Wobbley pannier - Ducati.ms

cb4265 · Dec 30th, 2011, 6:53 pm

After our last trip to Phillip Island, I noticed that some of my buddies on ST's had wobbley pannier bags, so I asked if mine where OK and the answer was your left one is fine but the right hand one wobbles a bit.

I finally found the problem after checking bolt tensions etc, I found the bracket was cracked through, see photos.

So I will remove and weld to repair.

See photos

Craig

Bill_Anderson · Dec 30th, 2011, 8:30 pm

That happened to Mark Turbo's 02-ST4s on the same ill-fated road trip where we discovered his engine bearing was going out. The bike had 72,000 miles on it at the time.

Duc-OT · Dec 31st, 2011, 8:33 am

cb4265,

Thanks for the post. I'll check mine as soon as I get back to the house.

By the way, it looks like one of your rubber bumpers is missing as well. That may contribute to the wobbling bag.

ducati_750 · Dec 31st, 2011, 11:10 am

my right side pannier bracket broke in the same spot... fortunately the shop had a pair of brackets (brand new) laying around that I bought for a bit of a deal.. I imagine the next time one of these goes south I'll be forced to weld

jet057 · Dec 31st, 2011, 1:31 pm

There are certain part's on are bike's that need to be powder-coated and these 2-brackets need to be.Any thing thats made of metal and alluminium should be checked always or powder coated,IMO.

stryder · Dec 31st, 2011, 2:06 pm

How often have you rode with the cases at or over weight capacity?

cb4265 · Dec 31st, 2011, 5:02 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by stryder

How often have you rode with the cases at or over weight capacity?

Most of the time they are empty or one has a spare helmet in it. I have a pair of bag liners for when I go on longer trips, so they get to carry clothes, shoes, toiletries, etc, but anything bigger or heavier goes in a seat bag.

I don't believe the bracket failed through weight.

By design the brackets flex themselves as they are solidly attached to the frame at the top & the bottom of the bracket's are mounted to the passenger foot pegs that flex off the frame, so where mine and others have cracked at this point it is obviously a weakness in the pannier brackets.
I wonder if I overly reinforce this area, stress could be transfered to somewhere else, possibly the lugs on the frame that the foot pegs are mounted too.

Any way it's no big deal to fix, I just wanted to share my experience, so you guys can keep an eye on yours.

It used to freak me out travelling behind other ST's with their bags shaking about, wondering if they were going to fall off at any second

Craig

Rev. Dr. Moses P. Lester · Dec 31st, 2011, 6:20 pm

a friend riding behind me told me exactly the same thing once, and it never occurred to me to check for broken mounting brackets.... guess i'll check now.

cb4265 · Dec 31st, 2011, 10:19 pm

Does anyone think it would be a good idea to tack weld it in it's current position, remove the bracket and complete the weld or just unbolt it & weld off the bike?

What's the best way to protect the computer & battery if I mig weld 'on' the bike?

Thanks in advance,

Craig

supersport · Dec 31st, 2011, 11:22 pm

I was told you need to disconnect the neutral side of the battery whenever welding on the bike to protect ecu and such. In this case it would be easier and safer just to un-bolt the pannier frame all together.

Just my 2 $