As many of you I'm sure have done, my wife and myself took advantage of the long weekend for a nice long ride! Unfortunately on our way home we had one of the saddle bags come off the 15 RG! Running 70 it sure didn't do it any favors! I know at one time Harley was replacing bags that fell off does anyone know if there still taking care of this? And mine had the recall done to it and I do check to make sure there tight at every gas stop.

 

Well, if you had the recall done and the bags still flew off.... I'm expecting a pretty staunch argument from the dealer that it was user error. Not saying that's the case.... But get ready to hear it.

I hate hearing this kinda thing no matter what's the cause. Saddlebags simply should not fall off!

 

Use the search function on here and type in "securing hard bags" or something along those lines. There have been numerous posts concerning this and you'll find a few websites that deal with this issue.

 

Whatever happens you should spend the $30.00 and replace those old quick release on the bags. Takes maybe 10 minutes and is more secure. My 15 Ultra Limited were replaced twice. I finally decided to go after market.

 

bought some j-nuts, or speed nuts, and 5/16-18 bolts with plastic ***** and I believe this was less than $15. replaced the quarter turn fasteners and use these instead. Have found one loose once, but I have habit to check each time I'm in bag. Sorry about your luck ....

 

Sorry to hear about your bag hw fail, but I'm w/bikerlaw on this one...might not get much lov'n/assistance fm HD. $pendy lesson learned, but one trip to hw store for $10 parts will prevent future mishap. If you want to spend x5 the price for secure hw...get the Brukus kit.

If it makes you feel any better, my daughter's 2015 Kia hood was keyed over the weekend...probably going to cost me the same to fix as your departed bag.

 

I have posted this before but will do it again.

Replace one of the the Dzus fasteners on each bag with a fender nut and a bolt like Spartan described or buy a kit from Brukus that does the same thing. I bought my hardware at Loews. They have a pretty good selection of misc hardware to fix about anything you can dream up.
I use a product called Vibra Tite on my bolts. It is a product that puts a tacky surface on the threads of fasteners and keeps them from loosening. Good stuff, does not harden in heat, and keeps things where they should be.

Added benefit for pre Rushmoore bikes is theft prevention. Thieves can steal bags with a long screwdriver by popping the fasteners from behind. Bolting prevents this.

 

Last year similar thing happened to me - right bag fell off after a long trip. I bought my bike (2014 Road King) used and the recall had been documented as performed before I bought it. It happened on a Sunday evening so the dealer was closed. I called HD corporate directly and explained what happened. They gave me a case number and told me to go to any dealer and they would take care of me. The dealer took some pictures for documentation and ordered a new bag for me. Because it is a painted part there was a 6 week wait time to get it.

I was expecting to be SOL due to having a out of warranty bike that I bought used, but they took care of it no cost. I did replace the front mounts in each bag with *****.

 

Replace with this kit from HD....I put this on my 16 RGS....no worries now!

 

I bought bagger bolts at a delearship show 2 packs for $40.00 gave a set to a friend. They never loosen and hold up very well. JP cycles has a set similar to bagger bolts for $20.

Lowes, Home Depot would have less expensive alternatives.

Good luck with HD.