The stock saddlebag mount bolts on my 1990 Electra Glide are toast.

I'm looking around, and see lots of options, but most say either 1993+ or 1996+.

Looking at the pics (like this)
it looks like that should work (and as cheap as they are on eBay I should just give it a shot).

Is there anything different about the later model years that would keep these from working on my '90?

 

On my 93 FLHS the bags are attached with regular hex head bolts. They go through some rubber isolator style washers/bushings on the bags, then bolt to the angled brackets. The brackets have a nut welded onto the back of them.

If your's is similar, you would probably have to grind off the nut to put the speed clips on the bracket. But if the thread size is similar (I think it's 1/4-20 - have to check), you could probably just screw them in.

Harley used to offer an 'upgrade' kit for the 93-95 bikes with the quick disconnects. I thought about going with it, but really don't mind unbolting them when I need to. Ya ride an old bike, ya gotta carry tools...

 

I just use nylock nuts and bolts with penny washers, on both my original bags and my later style. They are qd enough for my liking! I have never lost a bag, but have had several occasions when one or even both of the qd style fasteners have come undone.

 

I replaced the original mounts on my '89 with this: http://brukus.com/saddlebagsecure-fo...touring-bikes/

 

The original quick connect thing, sort of like a Dzus fastener, was Not a Good Idea. They always came loose on me. Eventually, I replaced them with what would look similar to the nut thing in your ebay pic and a 1/4"x20 stainless Phillips screw and large washer. Works great.

 

I have the ones in the pic on my '15. and will get a set for my evo sooner or later. the work great.

 

Dang it Graham. I was totally hoping 'qd' was some sort of cool British mini-acronym for a quaint colloquialism. Like 'Quite Delightful'.

Then I figured it out, you meant 'quick disconnect'.

 

You got that right! The factory fasteners are a bad joke.

Made a run over the lunch hour down to the hardware store. Tried a different one last night, but they sucked. All their little fastner bins were mostly empty. Ugh.

Anyway, I think I'm set. Ended up with all of this:



The thing I was missing before was knowing that those nut+clip things are called "U-nuts". Or at least that's what Ace Hardware calls them.

My plan is to do it like this: Sandwich the side of the bag between the rubber washers, which are themselves sandwiched between the fender washers:



My only concern in this is that those U-nuts look like they are just pressed from sheet metal, and so I wonder just how much hold those threads are actually good for. No big deal. They were cheap.

Thanks all for the input!

 

That's basically what I did, but I made the U-nuts from some 304 stainless and some stainless nuts welded together. It was easier, cheaper and faster to make the U things than try to source them.

 

Quite delightfully quickly detachable!