Leaky Saddlebags :-(

[Manfred]

I'm still stratchin' my head over the fact that the fairing "saddlebags" leak. But the BMW brand hard saddlebags on my bike allow seepage! What manner of hardware is this? Is it normal or should I assume - despite the fact that they latch up snugly - that there's a mis-match on the mating surfaces?

[barryg]

Uh, the bike is over 20 years old. Both the lid that that covers the storage unit in fairing and the saddle bag have gaskets that seal them. After 20 years , they are probably dryrotted and will not completely seal the two mating pieces. Replace those gaskets and U will probably have a seal. :brow

[Manfred]

I know about the gaskets on the fairing units. Gaskets on the saddlebags? There are ridged metal edges that mate-up when the bags are latched. Are there supposed to be gaskets in there?

BTW - I know it's 20 years old. It's newer than the one it replaced; a 1980 Yamaha.

[barryg]

I'm assuming you have the motocase style saddle bag. Gasket part # 46 54 2 300 008. I looked on the web site of BMW of Lynchburgh, Va.. Formerly Hammersley BMW. Go to their site and check their microfishe. Make sure that is the bag U have. Sometimes U have to also adjust the latches to get a firmer fit. U may have to use a pick to remove the old gasket, it's probably flattened out inside the area it lays in. Good luck with your project.

[Manfred]

barryg,

Many thanks for your assistance. My bags on shown in post #21 on this thread - http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?t=32753&page=2 not motocross and no evidence of gasket material. The metal edges fit together tongue in groove. I think these metal edges may be a bit warped, allowing some water (not much) to seep through.

[paulfinney2]

The fairing pockets can benefit from a thin weather strip applied around the opening. Weather strp can also go on the saddle bags to absorg rattle or looseness as the fit in the bracket.

[barryg]

I gave U the wrong part #. Proper # is 46 54 2 300 016. Go to the site I gave and double check the part on BMW fische. Good luck with ur project.

[SCQTT]

The saddlebags on my 2007 leak. So what, I bought a motorcycle not a submarie. Put anything critical in zip lock bags.

[tourunigo]

The saddlebags on my 2007 leak. So what, I bought a motorcycle not a submarie. Put anything critical in zip lock bags.

ditto++ All things reside in a waterproof bag of some sort for us. Inexpensive and safe. Do what you can with the equipment of course but plastic is great insurance. -Bob

[GrafikFeat]

I'm still stratchin' my head over the fact that the fairing "saddlebags" leak. But the BMW brand hard saddlebags on my bike allow seepage! What manner of hardware is this? Is it normal or should I assume - despite the fact that they latch up snugly - that there's a mis-match on the mating surfaces?

They may latch up snug, but still loose enough for water to get in.
Figger after 20 some-odd years the latches will lose their ability to pull enough to properly seal. I'd say they've stretched a bit. (#1)

Try putting something on the latch lip to regain some of that pull like a strip of vinyl tape. Then latch it shut. You should feel more tension flipping the latch closed thereby creating a better seal. (#2)
Every now and then you'll need to renew the tape.

Try it and spray the bag with water to see if it stays dry. If not, plastic bags or a bag liner. Your preference!

[Manfred]

grafikfeat,

Thanks for the suggestion. I was pondering that concept - will experiment this week.

[criminaldesign]

same situation here with my saddle bags 20+ years old. My solution was keeping a military dry bag in each case. Plenty enough room to stash all contents in one bags and good to go.

Side note on the bags, last night I installed a small wire cable from case to lid. The small strip included with the case is always snapping off on me and lid just dangles there.

2 eye bolds, spool of cable, closing clasps so the cable can be removed, rubber washers, and locking nuts. No more lids flopping open on me.

[Manfred]

Regarding the mechanism to hold the lids partially open, I used some light weight chain, encased in a cotton sleeve made from an old T-shirt (for silence) to stop the lids at about half-way open. I used the same attach points as the OEM hardware, only having to drill holes through the edge of the bags. No-cost, works great!

[criminaldesign]

same here manfred. 2 holes to drill and good to go.

[535is]

I know about the gaskets on the fairing units. Gaskets on the saddlebags? There are ridged metal edges that mate-up when the bags are latched. Are there supposed to be gaskets in there?

Yes, there are. It looks like a foam cord. I would hope you would find some remnants in there. Still, I bought new ones just last year through a dealership for ~$4 each. The new version is blue (which matches my stripes!) and is hollow plastic - like a thin straw or swizzle stick. It seats in a channel in one side of the opening. IIRC, it goes on the cover.

[Manfred]

Yes, there are. It looks like a foam cord. I would hope you would find some remnants in there. Still, I bought new ones just last year through a dealership for ~$4 each. The new version is blue (which matches my stripes!) and is hollow plastic - like a thin straw or swizzle stick. It seats in a channel in one side of the opening. IIRC, it goes on the cover.

Many thanks for that post! Upon closer inspection of on-line diagrams and conversation with a sales tech at Chicago BMW, I have them pups on order. :beer :clap

[Manfred]

Yes, there are. It looks like a foam cord. I would hope you would find some remnants in there. Still, I bought new ones just last year through a dealership for ~$4 each. The new version is blue (which matches my stripes!) and is hollow plastic - like a thin straw or swizzle stick. It seats in a channel in one side of the opening. IIRC, it goes on the cover.

Mea culpa - Whilst doing something entirely different, I saw these gaskets in my saddlebags! I did not see them before. I doubt a gasket fairy came and put in old gaskets while I was not looking.

Thank you - and the others - who insisted there's gaskets in there. I'm thick headed sometimes (so my wife tells me) and some things take a while to sink in.

[Manfred]

Washed the bike after installing new gaskets. Only water that got in was a couple drops when I opened the bags. :brad

[shire2000]

Another readily available gasket material for the saddle bags is the round rubber stuff used to keep screens in window frames. I had to take an old piece to a glass and screen shop and they were able to match me up with some that was pretty close in size, jst a little bit thicker. I then scrapped, pulled and pried the old stuff out of the groove. then carefully pushed the new stuff in with the aid of some silicone spray and a think rounded piece of plastic from a cheap scraper. There probably is some tool to do this with, but the plastic worked the charm. The new rubber is a little bit thicker, but soft enough to compress and make a good seal. Total cost for a set of bags was under $5 and about 1 hour of actual work.