Saddlebags: burned a hole

northsidegz · 04-28-2014, 04:19 PM

Over the winter I store my bike at a local bike shop. I had them install new tires this winter. No big deal. Got my bike back (they delivered it back to me at my home) and rode it into work a few days later. Upon arriving at work and opening the saddle bags it was clear something was smelling.

Sure enough, after replacing my tires and re-installing the saddle bags, they must have placed the saddle bags on my exhaust pipes. There's now a rather large hole in my right side saddlebag. In fact, I have a bunch of black burnt leather on the exhaust pipe, too.

My wife insists I call the shop back and tell them they need to fix the situation for me. I'm more of the mindset of, I took the bike back from them and told them everything looks fine.

Anyway, trying to decide if it's worth my time going back to them, or not. A bit bummed since they were a pretty nice pair of Willie & Max saddlebags, too.

**jonathan180iq** · 04-28-2014, 04:57 PM

This happens more often than people would assume... It's not big deal. the bags aren't even ruined, honestly.

Take a small rectangular piece of sheet aluminum, large enough to cover the hole, and rivet it into place. Think of it like a patch for your pants, only made of metal...cause your pants are so badass.

Joe Bielski did this a few years ago and from what I remember it held up quite nicely. With the aluminum patch he was even able to leave the bags touching the pipes and didn't have much of an issue with heat getting into the bags either.

That being said, it wasn't your install and someone else messed it up. You can take it by there to appease the wife - they're going to tell you that once the bike leaves the shop they aren't liable for damage. But maybe you'll get a different answer. At least you can tell her you tried and then fix it on your own and everyone is happy.

ImaginativeFig · 05-01-2014, 12:06 PM

Lol, maybe they'll at least clean the leather off for you

Now I wanna patch everything with metal, 'cause all my stuff's so bad ass... except that my pants often give out in the thighs first.... metal patches in the thighs sound uncomfortable, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about people kicking me in the crotch... not that that's much of a problem now, but you never know...
...
hmmm....

tnastvogel · 05-28-2014, 06:50 PM

The same thing happened to me, but I was lucky enough to notice before it burned all the way through. I modified the straps the go over the fender by punching more holes in them so the bags sat up higher, then I drilled holes in the sides of the bags and bought some longer bolts to go through the fender and the bags so that they'd stay anchored.

I can take some pictures and write down the steps of the process if you're interested.

04-28-2014, 04:19 PM	#1
northsidegz Senior Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 305	Saddlebags: burned a hole Over the winter I store my bike at a local bike shop. I had them install new tires this winter. No big deal. Got my bike back (they delivered it back to me at my home) and rode it into work a few days later. Upon arriving at work and opening the saddle bags it was clear something was smelling. Sure enough, after replacing my tires and re-installing the saddle bags, they must have placed the saddle bags on my exhaust pipes. There's now a rather large hole in my right side saddlebag. In fact, I have a bunch of black burnt leather on the exhaust pipe, too. My wife insists I call the shop back and tell them they need to fix the situation for me. I'm more of the mindset of, I took the bike back from them and told them everything looks fine. Anyway, trying to decide if it's worth my time going back to them, or not. A bit bummed since they were a pretty nice pair of Willie & Max saddlebags, too. __________________ 1982 Suzuki GS450 Bobber (SOLD) 2000 Suzuki GZ250 (SOLD) 1998 Kawasaki Vulcan 800A (Present Ride) Login or Register to Remove Ads
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05-01-2014, 12:06 PM	#3
ImaginativeFig Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: College Station, Texas Posts: 138	Lol, maybe they'll at least clean the leather off for you Now I wanna patch everything with metal, 'cause all my stuff's so bad ass... except that my pants often give out in the thighs first.... metal patches in the thighs sound uncomfortable, but at least I wouldn't have to worry about people kicking me in the crotch... not that that's much of a problem now, but you never know... ... hmmm.... Login or Register to Remove Ads
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04-28-2014, 04:57 PM	#2
jonathan180iq Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Dalton, GA Posts: 3,996	This happens more often than people would assume... It's not big deal. the bags aren't even ruined, honestly. Take a small rectangular piece of sheet aluminum, large enough to cover the hole, and rivet it into place. Think of it like a patch for your pants, only made of metal...cause your pants are so badass. Joe Bielski did this a few years ago and from what I remember it held up quite nicely. With the aluminum patch he was even able to leave the bags touching the pipes and didn't have much of an issue with heat getting into the bags either. That being said, it wasn't your install and someone else messed it up. You can take it by there to appease the wife - they're going to tell you that once the bike leaves the shop they aren't liable for damage. But maybe you'll get a different answer. At least you can tell her you tried and then fix it on your own and everyone is happy.
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05-28-2014, 06:50 PM	#4
tnastvogel Junior Member Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 24	The same thing happened to me, but I was lucky enough to notice before it burned all the way through. I modified the straps the go over the fender by punching more holes in them so the bags sat up higher, then I drilled holes in the sides of the bags and bought some longer bolts to go through the fender and the bags so that they'd stay anchored. I can take some pictures and write down the steps of the process if you're interested.
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