Does anybody know what causes this, I cant see the problem. When I place my lid over the bag to engage the hooks the hinge folds towards seat and I have to pull the hinge back to lay the the lid down on top of bag. For the life of me I cant see whats going on. I keep looking at the bag hinge on the left side and comparing but I dont see a difference, what am I missing??

 

I'll take a wild a$$ed guess and say the spring is broken. Bad news is some dealers will tell you you need to replace the entire hinge. Good news is they are wrong. You can buy a spring for about a buck or two.
Heres the notice and a few tips to make the job eaiser ( keep in mind, the first time or two will result in some level of cursing until you figure out what you are doing wrong.
The bulletin tells you the repair can be done on the bike.. IGNORE that. Remove the hinge and go sit down with it at the workbench ( in my case, the table in front of the TV). Look for marks that show where the spring used to make contact, and mark them with a Sharpie or other good felt marker ( this step is important when you start cursing.... you will be cursing because you have no idea where the spring should be and reminding yourself you should have marked the contact point. It takes a few tries to get the spring in right, then it just slips in place. Then, put a single drop of oil on the spring, and open the other lid and do the same. Make it a point to do it once a year or you will get to play the game over and over.

SADDLEBAG LATCH SPRING
(Part No. 90707-00) REPLACEMENT
REMOVAL
1. Lay clean pad or blanket on work bench to protect
painted surfaces of saddlebag.
2. Remove saddlebag from motorcycle leaving lid open.
See REMOVAL in this section.
3. Lay saddlebag flat on pad with the inboard side facing
up and the lid closest to you.
4. Remove two T20 TORX screws to release check strap
from lid.
5. Remove two T15 TORX screws to release check strap
from saddlebag.
6. Remove two remaining T15 TORX screws to remove
latch from saddlebag. Move saddlebag back and out of
the way.
CAUTION
This procedure assumes that the latch is NOT removed
from the saddlebag lid. If there is doubt as to whether the
procedure can be accomplished without scratching
painted surfaces of the lid, then remove the five remaining
T15 TORX screws to completely remove latch.
7. Position lid right side up with latch closest to you.
8. Raise latch slightly and rotate hinge on inboard side so
that it is topside with the two plastic rub bars pointed
upward. See upper frame of Figure 1.
9. Rotate rub bar section of hinge to expose hinge pin and
spring. Using a flat tip screwdriver, carefully bend
crimped end link outward. See lower frame of Figure 1.
NOTE
The end link on opposite side of hinge has a weld spot that
prevents pin removal.
10. Reposition lid so that it is upside down with the latch
farthest from you. Rotate hinge so that plastic rub bars
are positioned beneath latch and spring is topside.
11. Using a needle nose pliers, grasp pin through opening
just outboard of the spring and push toward the crimped
link side. Work pin in this manner until end can be seen
exiting crimped link. See upper frame of Figure 2. If
necessary, pry crimped link outward a little more to
achieve the desired result.
12. Grasping end with needle nose pliers, slowly pull pin
from links until spring can be slid off opposite end. Only
pull pin as far as necessary to remove spring. See lower
frame of Figure 2.
INSTALLATION
1. Slide
new
spring onto end of pin. Orient spring as shown in lower frame of Figure 2.
2. Slide pin back through links. Using tapered end of
needle nose pliers, push end of pin into crimped link.
3. Reposition lid so that it is right side up with latch closest
to you. As before, raise latch slightly and rotate hinge on
inboard side so that it is topside with plastic rub bars
pointing upward. Now rotate rub bar section of hinge to
expose hinge pin and spring. See Figure 1.
4. Holding lid down with elbow, if necessary, use a pliers to
bend crimped link back into its original position, so that
pin is captured and will not back out of hinge.
5. Reposition lid so that it is upside down with the latch
farthest from you. Move saddlebag forward for
reinstallation of lid. Align four holes in saddlebag with
those in latch.
6. Install two inboard T15 TORX screws to fasten latch to
saddlebag. Alternately tighten screws to 20-25
in-lbs
(2.3-2.8 Nm).
7. Align holes in check strap with those in lid and
saddlebag. Orient check strap so that logo is topside
with the bottom of the bar and shield on the lid side.
8. Install two T15 TORX screws to fasten check strap and
latch to saddlebag. Alternately tighten screws to 20-25
in-lbs
(2.3-2.8 Nm).
9. Install two T20 TORX screws to fasten check strap to lid.
Alternately tighten screws to 18-20
in-lbs
(2.0-2.3 Nm).
10. Close saddlebag and install on motorcycle. See
INSTALLATION in this section.

CRAP.. I have the PDF, but it exceeds the system limits. I cut and pasted the step by step instructions, but it will not let me bring in the pictures. If you need them, send me a message with your e-mail and I'll shoot them to you.


Rags

 

I have had a problem with mine on 06 rd king, sometimes when I open it all the way back the locking mechanism, the little piece of oval shaped metal at the opposite end of where the key goes in seems to hang up on the backside of the metal backing plate, and all I have to do is insert the key, slightly turn it, not enough to lock it to give the small oval locking piece enough room to get by the backing plate. It does not happen often but once I figured out what was happening, it is always an easy fix. You can overlook it as it is hard to see, you have to look under the black piece of cloth with hd logo on it that keeps the lid from laying all the way back then look closely at which side of the backing plate the latch is on.

 

Rags722, What else can I say besides thanks a million. If you lived near me i would bring you a case of beer.
Thanks again, very much appreciated, and pm with email sent. Thanks. Its members like yourself that make HDF's what it is.

 

I just did this fix last week. The part I had the most trouble with was bending the tab back to get the hinge out. The rest was kinda easy. Ya just have to get the spring on the end of the hinge as it is emerging into the open spring area and then kind of work the spring open while pushing the hinge.

 

Me and the wife took a ride up into NY state to watch my daughter and her boyfriend compete in motocross. They race at a track called Walden MX which is near the town of Walden NY, but is actually within the Newburg city limits. Great fun place to spend a Sunday and it's a beautiful ride there by the scenic route. Since my daughter was a dancer (My little Ballerina) and a soccer player (High School) I never would have dreamed she'd be racing a 400 cc quad at age 21. Well, come to think of it, she played soccer like an Irishman so it stands to reason that she would be involved in an aggressive sport. Her boyfriend Dave got her into that. My wife keeps saying that he reminds her a lot of me. I guess it's true that daughters usually wind up falling for someone who's kinda like Daddy.

 

hey ahhhh Mac. What's your post have to do with installing a spring in the bag latch?

 

One of my springs broke last week, heard it snap when I opened it. Hey Mac, glad to hear you were in the area, were you looking for a new spring?

 

Hi Rags,
Your post on how to replace the saddlebag latch spring is very well done. I found the PDF somewhere showing the process.
Today I purchased the replacement 2 replacement springs for my 2004 Electra Glide. The part number use to be 90707-00 now it is 90707-00A. My problem is the fact that the spring is coiled in the opposite direction (its not the same spring) I cant for the life of my dumb *** figure out how to install it. I wonder if anyone else has encountered this issue.
Thanks

 

Use the search function on this forum and you will probably find your answer to the correct installation of the springs.