is on route and I could not be happier. The customer service at Advan Black is second to none!

I'd also like to give Steven Housden a big shout out, it was because of his videos and recommendations that I even took that "first risk" with Advan Black, and I'm glad I did. I was convinced that I was going to have to purchase all these add-ons through Harley Davidson which would have slowed the upgrade progress of my bike. He helped make my first purchase comfortable, I hope that this review in conjunction with his videos will help you feel comfortable too.

Place the order you won't be disappointed!

Check out Steven Housden's YouTube Channel here (Steven Housden YouTube Channel) for more Advan Black reviews help with installing your new gear!

Tank

Vice President
Roughnecks MC
Toronto Chapter