I bought bilt soft saddlebags for my honda shadow 1100. The store forgot to tell me these were for show, not use. Mounted 2 1/4" above tail pipe as instructed. 2 weeks later, open my rt. Side bag to see the bottom all but completely gone. The stitching had come undone, my 2 items I had inside gone. Those items? 1 pair of gloves and a ball cap.
PLEASE DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE I DID.
THESE BAGS ARE GARBAGE!!! These garbage bags were bought at Cycle gear in Springfield Oregon. Do not waste your money on these.

Everything from Bilt is garbage.

/moved to cargo space

Issues with stitching always. Better take a look before taking away from shop

pop rivit the darn thing back together or sew it with wire and that'll hold till the fabric gives way....
.......
Bob.....

heh, heh... most of these private-label brands are crap. Retailer specifies lowst costs possible to maximise profits, so vendors have to build as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Or they get you hooked with high-quality in beginning and slowly lower it so you don't notice. Such as Costco's Kirkland brand. Their vodka used to be made by Grey Goose, very smooth and tasty. At some point, they switched vendors to LaVecke with similar quality (probably cheaper wholesae price). But... they got greedy and started squeezing them for lower prices to make bigger profits. Quality started slipping more and more over the years. Now if you taste-test their Kirkland vodka side-by-side with Grey Goose, you can totally notice difference, whereas before, they were indistinguishable.

Best way to sew up bags to make them tougher is with kevlar fishing-line. Feels and sews just like regular thread, but 10x stronger! Make sure you properly knot each end to prevent unraveling.

What alternatives or modifications would you suggest for reinforcing or repairing Bilt saddlebags to address issues like stitching and overall durability?

saddle bags are a pain.... almost are sewn with cheap thread and the thread breaks all the time re sewing them with waxed cord is a labor intensive job and is probably more trouble than it's worth....but it is an option....I used a punch awl sewing gadget with a bobbin for the thread inside the handle and double stitched my leather saddle bags and it held for decades(just around the bottom)
be sure to oil the leather if you have them off.
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I got away from saddle bags ages ago as the stuff inside would get wet and also stuff would fly out.... not very good for a bike....
boxes are far better...
Bob......