Lost a sidebag and its not what you think

[meosborn]

So, everybody is talking about installing these pins again but weren't they installed when his bag fell off? Did I read the OP incorrectly? What (other than the possible slipped gear) failed? If the pin was installed how did the bag come up enough to allow the bag to come loose?

 

[Fred W]

No. Cota helped him to install them after it fell off.

Never heard of a bag falling off after getting the hitch pin treatrment.

 

[RadioHowie]

So, everybody is talking about installing these pins again but weren't they installed when his bag fell off? Did I read the OP incorrectly? What (other than the possible slipped gear) failed? If the pin was installed how did the bag come up enough to allow the bag to come loose?

The Original Post (edited for brevity). Original post date 11/29, Sunday:

Saturday night as I was on my way to Mr and Mrs. COTA's house for a scrumptious dinner I hit a pretty serious hole in the road and next thing I heard was a loud scraping/bouncing-down-the-road noise.

COTA , who lives in RI, was gracious enough to hook me up with a set of hitch pins which I installed in his driveway this morning and I then proceeded to put another 200 miles on the bike going to Cape Cod and then back to Long Island without a problem.

Pin installed the morning after the bag's attempt to go AWOL.

 

[SkooterG]

Sheesh! It's a conspiracy! They need to come up with a medical term for 'FJR Sidebag Paranoia'.

No offense folks, but still definitely 'anti-pin' in this corner.

 

[beemerdons]

Sheesh! It's a conspiracy! They need to come up with a medical term for 'FJR Sidebag Paranoia'.
No offense folks, but still definitely 'anti-pin' in this corner.

Thanks, Skooty! You saved yourself a frantic phone call from your illegitimate bastard Father: Me! Was going to call you in a panic, to see if I needed to be installing these pins on Miss Lucy Liu. With that wild ride we took to Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico five years ago: I figured if our Gen 1 bags were ever going to fly off, it would be on MEX NUMERO UNO!

 

[TheAxeman]

Sheesh! It's a conspiracy! They need to come up with a medical term for 'FJR Sidebag Paranoia'.
No offense folks, but still definitely 'anti-pin' in this corner.

I'm not looking to start a sidebag panic, I was just simply outlining the facts. The bag was locked, secured and stowed properly, and had been on the bike for hundreds of miles prior to the unscheduled jettison. Why it flew off is still a mystery to me. For me, the positives of installing the pins far outweigh the negatives. As stated earlier, I'm not so much concerned about the bag or the shit in it as I am of the bag literally killing an innocent the next time it ejects...To pin or not to pin, that is the question. In the future, I won't just pin them, but I will also run a stout cable tie through the handle and around the rack since I don't remove them anyway. The peace of mind to me is worth it.

 

[RadioHowie]

Sheesh! It's a conspiracy! They need to come up with a medical term for 'FJR Sidebag Paranoia'.
No offense folks, but still definitely 'anti-pin' in this corner.

Hasn't anyone noticed.....

There's NEVER been a Sidebag Jetsam Update filed on a Darksider Feej?

It IS a conspiracy!!!

They need to come up with a medical term for 'FJR Sidebag Paranoia'.

I'm thinking "SJS".

Sidebag Jettison Syndrome.

 

[Bustanut joker]

With all the talk about slipping a tooth in the latch I decided to take a look at my bags..

The right side..

left side..

right side handle.

Left handle sets pretty flush..

I dunno but I think this may be an indication of slipped gear? Either way, a couple bucks is worth the peace of mind and saving of the green from a runaway bag..

I'm in

:jester:

 

[S76]

I put the pins on a long time ago when this was first talked about. For the price and the effort required to do it, it just seemed to make sense to me.

The aggrivation is huge if it happens, so why not buy the insurance policy for $4.

 

[painman]

For all of those who are paranoid and want peace of mind for your bags..... After you click on the site, select "Safety PIns" box, and then select, "Rounded Retainer Snap". McMaster Carr . And I would recommend stainless steel and be careful when you drill the hole through the rubber bumper/support that the hole is far enough down to clear the upper metal support piece the safety pin runs under. Painman. <><

 

[Buckeye]

For all of those who are paranoid and want peace of mind for your bags..... After you click on the site, select "Safety PIns" box, and then select, "Rounded Retainer Snap". McMaster Carr . And I would recommend stainless steel and be careful when you drill the hole through the rubber bumper/support that the hole is far enough down to clear the upper metal support piece the safety pin runs under. Painman. <><

________________________

This is a common piece of hardware available at Loew's, Menards, Home Depot, TSC, Farm&Fleet, Farm King, etc. The standard plating hasn't rusted on mine for three years.

Think about the vertical shock the bag mounts take every time you cross a swell crack. I knew this locking system was not as positive as the R1100RT and my buddy told me the bags "flopped" when he was following me to West Bend. I did the pin mod before Sipapu and it is a positive fix.

I drilled the holes snug and used silicon spray to make the pins slip through easily. When the bags are off the pins stay in the holes to keep from getting lost. I always give the bags a good bump front and back with my hand when I mount them to be sure they are properly seated.

 

[Fingerflicker]

The pins are a great. I had the bike up to 130 and no worries about the bags. Make sure you drill low enough to go under the metal loop inside the rubber pad just like the earlier posts mentioned.

 

[harfooz]

I put the pins on tonight, 1/4" x 2 hitch pins with a 1/4" hole drilled. Is there a trick to getting the hole drilled square with the face of the bracket? My drill bumped up against the case, and so it's a little off-square. I'm sure I'll be the only one who notices, but if there is a way to drill it squarely, I'd like to learn it. I thought an extension my be the trick, but when I sight down where the extension would go, it looks like it'll bump into the case too.

'fooz

 

[harfooz]

I put the pins on tonight, 1/4" x 2 hitch pins with a 1/4" hole drilled. Is there a trick to getting the hole drilled square with the face of the bracket? My drill bumped up against the case, and so it's a little off-square. I'm sure I'll be the only one who notices, but if there is a way to drill it squarely, I'd like to learn it. I thought an extension my be the trick, but when I sight down where the extension would go, it looks like it'll bump into the case too.
'fooz

Found my answer in another related thread: drill from the inside of the wheel well area when the wheel is off the bike.

Makes sense now. Mystery solved. I can sleep now.

'fooz

 

[dustyrains]

How could the bag simply fly off the bike with the bag latched? Anybody want to speculate?

Check the amount of engagement of the moveable tongue at the rear of the bag -- does it travel sufficiently far into the frame to secure the bag?

The inner mechanism (worked by the handle) has been known to slip a tooth or two...

Yah, my right bag has that condition, where the inner mechanism has slipped a tooth. I put the pins in mine for that reason. Anyone know how to get the toothed gear back to it's proper position? I've thought about forcing it, but would rather disassemble it. Getting to the mechanism looks a little daunting, however. Anyone? Anyone?

 

[madmike2]

This is a good time to remind everyone, as partof your Winter Checklist, to double check the retaining screws on the losk set.

I KNOW mine were installed with locktite (60K+ miles 5 years ago), but after returning from L.A. over Thanksgiving, the left lock felt "loose".

When I double checked, sure enough, one of the screw had backed out. When replacing, I pulled the others to make certain and reapplied thread locker to all of them.

YMMV.

 

[harfooz]

The pins are a great. I had the bike up to 130 and no worries about the bags. Make sure you drill low enough to go under the metal loop inside the rubber pad just like the earlier posts mentioned.

Can you get a quick picture of this loop situation? I'm not seeing it on mine -- could it be a Gen I vs. II thing?

Here's a photo of what things look like on my '05:

The black piece does look a little different than photos I've found elsewhere on this site . Maybe the earlier generations had the saddlebag lower tab as some optional piece??

'fooz

 

[Geezer]

Can you get a quick picture of this loop situation? I'm not seeing it on mine -- could it be a Gen I vs. II thing?

It is a Gen 1 vs Gen 2 thing.

 

[jpcfjr]

Just did this mod. Literally took all of 20 minutes. I ordered the 18-8 Stainless Steel Locking Pin Round Retainer W/O Tab Lock, 1/4" Dia, 1-3/4" usable length and 2 5/16" overall length from McMaster Carr. I went with the 1 3/4 inch USABLE lengh version. The next smaller would not have worked as they only had 1 3/8" usable lenth...too short. As far as drilling goes, take the case OFF the bike after you mark where to drill. That way you can drill from the back squarely. Once the case tabs are drilled, put the case back on the bike and using the pin, make a mark on the rubber piece so you know where to drill. Take the case back off and drill the rubber. As mentioned earlier, be careful when drilling the case to make sure your hole will line up UNDER the metal of the support which holds the rubber piece. I actually had to take a fraction of a millimeter off the metal in order to get my pins to go through. This I think is good because the pin is super tight against the metal and those cases are going nowhere.

BTW, I used to order from McMaster Carr back in the 80's when I was a manufacturing engineer. Back then we spent a lot of time in cataloges and on the phone with those folks. This time, I ordered off the web on Tuesday night and had my pins by Thursday morning. Wicked fast.

Part number is 98480A011. Cost was $6.16 per.

 

[charismaticmegafauna]

How could the bag simply fly off the bike with the bag latched? Anybody want to speculate?

Check the amount of engagement of the moveable tongue at the rear of the bag -- does it travel sufficiently far into the frame to secure the bag?

The inner mechanism (worked by the handle) has been known to slip a tooth or two...

Yah, my right bag has that condition, where the inner mechanism has slipped a tooth. I put the pins in mine for that reason. Anyone know how to get the toothed gear back to it's proper position? I've thought about forcing it, but would rather disassemble it. Getting to the mechanism looks a little daunting, however. Anyone? Anyone?

I wish I had a better solution -- but, I held the tab (tongue) with a vise-grip and pulled the handle to reverse the slipped cogs. I have almost 60K miles and always ride with bags on. I take them off alot, tho -- I park in a garage with narrow clearance getting in and out (so, the bags are removed and installed almost every ride).

I've never lost a bag (and haven't 'pinned', yet) -- but, I was probably lucky to have noticed the slipped handle/tab mechanism early-on?

I always double-check them, too (when installing).

If you're successful in your attempts to access the locking mechanism, please post directions (pix would be nice, too).