That is ABS plastic. A repair using fiberglas will not be successful.

 

About the only way to repair the bag is to form a piece of sheet metal to replace & reinforce the damaged area & pop rivet it to the bag.

 

Do what I did, and get some vintage style "bubble bag" reproduction hard bags.

 

i would sandwich metal inside and outside the bag, drill a hole and mount it on the bike. if it doesn't work your out a few bucks and some time.

 

Yeah, you can't really get fiberglass to stick to ABS. At least not very well. On my trailer, I wound up pop riveting the fiberglass to the ABS where I tubbed the box. I think metal inside and out and some epoxy or maybe liquid nails and some pop rivets would probably be fine.

I had limited success with a HF plastic welder. I had as good results by lighting a piece of plastic on fire and dripping the molten plastic on the crack. Not sure on the strength, though.

 

Prot seriously replace the bags.
If the plastic is getting that old and brittle then even after you fix that part another is bound to break and you have to start all over again.

Just my opinion.

 

That is what I am going to do. Might clean these up and see what I can get on eBay, of course pointing out the broken parts.

Boss Bags makes several sizes and 42 is the biggest. Their bag models such as 42 indicate how many cans of pop it holds, but I can't find the dimensions.

The Vikings are the better value, but something about them looks off, but I think I can do something to improve the looks such as embossing the leather, or adding some other styling element. The Vikings require holding the bags in place then marking them to drill mounting holes. That is no big deal, but it would be more convenient if they came ready to bolt on, especially since they come with their own proprietary mounting system. It almost seems like it would be easier just to mark and drill them to use my existing OEM brackets.

I am still researching other brands.

 

Boss bag DIMENSIONS: 13 3/4" tall, 19 1/2" wide, 7" thick.

http://www.bossbags.com/

Viking bag Dimensions: 23" X 9" X 14"
https://www.vikingbags.com/harley-so...saddlebags.htm

 

Does anybody know what it would take to make OEM 2016 bags fit?

I found this if I can make them work. Don't know why they are only selling one side.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/152107931542

 

Sometimes I think I got more luck than sense. I used Ronnie's microfiche to find the part numbers of the OEM bags for my bike. I then put those part numbers into Surdyke's website and they had both of them in stock. I then used a promotional code for free shipping so got everything for $683.40. I don't think that's a bad deal. When I get them I will see if there is a way to reenforce them to prevent cracking.