1 Pannier latches Sat Mar 26, 2016 11:38 pm
brickrider2
Life time member
In the course of my Spring Break Tour (2K+ miles through Oregon, Nevada, California and then back to Idaho) I had an unwelcome surprise. Oh, the bike ran well, returning an average of 44 mpg (US gallons). But, as I unloaded one evening I found two tiny silver bits in the pannier I didn't remember loading. Turned out they were roughly one-half of two of the three rivets that secure one of the pannier latches. In this case, it was the latch that holds it to the frame. Why I didn't lose the pannier on the road is a mystery, but I'm sure grateful it stayed on the bike. At the speed we'd been traveling on those lonesome highways, there would not have been much to salvage if it parted ways with the bike.
BMW apparently thought tiny aluminum rivets would make good fasteners for that application. Hummmm. That deserves a re-think. Question now is, what to do? RocStraps got me home with both panniers, but that was a bit of field expedience, not a good permanent solution. What ideas do you have for a solid repair? It seems to me that I should try to drill out the remains of the two rivets to allow use of some screws. If I need to go with pop rivets, they'll certain be steel this time around.
BMW apparently thought tiny aluminum rivets would make good fasteners for that application. Hummmm. That deserves a re-think. Question now is, what to do? RocStraps got me home with both panniers, but that was a bit of field expedience, not a good permanent solution. What ideas do you have for a solid repair? It seems to me that I should try to drill out the remains of the two rivets to allow use of some screws. If I need to go with pop rivets, they'll certain be steel this time around.
Last edited by brickrider2 on Sun Mar 27, 2016 3:29 am; edited 1 time in total