Of all days for this to happen... Met with my American Legion Riders group this morning for breakfast and a run to the Easyrider Bike Show in Sacramento. On the way in where 160 splits off from I80, my left saddlebag decided to jump ship and fell off the bike (nobody hurt). The bottom portion is scratched lightly (all things considered), but the lid is chipped on the outside edge and the latch cover is scratched along with the top rail. nice little $650-$700 mishap.
The money is there in my emergency needs fund (I keep some dough stashed away for bike emergencies such as this). I just need to do some footwork to see what's the best way to deal with it. I'll take the bag out to the collision center this week and see what they say. I'm watching eBay for parts and may just get a lid there and have it repainted with the bottom. I can get a latch cover cheap there as well.
So, all that being said, anyone else out there ever loose a hard saddlebag on the road and if so, was there any chance of blaming it on quick release pin failure. I'm pretty sure it's my fault as I pulled the bags yesterday to wash and polish the bike. I thought I had secured them back on properly, but I guess I must not have. Won't ever do that again... Geesh....

 

And some people don't like the bag guards on the UC. Guarantee I'll never lose a bag.

 

Get a new one. Particularly if a newer bike.

Flip the used on eBay. You'd be surprised what you could get.

 

True but you'll still get scratches. Fortunately not as painful as the whole bag skidding down the road though.

When my BargeGlide was in for its second service the wash guy forgot to lock the fasteners-- found it when I got home. (I did a walk around but didn't pull on the bag or I would have discovered it in the dealer parking lot.)
He admitted to the SM that he forgot to latch them which saved his job, and the dealer replaced the bag at their cost...

You know the moral to this story but:

1- don't let the dealer wash your bike; and
2- don't just walk around-- pull test bags, panels, windshields, etc.

 

Haven't ever lost one but have had a lid pop open on occasion. I just bought a speed nut and a cap screw for each side so i won't ever lose em by accident or by a thief!!

 

Mine came off my '06 Road King when I first got it. The pins were very difficult to get them to snap and I didn't know any better that they have to lock or they will work themselves loose. Even after pulling on them. Insurance paid for a new saddlebag 100% even though I had a deductible so I was pretty happy. Now I know the pins have to lock or it's not on.

 

I went ahead and ordered a new saddlebag. It's a 2011 and anything less would be just that... less..

 

I've never lost one but I did find one once. Fortunately there was enough informationinside to contact the owner. He had noticed it missing but was almost 100 miles away.

 

Only bike I ever had with hard bags was my Duo Glide and they were about the only thing that never fell off of it. Lost a leather bag that was mounted with an EZ bracket a couple years ago in Canada.

Didn't find out it was gone till I'd ridden over 100 miles since last seeing it on the bike. Went back to look for it but weather was so bad I couldn't see ****. Lost about $700.00 in parts and tools plus the bag (another $350.00).

Got new bags and still using EZ brackets but I'm always feeling back there to make sure they are still on whenever I go riding and have them on the bike.

 

My left side bag is hammered on the bottom edge, the right one is only nicked lightly. Didn't drop them , they are crash/riding scars!