My son and I went for a trip yesterday up to scenic Moosehead Lake in Maine. In my excitement of packing and re-packing (I always find something I *need* after everything is stowed), I neglected to double check to see if the saddlebags were securely fastened to the bike. Somewhere on Rt. 2, my son began frantically tapping me on the shoulder. I pulled over (thinking he might need to use the bushes or something), and learned that I had jettisoned the right side bag over the last bump I had hit. It fell off the bike and skidded into a drainage ditch. As you can imagine, the case is pretty well scratched up (locally we would say that "it's all stove up").
I think what happened was that when I re-closed the case the last time, the locking tab did not engage the handle the way it is supposed to. Taking a quick look at it, the handle looked like it was in the down position, but it wasn't locked there. After a series of bumps, it must have opened up enough to where a good bump dislodged it from the bike. SO.... note to self (and anyone else that wants to avoid this costly humiliation :angry2: ), give a good yank on the handles of the saddlbags as one of you last "pre-flight" checklist items.
Now, time to start prowling eBay for a right-side 2004 saddlebag (unless someone on this board has one). Has anyone had any success re-finishing really scraped up plastic bike parts? Is it worth it compared to buying a replacement?
I think what happened was that when I re-closed the case the last time, the locking tab did not engage the handle the way it is supposed to. Taking a quick look at it, the handle looked like it was in the down position, but it wasn't locked there. After a series of bumps, it must have opened up enough to where a good bump dislodged it from the bike. SO.... note to self (and anyone else that wants to avoid this costly humiliation :angry2: ), give a good yank on the handles of the saddlbags as one of you last "pre-flight" checklist items.
Now, time to start prowling eBay for a right-side 2004 saddlebag (unless someone on this board has one). Has anyone had any success re-finishing really scraped up plastic bike parts? Is it worth it compared to buying a replacement?
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