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Loosing a saddle bag on Vintage!

5K views 31 replies 21 participants last post by  A-58 
#1 ·
I was out for a short ride today and when I stopped at a local bike shop, I noticed that my right side bag was hanging on by the rear spool only!!!
Does any one make a more secure/semi-permanent system to mount the Vintage leather bags? Osprey appear to be out of business! Thanks for your help!
Mike
 
#2 · (Edited)
Unfortunately, this is an ongoing problem and I started a thread on the same subject, with little support from this forum. I'm currently in dispute with my dealer over the bags hanging mechanism. In that, the spool lip just is not big enough to secure the bags for sure, particularly with a sissybar fitted. Indian have fitted a different spool for the RM and it is much better. I'm looking at fitting it onto my Vintage, but apparently they are a different size. Good luck sorting the problem - my saddlebags have come loose 3 times. Once on the motorway and my wife was hanging onto it for dear life until we could stop to re-secure it. Some smart arses on this forum will tell you it's you not fitting them properly (and consider the issue 'no more than a storm in a tea cup') - not the case - I'm an aircraft engineer, and it is impossible at times to be totally sure it is on correctly - consequently, it is not fit for purpose and potentially very dangerous!
 
#3 ·
Silverhorse,,
I'm using RM spools on my Vintage. I installed a Viking leather covered trunk using the Indian trunk base and it came with the proper spools. I had to slightly open the "U" shaped brackets on the bag(s). This is the first time this happened for me, and I was lucky!!! I will sort it out
 
#10 ·
The backrest only matters if you intend to fit it with the security screws. Unfortunately, in my neck of the woods its essential or it would walk. Plus the screws make it more secure. With the backrest fitted it is not possible to see the bags are located fully as you put them on. Also, on mine the backrest tends to push over to one side making for a very tight fit.
 
#11 ·
Unfortunately I lost a bag off the Vintage just a few months ago, but luckily retrieved it. But my own damned-fool fault; I'd taken the bags off to clean behind them - the wife calls me in for lunch so I just hang them back on and don't clip them; then I forget go back out and go for a ride. Nobody's fault but mine....as Led Zeppelin used to say.

But assuming they're correctly latched I've never had a problem, and I can't actually see a design fault unless someone is looking for some auto-latching system. Assuming the bags are hooked over the ridge on the spool (easy to see) and the over-centre catch is set (which was my 'oops') I can't see how they're going to come off.

And that's 25,000 miles on with the bags loaded every way from empty to touring loaded-up and bulging with far more weight than Indian ever anticipated.
 
#14 ·
Just a couple of checks I do on my 14 Vintage:
Make sure that the lever on the inside of the bag has the horizontal pin that holds the lever in place. If the lever gets turned when it is the open position this little bugger will fall out and the bag will not stay attached. I used a red marker so I can see it more clearly when the bag is open.
When removing items from the saddle bag I check the lever to make sure I haven’t snagged it and accidentally released the lever.
Always double/ triple check that the clip is over the spool, especially after a service weather or not I did the service or dealer.
Touch wood, haven’t lost a bag yet.

Rawhide
 
#15 · (Edited)
Just a couple of checks I do on my 14 Vintage:
Make sure that the lever on the inside of the bag has the horizontal pin that holds the lever in place. If the lever gets turned when it is the open position this little bugger will fall out and the bag will not stay attached. I used a red marker so I can see it more clearly when the bag is open.
When removing items from the saddle bag I check the lever to make sure I haven’t snagged it and accidentally released the lever.
Always double/ triple check that the clip is over the spool, especially after a service weather or not I did the service or dealer.
Touch wood, haven’t lost a bag yet.

Rawhide
No luck here. You have not lost a bag because you check to make sure they are installed securely. There is nothung wrong with the Indian design.
 
#16 ·
I lost one as well, got to make sure you have them hooked on the spindle. Bad design by Indian. I’m lucky I have very litttle damage.
Not a design issue; operator error. It is geometrically impossible for the bag to come off if the plastic tab is behind the spindle lip and the level locks are snapped down securely. To get a properly secured bag to come loose, you are asking the plastic tab to jump over the spindle even though it is compressed by the level lock.
 
#17 ·
I have a 17 Vintage. The design issue is leather. I wanted leather bags, but let’s face it, leather, for everyday riding, doesn’t make sense. But I’d buy them again. 15,000 miles and the only issue is as mentioned the pun that holds everything together.
 
#18 ·
Unfortunately, this is an ongoing problem and I started a thread on the same subject, with little support from this forum. I'm currently in dispute with my dealer over the bags hanging mechanism. In that, the spool lip just is not big enough to secure the bags for sure, particularly with a sissybar fitted. Indian have fitted a different spool for the RM and it is much better. I'm looking at fitting it onto my Vintage, but apparently they are a different size. Good luck sorting the problem - my saddlebags have come loose 3 times. Once on the motorway and my wife was hanging onto it for dear life until we could stop to re-secure it. Some smart arses on this forum will tell you it's you not fitting them properly (and consider the issue 'no more than a storm in a tea cup') - not the case - I'm an aircraft engineer, and it is impossible at times to be totally sure it is on correctly - consequently, it is not fit for purpose and potentially very dangerous!
 
#20 ·
Lost a bag and all contents about a year ago from my 2106 Chief Vintage and when discussing this with the dealer was informed that I must not have had the bag properly attached. They also said they were aware of this happening only one once or twice. Wow a $1300 mistake, but my insurance did cover it (although not what was inside). I'm not saying it was "properly" installed, what I'm suggesting is that the dealers make customers aware of the situation so they take care to insure the bags are correctly installed.
 
#21 ·
Because of threads like this, I had the service manager show me the proper and improper way of putting them on and how to tell if they are not on correctly. If you can get any part of your finger between the mount and the half moon shape clip on the bag it’s not on correctly.
 
#23 ·
I honestly do not understand why this is so hard for some people. It's pretty logical how the system works.
Well Mr Clever, let me try and clear this up. I have had the RM spools fitted at my dealer for sometime now and they HAVE cured the problem I was having and made fitment of the saddlebags much easier and more secure. No problems since I changed them. The difference is clear from the photo below. The original one's with the single lip are crap compared to the RM version. All you have to do is cut the RM one down a little and rotate the original insert for the perfect fit. In my opinion all vintage owners should make this change and its a 10 cent solution.....
Cylinder
 
#24 ·
Add me to the list of people that learned about carefully installing the bags.... the hard way. Luckily for me a nice lady on the highway caught up to me flashing her lights wildly. By the time that I circled back, an older gentlemen had picked it up off the road was about to take it home and look for a name or phone number in it.

The good news is that the damage was really just a scuff. Not bad for a 70mph drop onto blacktop. Some refinishing work and the dye kit and things are in order. I am much more careful now, and no problems since.
 
#25 ·
I lost a bag off my Vintage over a year ago. Luckily I heard it and saw it bouncing down the road behind me. Scuff damage only. Phew. Cause? Operator error plain and simple. I had taken off the bags and not put them on properly. No fault of Indian but mine!!! As said here if you take off a bag please make sure you put it back on properly. No issues since then but I do give the bags a bit of a pull before and during each ride just in case
 
#26 ·
I lost the left saddlebag on my Vintage about a year ago while riding about 60mph on a five lane busy road at lunch time.
I saw something in the mirror that looked like my saddlebag bouncing off a truck's grill. I checked and sure enough it was gone. I had purchased the bike with about 500 miles on it. The bags had been on the bike for about three weeks when this suddenly happened. I had not been taking them off and on. I've never been able to figure out what was wrong and why I'd had no prior problem. The bike was under warranty and I worked something out with Indian. Lots of phone calls. The dealer stood up for me too. I've since purchased the locking ones from Osprey. They permanently mount the bags. I simply use saddle bag liner bags inside the leather and leave leave the saddlebags. The hex head on the Osprey units has a head that won't work unless you have their special type of hex wrench, which comes with them. Thus, hard to steal.

Oh yeah. after three trips back to the area where this happened and after getting help for a local cop, we never did find that saddlebag. It may have been embedded in some Peterbilt grille.
 
#27 ·
Add me to the “ lost a saddlebag” group. Agree was my error, but with sissy bar on the room to latch on one side wasn’t apparently sufficient to get a solid lock down. When I finally found the bag the one latch was still intact and locked down.

Bag was destroyed and someone that got there before me took one of the conchos and the owners manual as reward for dragging off the road apparently. I’ll try to add the RM spools and the all thread lock. Be riding without bags until I figure they are locked down.

Thanks to a member for selling me a slightly damaged bag as a replacement.
 
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