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[Darkstar]

Recently I almost lost a saddlebag while traveling at 75mph on my new limited. Thankfully the zipped tied wiring harness for the new saddlebag taillights was enough to keep them from flying. Other folks in my group saw what was happening and radio'd me to pull over. After I reattached the bag I checked the left side and found the front one had backed out and was laying on my luggage as well.

Thinking I may have not been diligent when I attached the bags after cleaning, I buttoned everything up and we started down the road. 8 miles down the road same thing happened. Right side nearly off the bike...clearly the problem was not me being lax.

My solution was to take wire ties and form a loop through both bolts so that neither could turn. A second wire tie through the bag, out under the cover and around the crashbars provided insurance for me to continue our trip. After riding baggers for over twenty years mostly with a club of decent mileage guys this was a first for any of us. With only 3000 miles on the bike, I called my dealer and asked if there is something different about the latch system. He offered to order me up new retainers and bolts and have them available when I returned.

Yesterday when I went to the dealership, another rider with was there with a streetglide that had a bag completely fall off. the rider brought in a ruined saddlebag as proof of his incident. The shop manager was instructed by HD to take pictures of the bag and detailed pictures of the pins. The parts manager had a set of pins and retainers on the counter waiting for a third person.  Perhaps there is a problem with a supplier?

In the meantime my wife went to a fabric store and bought small nylon webbing. She made a loop that went through both saddle bag twist bolts and installed small belt clips on the ends. I still have quick detach for cleaning and now I have cheap insurance and piece of mind.

Is anyone else having/had a issue with saddlebags? The "insurance loop" is cheap, easy and might save someone an ass-ache down the road.

[VaEagle]

Not sure if new bikes have the same system as older bags but many on this site use this product with great results.
(Company gives a discount for site members too.)

http://brukus.com/cgi-bin/p/awtp-product.cgi?d=brukus-motorcycle-parts&item=35502

[RGlideKid]

I'd suspect the fitting on the bike side of the attachment, because it's either that or a bad set of pins in the bag.  After securing the pins on that day, did you look down behind the bag where it joins the bike?  There should be no gap at all there where the pin comes thru to join the bike.  If there's a gap, there's a problem.

At the very least, try swapping one pin from the "good" side to the "bad" side and see if that makes a difference.  Or swap both pins.  Try to notice if they feel different as you turn and lock the other pins in place.

Visually compare your pins from left to the right side pins or even to other bikes pins or to new ones at a dealer.  Get a flashlight and check your connection points.  Do your pins on that "bad" side click into place with a secure, tight snap?  If not, you probably have a problem.  Do they secure with a different feel than the other side does?  Again, if so, you probably have a problem.

Sounds like another trip to the dealer may be in order if they didn't replace something on your first trip.

[tdkkart]

Theft security is not the only reason for this product:
http://brukus.com/cgi-bin/p/awtp-product.cgi?d=brukus-motorcycle-parts&item=35502

Yes, if you chose to you can go get some 5/16-18 U-nuts, with some 1-1/2" long bolts, and fix it up yourself.

Some use a knob like this:


My bags have been bolted on since the first one tried to fall off my '01 Ultra Classic.

[Chains]

Was heading out yesterday to see if my friends yard needed mowed when a Orange Rod Glide got in front of me at a light .   I noticed his LH saddlebag shaking like it was in an earth quake, RH was rock steady.  Soon as we got to a stop sign I jumped out of my truck and told him of the problem. Thanked me and took off like a bat out of hell. Hope it made it till he decided to check it. 

I have been bolting my bags on for over 7 years now.   Made all my own kits buying everything I needed at Lowes a lot less expense for the same parts. 

[Puma]

I didn't have a problem with mine, but I bought these as insurance. About $30, they might be $40 now, but they are serious quality, and they come with a cool little ratchet to remove and reinstall them.

www.baggerbolts.com/

[Mickle]

I didn't have a problem with mine, but I bought these as insurance. About $30, they might be $40 now, but they are serious quality, and they come with a cool little ratchet to remove and reinstall them.

www.baggerbolts.com/

Also went with these, great stuff.

[Shay-D Glider]

Was on my way to the dealer on Saturday to get a few accessories and schedule service before an upcoming trip in August. Riding along about 60 mph on a very busy Rt 70 east when I heard a strange noise from behind me. Looked in my left mirror and see my saddlebag sliding across the highway. Rt 70 is a highly traveled road in the summer by people heading to the shore. Thankfully there was a gap in the traffic coming the other way and the bag slid completely across the road and came to rest in the westbound shoulder.

I turned around and was able to retrieve the bag, but when I was putting it back on I did notice the front pin wasn't fastening with the same tension as the rear. Since I was 2/3 of the way to the dealership already, I secured it the best I could and basically held onto the bag for the next 10 miles until I got there. When I opened the bag to show the service rep, the front pin had come out again. I asked them to do whatever they had to to secure the bag so I could ride home safely, so they replaced the retainer clips. This did the trick and I had no problem on the ride home.

The other part of the story is the condition of the bag - needless to say it is pretty messed up. When it fell of it didn't tumble, but just slid like a shuffleboard disc, and really scraped up the side of the bag. In addition to the damage to the bag and the lid, the amplifier in the bag also needs to be replaced.  Dealer was great and stepped right up and said its all covered under warranty. Total cost of the replacement parts is $1400. 

So what turned out to be a casual ride to the dealer became quite an eventful day. I am not at all happy this happened, but very thankful that this didn't cause an accident by cars trying to swerve to miss the bag sliding down the road.  I will also be looking to install a more secure system when I get the new bag.

[Puma]

Was on my way to the dealer on Saturday to get a few accessories and schedule service before an upcoming trip in August. Riding along about 60 mph on a very busy Rt 70 east when I heard a strange noise from behind me. Looked in my left mirror and see my saddlebag sliding across the highway. Rt 70 is a highly traveled road in the summer by people heading to the shore. Thankfully there was a gap in the traffic coming the other way and the bag slid completely across the road and came to rest in the westbound shoulder.

I turned around and was able to retrieve the bag, but when I was putting it back on I did notice the front pin wasn't fastening with the same tension as the rear. Since I was 2/3 of the way to the dealership already, I secured it the best I could and basically held onto the bag for the next 10 miles until I got there. When I opened the bag to show the service rep, the front pin had come out again. I asked them to do whatever they had to to secure the bag so I could ride home safely, so they replaced the retainer clips. This did the trick and I had no problem on the ride home.

The other part of the story is the condition of the bag - needless to say it is pretty messed up. When it fell of it didn't tumble, but just slid like a shuffleboard disc, and really scraped up the side of the bag. In addition to the damage to the bag and the lid, the amplifier in the bag also needs to be replaced.  Dealer was great and stepped right up and said its all covered under warranty. Total cost of the replacement parts is $1400. 

So what turned out to be a casual ride to the dealer became quite an eventful day. I am not at all happy this happened, but very thankful that this didn't cause an accident by cars trying to swerve to miss the bag sliding down the road.  I will also be looking to install a more secure system when I get the new bag.

They sell the baggerbolts kit at that dealership for $30, unless they've sold out. I highly recommend them.

[Dan_Lockwood]

About three years ago I was riding between Truman Lake and Lake of the Ozarks alone and ended up in a small town at a stop light and someone told me that I lost my "saddle tank"...  I looked down and my left saddle bag was gone.

Highway 54 is a two lane road and they had been resurfacing it.  At every culvert they left off about 200' of fresh asphalt and there was about a 1" to 2" drop and lip back up.  I hit the first one hard, but then did my best to slow down.

I went back to look for it and couldn't find it, lots of deep grass and deep ditches.  I stopped to turn around and regroup.  Then a car pulled up and they had found it and thought someone might be back to look for it.  It was still closed up.

I put it back on the pins were bent just a little on the ends, but I had pliers and straightened them the best I could.  I rode the next couple hundred miles with my hand on the left saddle back almost all of the time.

Insurance paid the $1715 for the new '09 SERG O/B bag and I still have the scratched one.  But I continued to ride with just the twist pins until early this spring.  I went to my assortment trays and got out four 3/8" fine thread J nuts and slid off the old ones and the 3/8" fit snug through the rubber grummets, but I just used hex head bolts with blue Loctite; no anti tamper bolts.

It just seems like HD could do a better job on this, but I guess it's par for them.

[Afdharley]

I recently saw a post somewhere, maybe from someone on a FB road glide page (I know, if it's on FB it has to be true) where the MoCo suspects inferior metal on the clips that hold the pins is the cause. Some dealers are stepping up and helping guys out with claims through HD and some aren't. So far, fingers crossed, I've had no issues. I'm also still running the stock hardware. If you have an incident and the dealer doesn't step up contact HD customer service.

The more I see about this the more I think about getting a couple of bolts just to be safe. I'd probably cry like a 12yo girl if I saw a bag of mine skipping down the hi way.

[East Coast]

I was visiting my local dealer today, HD has issued a recall on the saddlebag pin/clip system for all touring models made from May/2013 to present. I believe its a clip(s) replacment. Check with your dealer for further information or keep an eye out for the mailman.

On a recent trip I had an issue with the left side saddlebag front pin falling out on my 15 CVO SG. When I re installed it, it didn't "snap" in like the others.

[2UP3DOWN]

Theft security is not the only reason for this product:
http://brukus.com/cgi-bin/p/awtp-product.cgi?d=brukus-motorcycle-parts&item=35502

Yes, if you chose to you can go get some 5/16-18 U-nuts, with some 1-1/2" long bolts, and fix it up yourself.

Some use a knob like this:


My bags have been bolted on since the first one tried to fall off my '01 Ultra Classic.

I use the brukus too... however the knob idea is pretty slick too..!

[WVHoop]

'12 CVO Street Glide, I left the front setup stock with the Dzus fastener quarter turn clip but I did change the back to using the 5/16-18 U-clip & threaded knob from Lowes which comes at a length of 1.750 but I shortened to 1.250 which only leaves one thread showing out of the U-nut so that there isn't anything to get a hold of with pliers so that it becomes an anti-theft thing in addition to securing the bag. It's definitely a mind at ease sort of thing with very little out of pocket expense.

[whoop72]

Not sure if new bikes have the same system as older bags but many on this site use this product with great results.
(Company gives a discount for site members too.)

http://brukus.com/cgi-bin/p/awtp-product.cgi?d=brukus-motorcycle-parts&item=35502

Have used these for years.  As has been said, good to keep the bags securely attached as well as some security from theft.  Worth it to me.