Not another pannier latch thread! Well, yes. This is aimed at NT owners who still use the stock pannier latch set up, and especially those who have not yet disassembled the pannier assemblies and reinforced the plastic screw mounts for the latch plates with epoxy. (I am speaking of the latch assemblies on the bike, not in the lids.)
Dirtflier's recent post that he discovered all four plastic mounts on his friend's NT were broken off got me thinking.
Is it possible to determine whether the latches are getting ready to fail? (I am sure many of you are thinking, of course it is, they are all getting ready to fail!)
With the seat off, you can see a portion of the latch plate assemblies. Look behind the crossbar with the seat latch assembly, and you'll see the cables going into the latch plate assemblies on each side of the bike. The plates run along towards the front of the bike.
You cannot see the points where the mounting screws secure the plate assemblies to the plastic bolsters. However, my theory is that if these are starting to crack or give way, you may be able to see or feel the plate shift or move a bit as you operate the pannier release levers, or perhaps if you pull out on the closed lids a bit simulating a heavy load. My theory is that as one or two of the plastic mounts start to crack, the plates must begin shifting a bit, causing the other mounts to split and crack.
So if you observe the plates move at all, or can feel them move with a finger while you work the latches, the mounts are almost certainly starting to crack. What I can't say is, if there is no movement, that means the mounts are OK.
As always, perhaps this has already been covered in the forum, disproven, or whatever.
In that case, never mind.
And I just realized I should have posted this under the "saddlebags" topic. Sorry!
Dirtflier's recent post that he discovered all four plastic mounts on his friend's NT were broken off got me thinking.
Is it possible to determine whether the latches are getting ready to fail? (I am sure many of you are thinking, of course it is, they are all getting ready to fail!)
With the seat off, you can see a portion of the latch plate assemblies. Look behind the crossbar with the seat latch assembly, and you'll see the cables going into the latch plate assemblies on each side of the bike. The plates run along towards the front of the bike.
You cannot see the points where the mounting screws secure the plate assemblies to the plastic bolsters. However, my theory is that if these are starting to crack or give way, you may be able to see or feel the plate shift or move a bit as you operate the pannier release levers, or perhaps if you pull out on the closed lids a bit simulating a heavy load. My theory is that as one or two of the plastic mounts start to crack, the plates must begin shifting a bit, causing the other mounts to split and crack.
So if you observe the plates move at all, or can feel them move with a finger while you work the latches, the mounts are almost certainly starting to crack. What I can't say is, if there is no movement, that means the mounts are OK.
As always, perhaps this has already been covered in the forum, disproven, or whatever.
In that case, never mind.
And I just realized I should have posted this under the "saddlebags" topic. Sorry!
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