It has been suggested to me to make this a freestanding post. Dawg'spost on fabricating his own axle capsinspired me to post a device I improvised with material from Home Depot as well.

In light of recent posts about hard bags being stolen and the subsequent responses of deterrents to this, I purchased 3/8 inch stainless clevis pins which correspond to the size of the rubber grommets, to replace the factory quick release fasteners. I got the longest ones they had and re-drilled the clip holes tight against the rubber grommets to prevent vibration and cut off the rest.

This provided a quick release fastener that was tamper resistant from the outside. Showing it to my buddy, he promptly closed the bag and removed the 1/4x20 bolts that holds the bag brackets with a speed wrench. After surfing the web for something to replace the bolt,I sawposted here photos of a security systemsomeone got off Ebay depicting a shroud around the bolt making it inaccessible.

In an effort to come up with something I didn't have to "make" I started looking at things I could alter. That lead me to1 inch and finally 3/4 inch copper pipe end caps. I drilled a hole in the end and bolted the brackets back on through the end caps. Now you can't get a wrench of any kind on the bolts, and to use a socket you need the bags removed(from the inside).

As long as I remember to lock my bags, hopefully this will remove the "Opportunity" or speed equation for someone hoping to steal my bags and they will move on looking for easier pickins.

I'd like tohear aboutmore fabricated parts and tools, we could all use them.

Arvid

 

Another little thing that I read about, here on the forum, is to take four u bolts, washers, and nuts. Drill the four holes in each bag bottom, so that you can wrap the u bolt around the bottom bag mounting rail, putting the threaded end in the bag. Then take the washers, and nut, and lock the bags to the bottom mounting rail. They might be able to remove the rear mounting points, but without being able to open the bags, they can not remove the bag from the bottom rail. Just a thought.

 

Maybe not intact at least! Keep in mind that people are robbing your bags for two reasons: 1) to take and reuse/sell the bags themselves, and/or 2) to take whatever you have inside the bags! For the #2 robbers, the condition of the bag is meaningless to them, especially if they manage to get something good within!

I guess I would be worried about the overall condition of the bike in this situation. If they continue to force the bags, they are either going to rip them off (literally!), or they are going to try so hard they will bend or damage the bottom mounting rail, and possibly your exhaust pipes also. I would rather only have to deal with getting the bags replaced personally, then dealing with a bike I might have to get towed and new pipes put on, on top of getting new bags.

 

what make you think the stock mounting point is that much stronger than the bottom of the bag? If they try to litteraly rip the bags off the bike, it would break there too. Or are the hard bags different than the leather covered bags? Plus, if you are parked in public, the deterence of people around will keep 99.9999% of theives from trying to pull the bags off the bike.

 

I tried Arvid's copper end cap "bolt shroud" yesterday after reading his original post. It works nicely. Nobody's getting access to the bolt head without a socket wrench, and that requires removing the bag first.

All you need is one cap per side. Total time: less than 1/2 hour. Total cost: about $1. This definitely wins the Uncle Scrooge seal of approval!

 

If they want them bad enough, they'll either get them, or - as mentioned by Crypto - damage other parts of the bike beyond usefulness.

Carry insurance.
Park in the lights (still a great deterrent).
Take reasonable measure to protect yourself.
Don't let fear rule your life.

At home I'm in a locked garage, the home protected by Dog, Smith & Wesson.

When I'm out, I lock stuff, park where things can be seen, keep my insurance paid up and enjoy myself. Life's too short for measures "above and beyond". In nearly 30 years of street riding, I've never had a bike stolen, damaged (well, one lady did back into one once, and one tipped over when the asphalt melted) or had any luggage broken in to. Your attitude and preparedness go a long way.

Also, if your bike *looks* expensive, then you might as well raise a flag that says "Hey, I got money and probably have all kinds of cool stuff in these bags!!"

 

[sm=ttiwwp.gif]

 

Ditto. Can you post some pics, Arvid?

 

All of these measures only serve the same purpose as locks do. They keep honest people honest!

You also forget about the growing trend of vandalism for vandalism's sake - nothing else!

 

I agree.
We need pics of these bolts your talking about.