pannier latch problems

[FrayAdjacent]

******* magnets. How do they work?

 

[Avtrician]

Had a look at the Bungee idea, but dont think its gonna work. Pretty sure its gonna get wound up in the wheel.....












Helmet Jacket, exit to the right.......

 

[cv66seabear]

Thanks, George.
I lost the left one of my freshly painted SB, and figured it was just due to my not having it clipped all the way. Now I'll check that little bugger. I did decide to use a bungee across the seat as a "just in case" backup.

Come up to TechSTOC first weekend in May (might still have snow this year!) I still don't have the knack of working the saddlebags! Adding an ADV light and powerlet as well as new tires and new fork oil.

 

[cv66seabear]

The key has to be left IN the latch to release it, as you all know I'm sure.

Mine HAS to be removed, or the key will get caught and bent by the bag (found this out the hard way).

 

[Ross Smith]

Mine HAS to be removed, or the key will get caught and bent by the bag (found this out the hard way).

Suggest you do the tumbler mod so that you can remove your key, like I did. It'll then work the same as the pannier latches up on top. I've never had my latches disengage while on the road, even today, but you still might want to lock them anyway.

I'm sorry, but my earlier pix of the magnets have vanished. Haven't looked at this thread in a long time. If anyone wants me to I'll snap some new ones for you. They're simply 2" iron-clad ceramic speaker magnets epoxied into the cladding then bolted to the panniers. You'll have to machine that part. A large fender washer held with a flat-headed machined screw on the plastic fender side completes the magnetic circuit when the bags are installed. They hold surprisingly well but due to the design of the mounting rails there will always be some movement of the bags. They don't flop outward very easily, though.

Ross

 

[Oldbikefixr]

While going through my '91, I noticed the bags were 'floppy'...a condition that bothers me on most anything. I traced the condition to the aft mount bolt of the bag support brackets...both left and right. There was at least 1/4" play on both....snug bolt, loose fit. The attaching hardware consists of a bolt passing through a 'hat' bushing. Neither bushing fit flush into the bracket when installed...permitting play in the bracket. So I cut two thick washers from a section of fuel hose and reinstalled the hardware. Pressed the bushing into the hose/washer, the bushing still protrudes into its recess in the bracket, and replaced the bolt. Everything is tight, not stressed, and the bags no longer flop and rattle as I drive along. My 'mod' did not interfere with bag removal or replacement. I don't know if the bushings are stock parts but they are both identical. Seems they are a bit too long.

 

[John OoSTerhuis]

Re: the infamous 'bag-flop' issue...

Honda designed the play into the saddlebag supports. We've known about (and discussed) this for many years. Just like the play designed into the Hondaline topcase mounting racks. I trust the Honda engineers and recommend leaving them OEM. JMHO, of course.

John

 

[Oldbikefixr]

Re: the infamous 'bag-flop' issue...

Honda designed the play into the saddlebag supports. We've known about (and discussed) this for many years. Just like the play designed into the Hondaline topcase mounting racks. I trust the Honda engineers and recommend leaving them OEM. JMHO, of course.

John

Thanks, John. You bring up an area where some degree of caution is needed.
Early Honda Gold Wing plastics (especially around trunks and bags) were prone to cracking because their engineers made insufficient distinction between plastic and metal parts when bolting things together. If the plastic wasn't perfectly tangent to the clamp up force...cracks would develop. So they adopted a looser clamp up in areas they felt were stressed otherwise. Too loose is also a potential problem. My flopping, rattling bags were too loose. My thought on this was that loaded bags were likely to damage both the mount brackets and the bodywork plastic against which the bag 'bumpers' rest. The idea is to 'snug' it up, not tighten it up to the point that flexibility is lost. If I were to tighten things up too much, I would not prevent any damage...just delay its onset or move it somewhere else.

 

[Uncle Phil]

+1 For John. My saddlebags have been 'flopping' around on all three ST1100s I have since day 1 and are still just fine -

1997 Redbird - 149,500+ Miles
1997 Frost - 78,000+ Miles
2002 SweetTreat - 100,000+ Miles

They also have the 'loose' Hondaline trunks on them for most of these miles also. I don't see them from behind when I ride them, so I don't worry about 'fixing' it.

 

[John OoSTerhuis]

I think the consensus over the years has been that the movement allowed, by design, is to prevent instability issues, at speed and/or rough surfaces; IOW, a safety issue. Hence, my concern about 'fixing'/hard-mounting the bags and topcases. FWIW

John

 

[TourNut]

I know this thread subject is about the ST1100 , but I came up with a solution for the ST1300 and a similar design could be done for the ST1100. My inspiration came from Denba's bike that lost a saddlebag when I was riding behind him at a Michigan Rally : I made a upward pointed little hook off the fender but supported by added metal reinforcement hidden by the plastic fender . Hook has a hole for a clip-pin after the point is in the saddlebag. Saddlebag just gets impailed by the hook as you load the saddlebag onto the bike normally. Then clip the clip inside. Saddlebag is trapped in place instead of flopping around and coming off by accident.

 

[dwalby]

+1 For John. My saddlebags have been 'flopping' around on all three ST1100s I have since day 1 and are still just fine -

Mine have been snugged down since the first month I owned the bike in 1997 and no problems to report with that method either. Personal choice, I doubt it makes any difference which you choose.

 

[Dave.David]

I know this thread subject is about the ST1100 , but I came up with a solution for the ST1300 and a similar design could be done for the ST1100. My inspiration came from Denba's bike that lost a saddlebag when I was riding behind him at a Michigan Rally : I made a upward pointed little hook off the fender but supported by added metal reinforcement hidden by the plastic fender . Hook has a hole for a clip-pin after the point is in the saddlebag. Saddlebag just gets impailed by the hook as you load the saddlebag onto the bike normally. Then clip the clip inside. Saddlebag is trapped in place instead of flopping around and coming off by accident.View attachment 167698View attachment 167699View attachment 167700View attachment 167701

Love it, thank you from anougher ST1300 rider.

 

[CYYJ]

Way, way back in 2001 (when the Earth was still flat), I made a post on Steiner's website showing a small modification that I made to the saddlebag retention system on my 2001 ST1100.

The objective of this modification was to add a little bit of redundancy to the saddlebag retention system, without removing the 'play' that John Oosterhuis refers to in his posts above.

The modification is simple. I drilled a small hole in the rear fender, then installed a bolt that has a head on it that exactly fits into the hollow round rubber bumper on the inside rear of the saddlebag. I then installed a 'Bungee Buddy' eyelet on the inside rear of each saddlebag, and attached a shortened bungee cord between the two eyelets.

The result is that the saddlebags can still 'flop' outwards if and when necessary, but fore and aft movement is restricted by the bolt head being in the middle of the round rubber bumper of the saddlebag. Fore and aft stress is also relieved from the key-operated latch at the front of the saddlebag. With this modification in place, the saddlebag will remain securely in position on the motorcycle if the rider forgets to correctly lock up the latch at the lower front of the saddlebag.

Since I embodied this modification in 2001, I've traveled 200,000 km (125,000 miles) on this ST, and both saddlebags and both front latches are in excellent condition. There has been no wear or deformation of the 'hooks' at the front of the saddlebag that engage into the latches with the key locks. There has been no abnormal wear on the 'rail' at the top inboard side of the saddlebag where it hangs off the rear subframe of the motorcycle.

Please forgive the poor quality pictures, they were taken 17 years ago when a 1 megapixel camera was considered 'top of the line'.

Michael

1) Buy 2 bolt, washer & nut assemblies from a hardware store.
You want the head on the bolt to fit nicely into the round hole in the middle of the saddlebag's lower rear rubber bumper.


2) Drill a hole into the side of the rear fender.
It's easy to drill the hole accurately - your fender will be worn & scuffed where the rubber bumper rests against it.


3) Install the bolt & nut assembly, with the head of the bolt on the outside.
When you are done, it will look like this:


4) Now install the saddlebag. You'll need to gently pull out on the bottom rear of the saddlebag to get it over the bolt.
When you release the saddlebag, the rubber bumper will fit over the protruding bolt head.


5) Lastly, install the two 'Bungee Buddy' eyelets on the inside rear of the saddlebags, and connect a shortened bungee cable between them. (The picture below was taken this week, 17 years after the above 4 pictures were taken).

 

[GGely]

Michael, with your permission, I will blatantly rip this idea off and add it to the list of work I’m doing to 2001 this winter.

Great idea!