skiper
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Hey Chris - GOD has no time for Honda latches 
Dad-gummed Pannier Latches!!!!
- Thread starter Phil Tarman
- Start date
Coyote Chris
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GOT MY L070s already...! Oh Yeay, Baby...these things look good and high quality....will post pics when the internet comes up tomarrow....
Hey Chris - GOD has no time for Honda latches
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Coyote Chris
Site Supporter
OK! Here we go with the latch pics.....here is my full album. Note the nice bosses for the screws. When I get some time I will write up a report on how to install these (two to a side) and how to adjust them for
best latch feel. Keys for both latches I ordered were the same. Hardware- elf.com L-070A $23.98 for both delivered. The only reason I am installing two to a side is for safety.
(correction, May 2016. Here is the new sourse.
http://www.franzenint.com/?product=14071407-automatic-locking-drawbolt-large-flush
http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/CoyoteChris303/library/Latches?sort=3&page=1
Photobucket is being *****y but go to the link and you will see the pics...
best latch feel. Keys for both latches I ordered were the same. Hardware- elf.com L-070A $23.98 for both delivered. The only reason I am installing two to a side is for safety.
(correction, May 2016. Here is the new sourse.
http://www.franzenint.com/?product=14071407-automatic-locking-drawbolt-large-flush
http://s1217.photobucket.com/user/CoyoteChris303/library/Latches?sort=3&page=1
Photobucket is being *****y but go to the link and you will see the pics...
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If you haven't drilled yet.....the trick is to find a place where you can get to the back of the fixed portion of the case. I only found two spots where my fingers would fit.
Coyote Chris
Site Supporter
Very true. I have been thinking about that. I wonder what you can access by taking off the rear fender? My backup plan calls for drilling two 3/4 in access holes on the inside of the fixed portion below the mounting area...or using my dremel. A backing plate can then be inserted and the washers and nuts over that. A patch that can be removed then can be put over the access holes (hole). The first step is to install the latch on a fixed plate and study how I want to install it on the bike. I have good thoughts about these latches but first I must set my valves this coming Monday.
If you haven't drilled yet.....the trick is to find a place where you can get to the back of the fixed portion of the case. I only found two spots where my fingers would fit.
This is where I put mine
This is the pair of them. Those were the only two locations I found that I could put the backing washers on the pop rivets.
Coyote Chris
Site Supporter
Thanks! Actually, I got a pair of latches just like those except with key locks....they would have worked but the L-070s are much more to my liking....I have two ideas for the location of my latches. One is your Latch 4 pic. The other is your latch 3 pic and one also on the rear edge of the case. I have no issues using screws and nuts but of course I will have to drill/cut an access hole to put the two nuts and washers on the fixed black part of the pannier...
This is the pair of them. Those were the only two locations I found that I could put the backing washers on the pop rivets.
The one latch at top center will work by itself as long as you don't over stuff them. I did over stuff mine so I put on the second one.
Chris - now that you've had yours for awhile, are you happy? I need to do mine soon and I think black is best as I will also have to paint my big lids (scraped them badly last weekend - and no, I didn't drop the bike) and think I will go the rattle can matte black route.
Like you, I live in a fairly dry area, but that doesn't mean I don't go through rain on trips. Do you think your latches are rust-proof?
Thanx -
Like you, I live in a fairly dry area, but that doesn't mean I don't go through rain on trips. Do you think your latches are rust-proof?
Thanx -
I followed Charlie b's two latch system and placed them exactly where he placed his and they work great. I used the medium length rivets and they were just right. I found using the rivets were the easy and secure way to go. IMHO this was one of the best farkles added to the NT - it has taken out all worry with the side cases. I used the same latches as Charlie's and haven't noticed any problems with them here in rainy Florida. Wendell
OP
OP
LOL! I'll be doing the same before long. On the west side of Des Moines, IA, today, I was barreling along at 77mph when a guy in pickup pulled alongside, honked, pointed at my bike and mouthed "BAGS!" at me. As soon as I could I pulled off and found out that my right pannier was open. I don't know how long it had been open, but nothing had fallen out. My rain gloves were there, my Warm 'n' Safe heated jacket, my saddle cover, everything. I closed the pannier and rode about 6 more miles to a McDonalds and it was open again. That time I worked on it for 15-20 minutes and it's stayed closed all the way from Stuart, IA, to Lincoln, NE, where I'm spending the night.
The first year I had the bike, I was riding to a doctor's appointment in Denver. A member of my church passed me less than 5 miles after I got on the Interstate. I rode 80+ miles to my doctor, hit a bump when I went into her parking lot and the left pannier was open. I had two bills, two written and signed checks, and a book laying in the pannier.
Later I asked the church member if the pannier had been open when he passed me and he said that it had been and he just figured I wanted it open. The space inside the pannier is evidently very dead air.
The first year I had the bike, I was riding to a doctor's appointment in Denver. A member of my church passed me less than 5 miles after I got on the Interstate. I rode 80+ miles to my doctor, hit a bump when I went into her parking lot and the left pannier was open. I had two bills, two written and signed checks, and a book laying in the pannier.
Later I asked the church member if the pannier had been open when he passed me and he said that it had been and he just figured I wanted it open. The space inside the pannier is evidently very dead air.
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Hey Wendell - thanx for the feedback. Charlie used the chrome latches and I assume you used the same ones. I may use those, but I kinda like the black of the one's Chris used as I have some deep scratches on the left pannier and I'm going the bed-liner route to paint them. The black would seem to look better, but the chrome will do too.
Phil's story is too scary - I want to fix these things before something bad happens. I may not be as lucky as he was.
My guess is divine intervention due to your many years of service!!! (c;
OP
OP
My guess is that it's far more likely to be aerodynamics at work.
Comanche, You are right that the black latches would probably look better on black lids. I would assume that those latches are also secured with rivets. I might very well go the bed liner route on my lids if there are any additional scratches. However, this time i just used some bondo, fine sandpaper and NT paint and it was easy to do a fairly good job of making them look new again. But I also got a pair of light bars from Auto Zone and screwed them on the lids to serve as bumpers. I found out that they work (don't ask me how) - and of course the lights also look nice at night. In the picture you can see the latches and the side cover bumper light bar. Wendell
http://www.nt-owners.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7674&d=1379391709
http://www.nt-owners.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7674&d=1379391709
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Okay - it finally happened. I've procrastinated on solving the "latch problem", and now I cannot open the right pannier unless I take off the seat and push the rod rearward. Grrrrr.
Way back last August, I scratched the left lid badly. Phil and I decided to go the bed liner route. It worked great on the left side, but the right side bubbled up after a few days. For that reason, I have another set of OEM silver lids on order, but David Silver Spares won't have them for me until May. Until then, I'll have the local Honda shop fix the latch mechanism under warranty - and maybe disengage the seat latch mechanism so I can get at the rods on ether side should they fail again.
I won't spray bed liner on the new lids. Besides the bubbling, they were also VERY hard to clean after getting a lot of muddy water on them in Louisiana last December.
Plan:
I have just one big problem - I have no idea how to do this. Big Phillip will do the work for me, but he is a bit nervous about how to select the correct place for body part of the pannier and how to reinforce the mount. I need one of you kind folks to take some photos (or video) of the installation, and please be very specific about all the details you can remember in the installation.
As has been said so many times before - I love the bike, but the panniers . . . .
Way back last August, I scratched the left lid badly. Phil and I decided to go the bed liner route. It worked great on the left side, but the right side bubbled up after a few days. For that reason, I have another set of OEM silver lids on order, but David Silver Spares won't have them for me until May. Until then, I'll have the local Honda shop fix the latch mechanism under warranty - and maybe disengage the seat latch mechanism so I can get at the rods on ether side should they fail again.
I won't spray bed liner on the new lids. Besides the bubbling, they were also VERY hard to clean after getting a lot of muddy water on them in Louisiana last December.
Plan:
- Have the local Honda shop fix the mechanism under warranty.
- When the new lids come in, I will immediately remove the latching mechanism and install the nickel-plated latches that Charlie b and Wendell installed. Ideas for how to keep the latch lever in place once the mechanism removed are welcome.
- Next is to reinforce the bottom hinges, though these don't seem to be as much of a problem.
I have just one big problem - I have no idea how to do this. Big Phillip will do the work for me, but he is a bit nervous about how to select the correct place for body part of the pannier and how to reinforce the mount. I need one of you kind folks to take some photos (or video) of the installation, and please be very specific about all the details you can remember in the installation.
As has been said so many times before - I love the bike, but the panniers . . . .
Oh - and another question -
Wendell - (or any of you who live in a hot humid climate like I do) - any sign on rust on these nickle-plated latches?
Wendell - (or any of you who live in a hot humid climate like I do) - any sign on rust on these nickle-plated latches?
Comanche, you should install a couple of the push rod releases that jmoore invented. They ALWAYS let you get your panniers open, and still stay locked with the original key setup.
If you decide to do that make sure when you put the panniers and lock back together that you put the cable to the key lock back on the correct way. I cannot remember if the cable goes over the top of the cam or under the bottom, but it you get it backwards it may work for a while, and then all the sudden the push rods will work with out unlocking. Then you will get to take it all apart so you can take 30 seconds to move the cable back to its correct installation.....Ask me how I know this little fact!!!
Thanx - but no thanx. If I do that, I still have the problem of the plastic in the lids cracking around the screws that hold the catches. Yep - I could epoxy those, but the external latches seem much simpler - and frankly, having the ignition key the same as the pannier key is sometimes a bit of a pain.
BUt thanx -