More flying saddlebags

[B.D.F.]

We recently had a COG event in RI with 75 people in attendance. The great majority of bikes there were Concours of course, with a lot of those being C-14s. What I did want to pass along was that one couple from a couple of states over went for a ride while attending the event and returned with one saddlebag. Yep, apparently another one bailed out mid- flight. I do not know much about what happened but the bike is an '09, the bags were empty, and the right bag is the one that came off. The owner did not realize it was gone until returning to the hotel and left on a search for said bag- and found it under a guard rail if I understand correctly (got the story 2nd or 3rd hand and much later in the day). The bag was fully and correctly latched on the bike again after the 'get off' so nothing was broken to release the bag in the first place.

I am not one to get too overly excited about things like this, and have not even pinned the bags on my bike yet (an '08) but I would also not throw stones at anyone who did make some effort to better retain a saddlebag(s)- pinning the bags, adding that stainless steel retaining rod or even applying a large tie- wrap are all effective solutions apparently.

I just wanted to pass along in the info.

BTW- the recovered bag was still fully functional and intact but did have <of course> several patches of road rash all over it. The owner was a great sport about it and took it fantastically well; he found some large band- aids and covered the scars with them. Really quite amusing in person :-)

Brian

[Pokey]

I find that the cases are more secure with a bit of weight in them, no issues as of yet with mine.

[lt1]

As one of the admittedly few who have had a properly attached saddlebag come off, I would respectfully submit that spending a few minutes and few dollars to pin the bags is a good thing.  I, too, lost (and recovered) the saddlebag after the issue and the fix were originally published.

[ugocon]

Valerio posted a solution for that.
Perhaps it can be easily replicated.
Sicurezza borse attiva in caso di caduta in movimento.GTR 1400 Kawasaki ( C14)

This is the link to the thread
http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=7252.15

[Gsun]

OK, but what if you bags are full? I just pinned mine the other day. Took all of 10 minutes and 4 bucks for the pins.

[texrider]

This gave me some peace of mind about the cases...

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=6903.msg81954#msg81954

[Canada44]

I took Fred H advice and did the following on my bags, I went on a 4000 mile ride last summer with no bag issues. It was easy to do with no drilling any holes. Bags have a tighter grip now. I hardly ever ride with the bags.

cheers
Paul

see website.
http://www.pbase.com/fredharmon/baglatchfix

[Kawi Ken]

Thanks for sharing ! 
Pinned mine this morning for peace of mind.
Simple enough,Home Depot had some 1/4 x 2 pins for $7 for the pair. Might paint'em flat black to blend'em in.
Saw the band aids on there at Twisted Throttle and found them amusing.Glad they were able to find the bag.
Great meeting you also Brian.

[stevewfl]

KiPass offers the only protection mine will ever have.  Going 2-up from Tampa to Charleston SC Saturday for a seafood lunch with mom, hope they stay on =)

[B.D.F.]

Nice meeting you as well.

I should probably pin mine too- I rarely take them off the bike anyway and while there isn't much of a chance of the bags departing the bike unexpectedly, it does happen on occasion and pinning them should eliminate any chance of that happening.

A couple of photos of said saddlebag courtesy of Pat Malloy (of the 'Habelloys').




Brian

Thanks for sharing ! 
Pinned mine this morning for peace of mind.
Simple enough,Home Depot had some 1/4 x 2 pins for $7 for the pair. Might paint'em flat black to blend'em in.
Saw the band aids on there at Twisted Throttle and found them amusing.Glad they were able to find the bag.
Great meeting you also Brian.

[VirginiaJim]

Yet another alternative...

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=473.0

[Rhino]

Yet another alternative...

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=473.0

That's what I have. Very simple and are very effective.

[556ALPHA]

Because I rarely take mine off I use zip ties.  They are simple and effective.  On trips I just cut the ties and use new ones if I take them into the hotel. 

[lather]

I was the first to drill and pin and post about it on this forum, way back in 08 although my original pins were just large cotter pins. Someone else here improved on my plan with the detent pins. On my recent long trip I lost one of the 3/16" pins. Seems that after 50+ thousand miles the hole has gotten wallered out. I had a spare and used it but it was also lost the next day. I guess I will have to try a 1/4" pin.

I also use zsteve's handle latch gizmo

[ZG]

Yet another alternative...

http://www.zggtr.org/index.php?topic=473.0

That's what I use, works great! 

[maxtog]

[bag retainer bars] That's what I use, works great! 

I use them also.  They do work, although they will put a mark on the grab bars because the outer plastic coating wears off very quickly.

[ZG]

I use them also.  They do work, although they will put a mark on the grab bars because the outer plastic coating wears off very quickly.

 
 
This is true if you have the silver grab bars, I switched over to the 2012 black grab bars and now it's not a problem because under the black is black. But true on the silver bars, it wore off two dots of the silver finish showing the black underneath about the size of a small pencil eraser...

[maxtog]

This is true [...] it wore off two dots of the silver finish showing the black underneath about the size of a small pencil eraser...

I tried to wrap the metal retaining clip things in electric tape.  All that did was make a smear of "digested" electric tape on the grab bars.  Oh well.

[twowheeladdict]

I will only remove my bags for maintenance so I guess I will find a hidden place to add a zip tie.  Better safe than sorry.

All of my bikes have bags with exception of the 250cc dual sport, but I do have throw over saddlebags.

[Pokey]

I tried to wrap the metal retaining clip things in electric tape.  All that did was make a smear of "digested" electric tape on the grab bars.  Oh well.

Mine is gonna get bedliner sprayed on, I doubt any is gonna wear off.