Triumph Pannier Saddle Bag Repair

[Trapper]

After about a year and a half one of my Triumph Saddle Bags became all distorted. I talk to a friend of mine who had the same problem with his HD Bags and he said he could give the name of the leather shop that fixed his but to get per-paired to pay about 300.00 bucks. I decided that was crazy and looked into fixing them myself. I went to a plastics store and bought a piece of sheet pvc 1/8 th thick by 6"wide and 5' long. I cut one piece to fit the top of the bag and another to fit across the bottom and up the front side I used a plumbers torch moving it back and forth very fast as to keep from burning the pvc until it became very ply-able. I then put it in the bag and formed it to the bags original shape. using a wet rag I cooled it off so that it would retain its shape. Next I Got some all purpose glue that said it was good for plastic and leather and glued the new plastic pieces into the bag. I set the bag on a flat surface and put a lot of books inside it to hold it flat until the glue dried. It looks great
and only took a couple of hours to do. Plus the whole thing only cost about 30.00 bucks. Hope this helps someone with the same problem.

Trapper

[SteveRed]

Nice one Trapper! Very handy... Bet the wife loves you :wink: :razz:

[rusty]

I'm responding to this thread to "bring it back to the front" so Vonbonds might find it easier. Vonbonds, this is the fix I was telling you about to "stiffen" the bags you have. I believe Raymond B. has a set he is thinking about getting rid of & I would like to pick up a set. Are your's the Triumph set? That is what Raymond has.

Good luck on the repair & let me know (if you attempt) how it goes. If I latch onto Raymond's set, I may need to address the same issue in the future.

Glad to hear you trip home went as well (even better with the site seeing you took in) on the return.

Hope to visit again some day.

[vonbonds]

One of my winter projects is to "clean up" my saddle bags as one is sagging pretty badly. I can't locate a plastics store in my area so where is the best place to go to purchase 1/8th thick PVC sheets?

Thanks...

Tom

[dougl]

On 2006-12-13 11:24, vonbonds wrote:
One of my winter projects is to "clean up" my saddle bags as one is sagging pretty badly. I can't locate a plastics store in my area so where is the best place to go to purchase 1/8th thick PVC sheets?

Thanks...

Tom

Why not use aluminum?

[sbljr]

Yes aluminum is a good alternative. Those considering saddlebags should be aware ALL leather softbags will eventually warp if much weight is carried, unless adequately reinforced at the factory (and some bags expensive enough they ought to be aren't).

So unless you think faded, distorted old bags give you that grizzled look some cruiser riders actually seek in leather (it lends posers an aire of authenticity), you can count on doing this job at some point if the bags aren't reinforced.

2006-12-13 11:24, vonbonds wrote:
One of my winter projects is to "clean up" my saddle bags as one is sagging pretty badly. I can't locate a plastics store in my area so where is the best place to go to purchase 1/8th thick PVC sheets?

Thanks...

TomOn 2006-12-13 12:35, dougl wrote:

Why not use aluminum?

[Trapper]

I picked it up at a plastics wholesale house in Colo Springs, I am sure you can find it where you live or try the net. Look up this site on the net I am sure that one of the locations can help you as well. It will make those bags look like new.

Trapper
www.regal-plastics.com

[HeR3tic]

These new bags on my 07 Tourer have pieces of plastic in them. But I'd say 1/16" is thicker than they are. I'll verify 1/16" or less.

[dougl]

On 2006-12-25 06:39, HeR3tic wrote:
These new bags on my 07 Tourer have pieces of plastic in them. But I'd say 1/16" is thicker than they are. I'll verify 1/16" or less.

I believe the hard plastic backing is thicker than 1/16. I noticed that the leather pulls away at the bottom because it's not riveted at the bottom. I put a few fasteners around the bottom and it's more rigid. However, unless the bottom is supported, the bag will eventually sag under weight. If you're using the stock mounting bracket, which support the bottom, the bags whould work OK.

[Lee]

I have the leather lyke bags. They are very easy to remove, have lots of room, lock, and they do not lose their shape. I ony use them for trips but they work great. Cost is under $500..


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