Any known improvements for Wixom saddlebag mounts?

[Moto]

Here's a topic for the Wayback Machine, should have asked about it 30 years ago.




I've got the standard Wixom mounts, I believe, in which the bags are hung on pins that go through simple holes drilled in the fiberglass, and a steel backing plate. The pins have their own holes through which two spring steel clips drop to retain the pins.

Over time two problems develop. Vibration wears a channel in the backing plate that the spring lies against. This makes it difficult to raise the pins to release the bag. In addition, the holes in the fiberglass that receive the pins enlarge, causing a lot of vibration and noise.

I've thought of threading the pins to receive a nut and washer. Does anyone have experience with a fix that would make the bags easy on and easy off, and also stop the vibrations?

I expect someone figured this out long ago. Thanks for your thoughts.

Moto

P.S. I just checked the three volumes of the old MGNOC Tips for Guzzis. No luck there.

[Idontwantapickle]

I haven't had a set of those in quite a while but this might be an idea for you.
Enlarge the holes slightly in the backing plate (if they are worn) and replace the pins with bolts that could be tack welded in place on the mount. Then use a lock washer and a wingnut for a tight mount.  The only real downside would be keeping up with the wingnuts and washers.
Hope this helps.
Hunter

[Tom H]

"I've got the standard Wixom mounts, I believe, in which the bags are hung on pins that go through simple holes drilled in the fiberglass, and a steel backing plate. The pins have their own holes through which two spring steel clips drop to retain the pins."

This is stock on both sets of my Wixom bags.

"In addition, the holes in the fiberglass that receive the pins enlarge, causing a lot of vibration and noise"

The holes on your do not look worn out in the pic. If they are you could replace the metal plate and not worry about the fiberglass. If your good with fiberglass, you could fill the holes and re-drill them

A simple way to solve the "looseness" if the holes are good is to add a shim/washer between the lock spring and the metal plate. You will need to push inward on the bag to get the spring locked in. Your though about threading the stock mount pin is an interesting one. Worth thinking about.

Hope this helps,
Tom

[n3303j]

On the last set I owned I removed the aluminum plate carrying the locking spring and made a copy in stainless steel. Same for the little outside plate that hooks over the headed pin at the bottom.

Really like the bags but vibration will do a number on them. Even had 2 mount frame failures and that was hung off a BMW R60/2 which is a relatively smooth riding machine.

Fabricated my own custom mounts for the 850 T3 that put the bags in a far more sensible position (lower and more forward) than the Wixom mounts normally fitted to an 850T3.

[Moto]

Thanks to all three of you -- good ideas in each response.

I reconsidered my idea of threading the existing posts, and I now think there would be too little material left to rely on.

The plates are indeed aluminum. I think I'll make stainless steel replacements, which should alleviate the grooving problem for a good long time.

The existing upper mounting posts have strong footings, so I'll keep them.

What I think I'll do to tighten things up is add 6mm holes about a half inch fore and aft of the posts to accept bolts and wing nuts. (There is room for this on the bracket, though the curvature of the bag might call for a rubber washer to fill gaps between the bracket and bag. EDIT-- Or I may put countersunk screws between the posts, with the wing nuts attaching behind the brackets.) In this plan the spring clips become a failsafe device backing up the wing nuts and should be in looser contact with new plate because of the bolt tension, further alleviating the grooving problem.

I still haven't figured out what to do about the lower mounts...

Moto

BTW, I was riding around without the bags yesterday. What a treat not to have that rattling noise over every bump. The lower mass, partly attributable to a few odds and ends like tools, was also pretty nice! Improved the roll response noticeably.

[Tom]

Cut up some inner tube and use for gaskets to take up the slack on the pins when mounting.