As comes to all of us, my side cases failed last September. Of course, the failure took place while I was in the Arkansas Ozarks, far from home. The right side pannier would not open and the left only intermittently. Fortunately when the left chose to open, that allowed seat removal and manual moving of the right side latching mechanism.
When I got back to New Orleans, other concerns kept me from promptly attacking the problem, though from time to time I thought about how to fix the cases. I read extensively on this site and considered external latches as many have done. I went so far as to buy latches, cut and tap latch base plates, and purchase thin aluminum stock for shimming the latches to conform to the case lid curvature.
But, before drilling the case base or lid, I decided to try to keep the bike stock. I removed the right hand case base, to see if it was fixable.
(Tips: take a large piece of cardboard, draw an outline of the case, and as each of the many bolts are removed from the case base, punch holes in the cardboard and put the bolts in the appropriate spot. This takes all the guess work out of re-installing the case base. Also, be mindful that in addition to the hidden screw in the tunnel connecting the two case halves, there are two tabs at the top of the tunnel which must be released to remove the right side case base.)
With the right case base removed, I removed the four screws securing the latching mechanism from the case base. The problem was immediately evident. The plastic mounts for the securing screws were crumbling. I considered trying to reconstruct those plastic mounts with JB Weld epoxy and concluded this course would be a non-starter. So, I went on line and found I could purchase new side case bases for about $120 each, postage paid. I decided for about the cost of a new set of tires, I could make the case latches like new, which hopefully would last for another five years. I ordered both the left and right. (The left case base mounts were mostly intact, but I thought I might as well get ahead of the inevitable.) Before installing the new side case bases, I beefed up the latch mechanism mounts with epoxy.
I carefully degreased and cleaned the latch mechanisms and lubed them with molybdenum in an evaporative carrier.
I then took a very close look at the catch foundations on the case lids?all four were cracked. I filled the void space between the catch foundation and the lid top with epoxy. On the bottom side of the lid catch foundation, I covered the foundation with epoxy, layered a piece of epoxy saturated cloth and covered that with another layer of epoxy. Not pretty, but hopefully strong. (Tip: Remove the catches before epoxying. I didn?t and as you?ll see below, a bit of sloppily applied epoxy welded the catches to the foundation creating a problem.)
Re-installation was a snap and the left side lid worked but requires significant closing pressure to trip the latch. However, the right side lid would not latch. I believe the replacement side case bases are very slightly wider than those on my 2010 model bike. I suspect if I could have removed the lid catches and placed shims under them, the latch would have caught. As I could not remove the catches from their foundations, I disassembled the right side case base and with a few strokes with a file on the latch mechanism, adjusted the tripping point to actuate the latch. I tested the proper operation several time before re-installing. Now everything works.
Also, with the right case base off, this was the perfect time to change the rear brake fluid, and install speed bleeders in the rear and linked, left front caliper.
For what its worth, I have always treated the side cases with kid gloves, never overstuffed them nor slammed them closed.
I will report in the future of how this repair holds up.
Best Christmas wishes
Hugh
When I got back to New Orleans, other concerns kept me from promptly attacking the problem, though from time to time I thought about how to fix the cases. I read extensively on this site and considered external latches as many have done. I went so far as to buy latches, cut and tap latch base plates, and purchase thin aluminum stock for shimming the latches to conform to the case lid curvature.
But, before drilling the case base or lid, I decided to try to keep the bike stock. I removed the right hand case base, to see if it was fixable.
(Tips: take a large piece of cardboard, draw an outline of the case, and as each of the many bolts are removed from the case base, punch holes in the cardboard and put the bolts in the appropriate spot. This takes all the guess work out of re-installing the case base. Also, be mindful that in addition to the hidden screw in the tunnel connecting the two case halves, there are two tabs at the top of the tunnel which must be released to remove the right side case base.)
With the right case base removed, I removed the four screws securing the latching mechanism from the case base. The problem was immediately evident. The plastic mounts for the securing screws were crumbling. I considered trying to reconstruct those plastic mounts with JB Weld epoxy and concluded this course would be a non-starter. So, I went on line and found I could purchase new side case bases for about $120 each, postage paid. I decided for about the cost of a new set of tires, I could make the case latches like new, which hopefully would last for another five years. I ordered both the left and right. (The left case base mounts were mostly intact, but I thought I might as well get ahead of the inevitable.) Before installing the new side case bases, I beefed up the latch mechanism mounts with epoxy.
I carefully degreased and cleaned the latch mechanisms and lubed them with molybdenum in an evaporative carrier.
I then took a very close look at the catch foundations on the case lids?all four were cracked. I filled the void space between the catch foundation and the lid top with epoxy. On the bottom side of the lid catch foundation, I covered the foundation with epoxy, layered a piece of epoxy saturated cloth and covered that with another layer of epoxy. Not pretty, but hopefully strong. (Tip: Remove the catches before epoxying. I didn?t and as you?ll see below, a bit of sloppily applied epoxy welded the catches to the foundation creating a problem.)
Re-installation was a snap and the left side lid worked but requires significant closing pressure to trip the latch. However, the right side lid would not latch. I believe the replacement side case bases are very slightly wider than those on my 2010 model bike. I suspect if I could have removed the lid catches and placed shims under them, the latch would have caught. As I could not remove the catches from their foundations, I disassembled the right side case base and with a few strokes with a file on the latch mechanism, adjusted the tripping point to actuate the latch. I tested the proper operation several time before re-installing. Now everything works.
Also, with the right case base off, this was the perfect time to change the rear brake fluid, and install speed bleeders in the rear and linked, left front caliper.
For what its worth, I have always treated the side cases with kid gloves, never overstuffed them nor slammed them closed.
I will report in the future of how this repair holds up.
Best Christmas wishes
Hugh