| Author | Message | ||
     Bloochdog |
I know this issue was addressed some time ago but cant find the thread...... snapped the latch closing the bag yesterday .. nothing in it... is there a repair kit ? | ||
| Roadrailer |
I'm curious, were you using te latch to pull the bag closed? My bags are pretty hard to close, and I don't think the latches can take the strain (although they should be able to). I use one hand to press the outside half of the case closed, and the other to latch and lock. So far so good. I would assume you dealer can get replacement parts. | ||
| Ulywife |
Our latch also broke and was covered under warranty. A Buell Rep called and mailed us the latch so we didn't have to send the entire bag back and my husband could get ready for Daytona. Just have your key code with you when you call your dealer. They were quick to respond and realize that this is a problem and are talking to the manufacturer about a stronger latch. Try this thread for the history. The Bad Weather Bikers' Buell Motorcycle Enthusiasts' Discussion Forum » Big, Bad & Dirty (BadWeB Adventure Board) » Archive through March 03, 2006 » Broken saddlebag latch Kristi | ||
| Court |
Loftus: Easy fix. . .call BUELL CUSTOMER SERVICE and ask for Charles Kennedy. No reason you can't be fixed up tomorrow. Court | ||
| Stevenknapp |
Question for you all. Do your bags latch shut in the "Unlock" state? For me it's a three handed effort, one to hold the bag shut, another to close the latch and hold it shut. The third to turn the key to locked. Well, OK, I use the hand that was holding the bag shut to turn the key, but still seems strange. | ||
| Roadrailer |
My latches don't stay shut unless they're locked, but I don't have any problem shutting the latch and locking it with the same hand. | ||
| Stevenknapp |
Ok. Just strikes me as weird. Every other piece of luggage I own latches shut, THEN you lock it. Actually sorta shocked me the first time I unlocked it. It just popped open. I'm sure with more use it will become 2nd nature. | ||
| Jim_sb |
Hi guys, Given that there have been some issues with the bags, the latches and the locks, I treat mine with extreme caution. I do not use the latch to close the bag, I close it with my hand (applying gentle pressure if required) then gently close the latch and turn the key. I do find the key maneuver a bit unusual but if you're not rushing it's fine. The luggage is huge. I took a 2 man tent, sleeping bag, pillow, ground cloth, clothing & sundries for 3 days, mesh riding jacket, tools, fix-a-flat stuff, etc., etc. and had room left over. Only item I had to bungee on the pillion was my Therm-a-Rest pad - it was too long to fit inside. It is REALLY nice to be able walk away from your bike knowing everything is locked and secure. Best, Jim in Santa Barbara | ||
| Ulywife |
We've just taken the approach that you have to close the bag completely before trying to engage the latch to complete the closing process. We are extra cautious now that we've had one break. My fear is being out and it breaking while away from home. Thank goodness for bungee cords! Kristi | ||
| Bloochdog |
well it seems natural . the racheting of the bag to close..... i think it was designed to do just that.. sortof a prehooking motion...i do like the look of the bags .. but lets not kid ourselves its a 20 dollar piece of plastic.. made to fit in a steel frame and the latch is a very weak component... for 700 plus dollars one would expect the quality of a pelican case... im sorta kinda bitchin about it .. but i do like the style.... and lets not blame buell for this one .. its an aftermarket product with a buell sticker on it.. we should not have to tippy toe about the bags when closing or opening ... they should have been engineered for abuse.... and thanks court, i'm sure buell will stand behind thier product.. hell ... we seem to be doing them a service here with all the free R&D''' cheers everyone and come ride the shenandoah valley this summer... | ||
| Jim_sb |
Hello Blooch, I rode Death Valley last weekend with some friends. A buddy and I did West Side Road (40 miles, all non-paved). He on his new GS1200, I on my Ulysses. Guess who's luggage broke? Hint: Mine didn't. Regards, Jim in Santa Barbara | ||
| Guybones |
All, I broke my right bag latch, the internal hold down bungee clip got caught, and I muscled it home, with predictable results. Upside? - Buell had a replacement to me within two days (thanks Dave!) along with a letter from Bruce Champion, P&A manager @ Buell. I was quite impressed; he admitted the problem, noted that his staff had experienced same, and said that H-B is working on a redesign, which he will keep me informed of. This has been my only warranty issue in 2000 miles (o.k., not many miles, but...) and Buell handled it with class - even color pics showing how to replace it! Oh, you use the same lockset from the broken latch. | ||
| Chadhargis |
Bad latches are a known issue? Wonder if all of us will get the new part or if we'll have to break ours first (hopefully not in the middle of nowhere). | ||
| Jim_sb |
Let's "reset" this discussion for a moment... I *love* the Hepco & Becker bags. They are huge, go on & off easily, looks are reasonably stylish - I haven't had a chance to check how watertight they are though. I think Buell made a good choice to go with an outside vendor such as H&B. As I alluded to earlier, my buddy's GS1200 luggage isn't without issues either as his top case did an "Elvis" and "left the building" while we were traveling down West Side Road in DV. We definitely took some hard hits on that little stretch of dirt, gravel, rocks and sand and the HB luggage showed no signs of stress whatever. Oh, except that my brand new water bottle (2 liters, of course) that I had bought (don't ride in the desert without water, ya' know) busted open somehow and emptied itself into my top case (which apparently holds water quite nicely). Of course I was po'd but in retrospect the only items destroyed were some maps. Everything else dried out eventually and thankfully my digital camera and cell phone came back to life. Anyway my latches have been fine but based on info. learned here I don't use them to pull the bags shut, rather I use my hand to close the bags then gently latch them. So far so good. I've heard that some of the rubber seals have deteriorated and/or come loose - so far mine are peachy. Best, Jim in Santa Barbara | ||
| Crusty |
Considering how Buell has handled past problems, I have no worries that they'll do the right thing. The new latch is coming, so I'll just keep a couple of bungees in the bags until it arrives. | ||
| Jim_sb |
I agree with Bungees. I carry those, zip ties, a fix-a-flat kit (damn things work great! I have 2400 miles on a fix-a-flat D616 so far - runs good as new...), tools (SAE & Metric for the Uly), Swiss Army knife. Will be adding Qwik Steel shortly along with some spare fasteners. I've also attached a Battery Tender lead to my Uly and I bring along the alligator clip attachment. That way I can jump start another bike or my own should something go awry. When you're out in the middle of nowhere on a seldom traveled dirt road you need to take care of everything yourself. Out in the desert last weekend the places a cell phone works are almost non-existent. In fact you should assume it simply won't work anywhere and prepare accordingly. We ran across a car on a major highway in the dez at 10pm at night. Out of fuel. No cell service. Fortunately someone had stopped and was going to the next town (about 25 miles) to get fuel and return for them. In fact, I'd suggest don't pass a gas station unless you *know* where the next one is. I'm also going to start carrying a bottle of octane booster. Some of the gas stations only carry 87 octane fuel and many in remote locations are unmanned - just fuel pumps and a credit card. I suspect our Uly's will run on 87 but I just don't know how that would work. Oh, and from now on I'll bungee my water bottle OUTSIDE the darn luggage. Sheesh. Lesson learned the wet way...  Jim in Santa Barbara | ||
| Thunderbox |
I know fuels are different in different locations but I find my Uly runs pretty well on 89 Octane. I rode across Canada last summer and I was on my M2 and I never had a problem with availability of 91 octane fuel. I took octane booster but never had to use it. | ||
| Ulywife |
Carlos is also happy with his hardbags. He's ridden with them to Daytona and Suches GA, via the Dragon in western NC. Like Jim_sb, we simply close the bag completely before engaging the latch. As far as how Buell has handled our broken latch, we have NO complaints. DaveS and Bruce Champion were fast to respond and get our replacement latch so Carlos would make Daytona. Like with Guybones, color directions, new key and a hand written note with phone numbers to Bruce Champion. Not all companies offer such customer service. I think like everything else in life, it's a learn as you go. This forum has given all of us the opportunity to learn of things to be watchful of, i.e. bag latches and kickstand issues. Reports like these do not mean certain doom, but issues to be mindful of and to do preventive maintenance and checking of our equipment before we ride, be it local or long distance. We still love our Uly and are now in the process of getting the M2 back in shape for the summer. Happy and safe riding, Kristi | ||
| Stevenknapp |
They are huge, go on & off easily, I must need a little bus trip to East Troy. It also took me 15min to get them on the first time. No issues taking them off, but I kept trying to hook the bag over the rack... It's me, not the luggage. | ||
| Chadhargis |
I heard nothing but good things about Buell customer service. Let's hope I never get a chance to talk with them (unless it's at the factory visit during Homecoming).  | ||
| Bloochdog |
it's all good... as i said before i like the styling of the bags.. a couple things i would have done differently... it seems that every hanging piece of gear falls to the lower edge and hangs up.. .. the whole thing about closing the bag all the way stumps me it is closed all the way when i attempt to latch it the only give is that last cm. of movement im sure it was designed that way to insure a good seal.. any when the latch broke on mine , the bag was empty....all brands im sure have their weak and strong points and i tend to dig diff brands of bikes . Giving credit where it is due... If i let glitches bug me i would not own old land rovers. Anybody want an old land rover? | ||
| Bloochdog |
I am glad this BWB exsits... It is great to share info with all you guys.. if anybody here is riding the shenandoah valley , give me a shout always have a rack ,a hot shower and plenty of tent space... cheers | ||
| Chadhargis |
Yeah...but is it a NICE rack? | ||
| Bloochdog |
awesome rack.......  i'm afraid i'm doing this.. | ||
| Bloochdog |
I gotta give John at Buell a big thank you... reported the latch prob late wed. they came in this morning to southside hd in va beach.... super fast thanks all at buell.... | ||
| Grimace308 |
dude, one of my latches broke last friday. st. superdaveS is sending me replacements. i had my jacket liner in a plastic bag, inside the left sidebag. grimace308 wasnt happy and that was just a foreshadowing of the trip to come.  | ||
| Thunderbox |
I have looked at my bags from every angle possible and I can't see how you can break one of the latches if you open and close the bags properly. Can someone tell me the circumstance that causes this problem. My bags open and close so well I just have a problem seeing how you could damage one of the latches. | ||
| Debueller |
Thunderbox, The latches are made mostly of plastic. On mine the plastic broke where the steel pin passes through the "hook" half of the latch assembly. Somewhere here on badweb I seen a photo of a broken one. It appeared to fail in the same way mine did. When mine broke I was in a drive through post office line and I was in a hurry. My weatherstipping was not seated prorerly into the grove (it had fallen out earlier) and the bags were loaded. It didn't seem like I had used that much extra pressure to close them but it broke anyway. They warranted it & I understand there may be some sort of "fix" for it eveuantually. Meanwhile I will be careful when using them. You know what Murphy's law says about these things happening again when you least want it to.(like when you are in a hurry ) | ||
| Thunderbox |
Honestly I can't say I have had the bags very full so maybe I will see them hangup when I go on the trip I have planned. | ||
| Ratcatcher |
RE: Broken latches http://www.hepco-becker.de/_eng/frameset.php Hepco Becker sell replacement parts for the Journey Luggage (which is the Uly luggage under the HB label). See the web address above |
