saddlebag lid problem

[wspollack]

In January, when I was buying my XCT, my riding buddy also bought one. Hey, there were all sort of rebates and a dealer incentive -- the price was right. (He never did bond with his Victory, and has since sold it.) In any case, he emailed the dealer, complaining about the lack of proper sealing of the bag lids. This is the response he got from a tech at that dealer:

I received the following response from Victory.

This is not uncommon and the bags are not completely sealed off, most likley completely normal and doesn't require repairs. Make comparision to other bikes and let us know if this is abnormal. Bike in our possesion have similar spacing on the seals. Only parts available are the production part numbers.

So it looks like there is no real cure other than creating something. Possibly a seal on the lid to contact the bottom. Sorry I could not help you more. This is your opportunity to create something and sell it on line, ha ha. In the mean time, you and Bill enjoy your bikes and we’ll see you at your next service.

The good news is that those hard bags are huge, with world-class storage. The bad news is that, IMHO, the design and implementation of the lid-closing, lid-sealing, mechanism is pathetic. Victory ought to be ashamed of itself for producing such a half-assed solution, with no adjustment capability, inadequate and non-uniform sealing, poor tolerances, and so forth. At the very least, they ought to redesign this system, so they can stop receiving bad press on this all over the 'Net. I've had dust-free baggers before -- it's not rocket science.

[TNXR]

I guess I was just a little ignorant when I bought my XR because I wanted some locking bags that were sealed. When I was looking at the cross bikes I opened up the saddlebags and seen a rubber weather strip and thought well, these are nice big bags that will keep my luggage dry and secure. I also called a local dealer yesterday to see if he would look at the bags for a possible warranty issue and he said take it back to the guy who sold it to you. I referred him to Vics website where it says any Victory dealership will honor the warranty. He said oh and that he would call me back. Never heard back yesterday or so far today (they close at 12:00 on Saturdays). I really enjoy riding my XR and love the size and power it provides and plan on owning it for a few years but I am afraid that when I get the itch for a new bike that it will probably not be a Victory. Dealer support in my area sucks and the bike itself seems to have some quirks that I am finding I don't like. I am just glad I got my XR for a quarter below retail because I think MSRP or close to it is too much for this bike.

[ridealittle]

yeah vic needs to do a whole lot better. the hard/mushy/iffy/noisy shifting, the clack between on and off power, vibration at certain speed. bash harley all you want but vic will have to do a whole lot better to even challenge them.

[mikiep]

Originally Posted by ridealittle

yeah vic needs to do a whole lot better. the hard/mushy/iffy/noisy shifting, the clack between on and off power, vibration at certain speed. bash harley all you want but vic will have to do a whole lot better to even challenge them.

I agree. I really love my XCT but, if I ever needed another bike it probably wouldn't be a Victory at least for now. As a matter of fact we looked into trading the GF's VTX for a KP last year but decided against it.

[40XC]

Originally Posted by BruceI

I have a 2012 XCT and the inside of the bags always have a thick layer of dust in them. Initially I thought this was going to be a huge problem as I expected them to fill with water in the rain. I have ridden in some hard rains and things seem to stay dry. So I've just lived with the dust problem. I bag everything before putting it in a saddle bag on this bike. I've never had such a dust issue on any of the several sets of hard bags I've had. I hope Victory does something about this issue before its time to make a decision on my next bike.

I've never really had an issue with dust on mine and I've never had water get into them even though mine also has that gap. Now the lid coming off the sunscreen in the saddlebag and making a huge mess....................that's a whole another story. I keep it inside a zip-lock bag now for a little extra assurance.

[TechnoGeek]

My XR had a Gap on the Hard Bag and and I noticed when the lid was open it had a lot of movement and then realized one of the Hinge pins was missing (there is a front and rear pin).
I took it to the Dealer and they verified and replaced the Hinge under warranty. The dealer mentioned he has seen two or three Hard bags where either the front or rear pin fell out. After replacing the hinge he added a small amount of glue to prevent the pin from coming out "IF" it worked itself loose.

[Pckrfan]

Two cross bikes and counting and never had a problem like that wow is all I can say....

[Pop]

I too have issues with my VIc. I could say the same about every bike I have had. Still, I would likely reflect mightily before trading it over saddlebag lid fitment.
On my Harley it requires a Rube Goldberg contraption to change the oil without puking it all over the front of the engine. Design by chimp.
On a Wing, you can sit in plush comfort, that is if you think sitting on a plush dining room table chair is comfort. Design by chimp.
There are design flaws and compromises made on any machine and there are manufacturing flubs that make you say hmmm. Design failures you tend to put up with due to the effort and cost of correction, some snafus you can tweak, some are just so minor that they aren't worth the effort to improve.
I'm not going to do an engine redesign on the HD to relocate the oil filter. I'm not going to do an engine redesign on the Honda to accommodate my legs. I am likely to assess things like bag lids, determine a fix, weigh the effort against the value of the result, and act accordingly.
I would side with the technicians reply. A problem like bag lid fit is not nuclear physics. The guy that solves it has beaten a gremlin, improved and personalized his ride, and if so inclined he can manufacture and market the fix for fun and profit.
Alternately I can buy an entirely different bike to solve a bag lid glitch.

[wspollack]

Pop, I agree that bag lids are no reason to look for another bike. There are many ways that the Vic baggers outshine the competition, which is why I bought one.

Having said that, I still think it's worthwhile that we customers point out to Victory that at least this one aspect of their product is poorly designed or poorly executed. Letting them know this gives them an opportunity to make a good product better; if they were to do that, it gives them one more reason to tout their bikes as better than the competition.

[TNXR]

I guess since this is the first new vehicle I have ever owned it really gets to me when I saw such a large gap in the saddlebag. I took a bunch of measurements on my bags last night and from what I can tell it is not a problem with the bottom part of the bag, it is the lids themselves. The bottom part on both sides were pretty much the same when measured against the fender but the tops are all over the place. I think it is a lack of quality control with the bolt locations of the hinge and latch. I am probably going to ride my bike down to the local dealer (didn't buy bike from them) and see what they say and if they won't help then I'll take it to the next nearest dealer (the one I bought it from) and see what they say. It is mainly the right bag with the large gap that I would like replaced but if they or MaVic will do it is another story. I am also getting rubbing on the back part of the bag and it appears I have the exact same problem as the guy in the youtube video I posted. I have calmed down somewhat and if I can't get Victory to replace the bag I can put some thicker door sealeant on the bag lid and keep out most of the dirt/water. It just seems to me if you are going to sell a bagger then the bags should have had a little more thought put in to them or atleast a way to adjust the lids.