Hey guys, just interested in experiences...
Had the pucks which worked good, switched to the little pop up buttons but now can't get the darn things to stay closed with the vibrations...I do quite a few miles and just end up having to lock them to keep them closed.

Has anybody replaced the lids with used ones and the hardware as well or have any ideas??? I'm getting frusterated.

 

I have the same setup; would not trade my police bags for anything! I had to redrill the holes on the metal catches on the bags. Make the holes into slots and you can adjust them up or down as needed.

I can see why the pucks are useful to seal the bags but I like the look of the popups. Buy the HD flush mount gas cap and guage and carry the theme to the tanks.

 

Ive got a friend with those bags and he has the same problem. Is there any other latches out there besides these. He tried drilling but it still comes loose once in a while.

 

pop-ups are not very secure but they look better than the pucks for sure. I just keep mine locked. People have the standard bags pop open also if not locked. Had a guy pass me on the I-state once with his standard hard bag wide open doing about 80 mph. I don't know how the lid stayed on but he prolly lost a few things. Just lock em

 

check out e-gay theres a guy there that sells magnet latches that are 20lb test magnets they look like they would hold anything closed

 

Rostius, do you have the latches from Squadfitters? What you describe is similar to a friend's problem and his are from Squadfitters. The problem seems to be that the pawl, the part that "catches" the bracket on the inside of the saddlebag, is not long enough and simply doesn't have enough "purchase" and only a small tip of the pawl "catches" the bracket.

If you want a replacement, I can suggest two from Southco, HD's vendor for the OEM hockey puck latches. One is a chrome plated zinc version--MP05-312-11. It uses the same 1.00" lid opening that you currently have. These sell for about $27 a pair from a Southco distributor.

Another is M1-2A-13-1 which is an ABS plastic flush mount latch that uses a 1.25" opening and requires that the lid's OEM hole be enlarged slightly. These sell for about $21 a pair.

Both versions will require relocating the bracket about 3/4" lower in the bag (not difficult to do) because their barrels and pawl sit lower in the bag.

I sold about 75 pairs of these on ebay with written installation instructions and never had a call back due to installation problems or lid openings. The second version mentioned is what I've used for 2+ years/40K miles and prefer cosmetically to the first version mentioned. However, due to the way the pawl is assembled, care needs to be exercised not to crush its base on solid objects in the saddlebag.

You can see both these products and their specs at Southco.com using the part numbers provided.

HTH and good luck with resolving your problem. I'll see if I can figure out how to post a pic.