After the bag jettison episode on the the way to EOM, I have installed a nice little preventative measure. My underneath latch that the sidebags fit into seem a little worn. The bike is a 2004 and has probably has had the bags go on and off a few thousand times. I checked another Gen 1 the other day and the same place where the tab fits into as the bag gets locked into was worn like mine was.
I have heard of the mod before, but I thought I would give it a go. Off to the local farm store for some locking pin things. 9 dollars later, I have 3. One for each side and one for the tank bag as a spare.
I need to grind a little bevel on the pin. Help it find the hole a little better. (no, that that hole KJ) 3/8 pin is the only one I could find that was the right length. If I could have gone with a smaller diameter, I would have. The hardest part was drilling through the rubber tab where the bag "sits on"
Here is the other side without the bag installed. I now think you could lift the rear of the bike up while grabbing the bags.
If you do this mod, understand that a hit to the bags will likely not result in the bag falling off. Prob wreck you and bend the rear foot peg hangers.
Hard part was the alignment of the bag, the tabs, and the rubber seat. I had to drill them separately because my drill would not fit next to the bag.
Overall, it was about an hour job. Could have been about 15 min, but I had help from my 7 yr old and I measured 4 times before turning him loose with the drill. A bunch of the time was spent explaining to him sizes of drill bits (diameter not length) and why you drill a pilot hole (has nothing to do with airplanes)
