Quick detach loose problem
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 14,251
Likes: 11,374
From: San Diego, CA
FWIW....
On my 2016 bagger, I use the quick release mount on the fender struts, when I take off my tour pack around town, and use just a sissy bar.
I know I'm the odd man out, but when I go on a trip, and reattach the tour pack, I pull the quick release mount from the fender struts and reinstall the tour pack like it comes from the factory. It's like 4 bolts. The tour pack is always rock solid.
I don't swap them but once a year, maybe twice. I don't find it to be a lot of work to reattach the tour pack with the OEM bolts, rather than adding a quick release bracket to my tour pack to work with the quick release mount on the fender struts...
In fact, if they offered a sissy bar that just bolted up to the fender struts like they used to many years ago, I wouldn't even bother using the quick release mount and bracket for the sissy bar either..
I never thought of switching the tour pack for a sissy bar as a "pit stop" kind of procedure that needed to be done in haste....
Just my thoughts on the quick release mechanisms I figured I'd throw out as food for thought...
On my 2016 bagger, I use the quick release mount on the fender struts, when I take off my tour pack around town, and use just a sissy bar.
I know I'm the odd man out, but when I go on a trip, and reattach the tour pack, I pull the quick release mount from the fender struts and reinstall the tour pack like it comes from the factory. It's like 4 bolts. The tour pack is always rock solid.
I don't swap them but once a year, maybe twice. I don't find it to be a lot of work to reattach the tour pack with the OEM bolts, rather than adding a quick release bracket to my tour pack to work with the quick release mount on the fender struts...
In fact, if they offered a sissy bar that just bolted up to the fender struts like they used to many years ago, I wouldn't even bother using the quick release mount and bracket for the sissy bar either..
I never thought of switching the tour pack for a sissy bar as a "pit stop" kind of procedure that needed to be done in haste....
Just my thoughts on the quick release mechanisms I figured I'd throw out as food for thought...
Last edited by hattitude; Dec 18, 2025 at 08:10 AM.
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 14,251
Likes: 11,374
From: San Diego, CA
On my way out the door, won't be able to get a pic until much later in the day....
This may help...
I just realized your bike is a 2008. It is more complicated than my 2016... sorry to get your hopes up for an east on/off, but if you never remove the tour pack, you can still remount your tour pack as delivered from the factory with solid mounts, but it's a little more involved than mine..
I just checked on the online parts site, and confirmed your 2008 OEM brackets are different from my 2016 brackets... Your OEM solid bracket mounts are more involved than the 4 bolts of the 2016 solid mount system.
If you saved the OEM brackets when you added the quick release mechanism, you're golden. If you no longer have the OEM parts, and need to replace your solid mount system, you may have to work to find the parts.
My parts search also shows the 2008 OEM solid mount parts are obsolete. You'll need to look up the part numbers and search to find good used or NOS parts.
Here are two pics of the parts between our bikes.
Your 2008 uses a couple support tubes with associated hardware.
My 2016 has a tour pack bracket that just slides into a slot of the saddlebag support, then is attached to the fender struts with 4 bolts... much easier than your set up.
Again, sorry to get your hopes up for an easy return to OEM, but it is possible if you have (or can find) the parts...
I hope the above parts pics help..
Thread Starter
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Cruiser
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 223
Likes: 43
From: southern Wisconsin
Hattitude,
Yeah when I bought the bike the factory mount as gone.
I may just remove the bushings and bolts for the quick release (the 4) and weld up my own plate for the tour pack. Then bolt it to where the quick release bushings bolts where located.
That way if I do decide to remove the tour pack it is only 4 bolts. Kind of thinking this may be the easiest and fastest cure for this.
Yeah when I bought the bike the factory mount as gone.
I may just remove the bushings and bolts for the quick release (the 4) and weld up my own plate for the tour pack. Then bolt it to where the quick release bushings bolts where located.
That way if I do decide to remove the tour pack it is only 4 bolts. Kind of thinking this may be the easiest and fastest cure for this.
Last edited by sjones73; Dec 18, 2025 at 09:57 AM.
HDF Community Team
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 6,192
Likes: 2,425
From: USA
I'm not quite sure what you're describing by this "wobble". But I can say that many a tour pack shakes around on the back of a Harley.
Anyhow, my 04 RK used the same setup.
The front tabs were not exactly snug on the bushings, so they could rattle a tiny amount. Only irritated me when the bike wasn't running and I was installing the rack. With the bike running, it was unnoticable.
The rear tabs and locks took some twiddling of the bike bushings and the lock itself to get everything to come together readily. When I got all that adjusted correctly, I could drop the rack on pretty quickly, and it was locked on pretty darn snugly. But again, this took a fair bit of fiddling and twiddling to get it all right.
Side to side, that was a function of the rack itself and how it fit down onto the bike mounted bushings. I think one of my racks was angled wrong, probably inward too much. A bit of tugging and I got it so the sides of the rack were snugly up against the shoulders of the bike mounted bushings they slid onto. I never saw fit, but one could install rubber o-rings or such on the bike mounted bushings to better hold the rack side to side.
Anyhow, my 04 RK used the same setup.
The front tabs were not exactly snug on the bushings, so they could rattle a tiny amount. Only irritated me when the bike wasn't running and I was installing the rack. With the bike running, it was unnoticable.
The rear tabs and locks took some twiddling of the bike bushings and the lock itself to get everything to come together readily. When I got all that adjusted correctly, I could drop the rack on pretty quickly, and it was locked on pretty darn snugly. But again, this took a fair bit of fiddling and twiddling to get it all right.
Side to side, that was a function of the rack itself and how it fit down onto the bike mounted bushings. I think one of my racks was angled wrong, probably inward too much. A bit of tugging and I got it so the sides of the rack were snugly up against the shoulders of the bike mounted bushings they slid onto. I never saw fit, but one could install rubber o-rings or such on the bike mounted bushings to better hold the rack side to side.
Thread Starter
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Cruiser
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 223
Likes: 43
From: southern Wisconsin
Thank you for all of your comments and suggestions.
I think I have come up with that I am going to make my own mount and solid bolt it to the bike using the docking bars.
I think I have come up with that I am going to make my own mount and solid bolt it to the bike using the docking bars.
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