saddlebag support bracket.

[motorhogman]

Toward the end a ride yesterday I started getting a vibration in the footboards and handle bars.

Upon inspection I found the left saddlebag support bracket broken at the 90 degree bend. (TY Bubbie  RIP, I knew where to start looking)

Found it at Surdyke for $76.00 including shipping and Ronnies at $88.00 including shipping.

I found this at Drag Drag,  Chrome Left Saddlebag Rail Support Bracket For Harley 85-08 FL OE 90718-79C, $49.00 and free shipping.

Any experience with these or are they cheapo made. ? Can almost buy both sides for the price of 1 OEM

Are there any better substitutes that don't cost an arm and a leg.?

[motorhogman]

well I have found several sources with free shipping for the one Drag has.  Also found one made from forged aluminum.. If no one has any advise on this I'll just go with the Drag.

[fleetmechanic]

I've welded several of them with brazing rod and they last fine.  Not chrome but most people don't see it.

[motorhogman]

I've welded several of them with brazing rod and they last fine.  Not chrome but most people don't see it.

thanks

Yea..I've seen them welded.. best thing I have is a Map gas torch which ain't going to cut it.. last time I asked a shop around here how much they would charge to weld a boss back on a tour pak support tube they said 50.00 

I'm pretty much set on buying a new one.. Drag says 15% thicker material..

[14Frisco]

I've welded several of them with brazing rod and they last fine.  Not chrome but most people don't see it.

That's what I did too when mine broke several years ago - took it to a shop and had it welded, they charged me $20.  Touched up the weld with some gloss black paint afterwards.

[guydoc77]

On my '08 I had the OEM welded twice. Broke again.
Replaced with the drag "heavier" one a couple years ago. Holding up fine.

[jmorton10]

the drag one is much better than the oe one.

~John

[motorhogman]

Thanks for the replies.  I can't complain about the OEM bracket.. after all it is almost 20 years old.. in retrospect my 73 shovel used to crack, destroy oem stuff every couple of years.. lol.. this is better for sure.. just the price is stiff, if they made the parts as stiff as the price they would never sell any replacements.. Drag part is on the way.. Almost everything that has broke, cracked or gave up on this bike has been on the left side.. ??  drive train side ?? maybe the reason...I dunno..

[JerseyT]

The Drag Specialties bracket is much stronger than the stock H-D one.  Replace both sides and be done with that breakage problem for good.

[smoserx1]

Sorry to hear that part broke.  I will be keeping an eye on mine.  I have used some Drag parts on my bike by now.  Their stuff seems to be pretty good.

[Hossamania]

Now you're going to make me check mine, also 20 years old, and like you Motorhogman, have also replaced the rear bumper bracket, but it broke on the right side. Possibly because I run a 2/1 exhaust rather than a muffler hanging on both sides.

[motorhogman]

Now you're going to make me check mine, also 20 years old, and like you Motorhogman, have also replaced the rear bumper bracket, but it broke on the right side. Possibly because I run a 2/1 exhaust rather than a muffler hanging on both sides.

Good point Hoss.. On mine I think that trans mounting clamp for the exhaust must take some of the stress off the right side. Just about everything I can think of that has given me trouble of this nature has been on the left side though, From the fairing brackets on back..  I noticed when taking it off there tends to be a bit of tension with the alignment of every thing from the bumper to the bracket, I have loosened up all the fender mount bolts and removed the tour pak so i can re assemble without having to tweek things to get them aligned.

If yours is broke I'm betting you will know it quickly..  The vibration is reminiscent of my old 57 ridgid shovelhead.. Hand numbing.. 

[motorhogman]

Sorry to hear that part broke.  I will be keeping an eye on mine.  I have used some Drag parts on my bike by now.  Their stuff seems to be pretty good.

It seems to be a pretty common problem.. This part is readily available all over the place.  Dealers even stock it LOL.

[motorhogman]

the drag one is much better than the oe one.

~John

Thanx John.

[motorhogman]

The Drag Specialties bracket is much stronger than the stock H-D one.  Replace both sides and be done with that breakage problem for good.

Thought about ordering both.. Been trying to save some pennies in my bike repair savings account to buy a new drive belt and pulley.. Every time I turn around I'm buying something else..  So decided to let the right side ride a while..

[chaos901]

Had one break on a trip a decade ago and the flexing also cracked the Y-Pipe.  In truth, I pulled into a dealership to get the Y-Pipe taken care of and the tech indicated that these typically don't break on their own and he found the bracket was broken. 

[Coyote]

That Y pipe used to crack all the time.

[motorhogman]

Had one break on a trip a decade ago and the flexing also cracked the Y-Pipe.  In truth, I pulled into a dealership to get the Y-Pipe taken care of and the tech indicated that these typically don't break on their own and he found the bracket was broken.

Interesting and makes sense.  I have a friend that can't believe I've never changed that Y pipe..almost 20 years and 113,000 mi now.  maybe the ones that he has seen broke also had a broken left side fender bracket and no one ever noticed..  The vibration was killer on mine though.. I knew exactly when it broke from the vibes in the foot boards and bars.. Also the tour pak doing a shake n  shudder as the rpms dropped down .. I'm going to loosen the clamp and the mounting bracket at the Y pipe when I put this back together and see if I can get some of the tension off the bag rail. Possible that I don't have the left side exhaust pipe slid all the way on.. Thanx for your experience.. gave me something to look at..

[chaos901]

That Y pipe used to crack all the time.

That is the only one I have ever had break, so limited experience and I trusted what I was told.   

[fleetmechanic]

On our '08-earlier fleet bikes the Y pipe failure was very common.  If I saw it early I could braze the cracks but often the pipe was too far gone.  They cracked at the bottom near the Y and at the top near the crossover too.  The last ones we bought were very pricey.

[jmorton10]

That Y pipe used to crack all the time.

~John

[1workinman]

My friend Terry has a captain America fat boy and he lost both of his brackets for his saddle bags so I told Terry hell we can build some out of stainless steel at work . I think they will look pretty good. And use some thread lock this time lol .  Just a matter of figuring out the angle and length on them

[motorhogman]

I got the new bracket yesterday and installed it.. Very good fit and nice finish.  Put a vernier on it just for the hell of it.. It is thicker as claimed.

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