Lost an OEM pannier this weekend

[stevesweetz]

So I put my Yamaha OEM hard panniers on to (potentially) do a little shopping this weekend.  Ones that I had just repainted, successfully this time, after my first failed attempt a while back.
 
I didn't end up buying anything, but I did squeeze my armor jacket into one while I was off the bike.  With all the armor in my jacket is a little bulky, so I did have to jam on the thing a bit to get it to close.
 
Took a highway on the way home.  At one point a truck pulled along side me and I think he was beeping at me, but I wasn't sure since I had my earplugs in and nothing is audible over wind noise at 65mph anyway.  He eventually pulled away from me and gave an annoyed wave, and I was perplexed because I didn't know what his beef with me could have been.
 
Well several miles later I discovered my left side pannier (the one I put my jacket into) was gone.
 
I don't know how this could have happened.  Either I broke it when jamming my jacket into it, or somehow didn't re-secure it properly.  Truck driver was clearly trying to tell me it happened, but I didn't understand.
 
I really, really hope I didn't hit a car with it. I'm more worried about that than I am mad about losing the pannier. Traffic was pretty spaced out, I was moving at a pretty good clip, and it was a 3 lane (per side) highway so hopefully anyone behind me had ample time to avoid it.  I felt absolutely nothing odd on the bike; it wasn't pulling to one side or wobbling or anything like that.  I only noticed it was gone when I happened to look over my left shoulder for a lane change.
 
I didn't try to go back to get it - there was really no practical way to do that on a divided highway and I figured that even if it was still there, the initial impact would have effectively destroyed it.  However, this is compounding my guilt that someone's car might have been damaged by it.
 
Debated switching to a completely different set of panniers, but getting a replacement OEM one is still the cheapest option right now despite it being a ludicrous $400.  At least I still have leftover lock from the lock set I can use since I don't have a top case.
 
 
 
 

[empire00]

You might have not gotten the clip up into the slot correctly. You shouldn't have to force the handles. I had mine jump the internal gears because I forced it.
 
Look for some used FJR panniers, they fit and they are bigger. There are more of them available too.

[stevesweetz]

FWIW I didn't force the handle that locks the pannier to the bike (or at least I don't think I did) as I didn't take the pannier off the bike while shopping and it was secured on the trip there. I did force the lid latch to close it after stuffing my jacket in.
 
However, it's possible that I accidentally undid the handle when taking the jacket out. I don't know how I could have possibly not noticed that though. I mean you can't take the key out unless it's in the locked position and you can't lock unless the handle is down, or very obviously not down.
 
Lesson learned in any case - double and triple check that darn locking peg under the pannier mount.
 
 
If I was to get new ones - I like the Yamaha semi-soft panniers they sell in Europe and I'm a little pissed those aren't available here as I probably wouldn't have gotten the pricey hard ones in the first place. I like the SHAD panniers, but I ride the bike without panniers much more often than with, and the mounting brackets of the SHAD panniers are too ugly for my taste.

[BBB]

The minimal mounts of the SH36 were one of the reasons I like them. Much less obvious than Givi for example. Bummer about losing a pannier. I think I would have a ride over the route again, you never know, it may have survived.

[stevesweetz]

The minimal mounts of the SH36 were one of the reasons I like them. Much less obvious than Givi for example. Bummer about losing a pannier. I think I would have a ride over the route again, you never know, it may have survived.

Way better than big square brackets for sure, but still not as minimal as the OEMs, which just have a little support that sticks up behind the pillion pegs. 
Even if it didn't break up, I'm sure it would be scuffed to all heck.  I know it's vain of me, but I'd replace it regardless.
 
There's also the problem that I don't know where the heck it even fell off over the course of like 15 miles and I can't really trundle along at 30mph looking for it.  Maybe if I went out at like 3am, but I'm just going to let it go at this point.

[koth442]

One of my worst fears...

[wordsmith]

One of my worst fears...

Happened to me once, long ago and far away!   My BMW R1200 R dropped a pannier along a dusty outback road, and I was quite unaware until a passenger coach overtook me, flashed his lights more than one might have expected, and then roared on by.   So I stopped, looked around, and lo! - there was the lhs pannier - missing!   I was on a long lonely road and it could have happened anywhere, but I decided to turn round and ride back, when to my amazement, not too far behind, I saw the blue-painted pannier sitting in the grassy verge.   It was pretty badly scuffed, but was still firmly locked tight, and still fitted back onto the bike without any difficulty. 
I was mighty glad to retrieve it, as I was on a long and winding road many hundreds of kilometres into my ~6400 km round-trip (Brisbane to Darwin and back FWIW), and its loss would have had me severely embarrassed for changes of clothing. 
 
Back home after the trip I played with the pannier and its mounting, and decided that I simply hadn't clipped it into place properly.   The BMW panniers - as they should for the price - have a very secure kind-of jaw-like mechanism that locks over and under the pannier rails, supplemented by a tab-and-slot arrangement at the lower front: it seems likely that it was this that I'd misaligned.   But after all that, a little judicious filling with auto repair body filler and a respray brought it up to near-new.
 
I do agree with comments about the flimsy nature of the vertical 'tongue' on the FJ/ MT-09 OE panniers that lock them into place.   I imagine that even a casual and hardly-felt brush against another vehicle or some other solid object could snap the tongue off, and goodbye pannier!   Even so, I'm happy to have them included as a 'freebie' in the out-the-door price here in Oz!

[FJ29ER]

I have one time not put the handle all the way down and just locked the lid latch. Only noticed when I was walking to the rear of the bike and noticed the very bright neon orange warning sticker a little higher then normal. So it is doable and not noticeable. But I have over stuffed these multiple times to where I had to sit on the lid to close it and no issues. You can miss the rubber holder on the bottom as well when putting them on.

[empire00]

Like I said in my last post, It is possible to get the clip fully extended, but for it to not be in the slot on the bike. It can slide up on the outside leaving your pannier loose enough to fall off with a large enough jolt. Look for wear on the outside of the slot that the pannier should go into.

[stevesweetz]

I'll check for those scratches. Jolts most definitely happened.
 
The highway in question was I95 though Philly and it's perceptually under construction and in an atrocious state. There are these lumpy macadam patches over joins between concrete slabs that are almost as high as parking lot speed bumps. Hitting one of those at 55+mph is nasty. I usually stand up on the pegs off-road style when going over them, lest I'm bucked off the seat. They're nasty enough that I wouldn't put it completely out of the realm of possibility that it straight up broke the locking tab through sheer force - especially because the pannier was empty and so it could flop around pretty good.

[2and3cylinders]

Say what you want about the shad sh 36 side cases but they are almost impossible to attach incorrectly and not know it and you don't even have to lock them to be sure they'll stay on and closed
 
yeah the brackets are not unobtrusive but for the money and the capacity and how light they are I don't think you can beat them
 
I also have a shad sh46 top case which to me is kind of flimsy

[xcsp]

A few video, one pertaining to the oem saddlebags (FJR in the video.) showing what possibly could cause a saddlebag to come off unexpectedly, the other one shows about using threadlocker on the screws on the latching mechanism.
 

 

 
Some FJR owners have drilled a hole through the lower mounting bracket and case to install a linch pin to secure the bottom of the bag.

[chitown]

Wire lock pins on panniers
 

 
Standard clevis on trunks
 

[stevesweetz]

A few video, one pertaining to the oem saddlebags (FJR in the video.) showing what possibly could cause a saddlebag to come off unexpectedly, the other one shows about using threadlocker on the screws on the latching mechanism. 
 

Yeah that first video definitely seems to be a very, very likely explanation to me.  The handle does go down pretty far in an unlocked position.  I was kind of in a rush to get home and there is high chance I could have overlooked the handle not being 100% down. 
I checked the mounting bracket and this morning and there was no apparent evidence of the locking tab rubbing against the side of the bracket or anything like that, so I don't think this was an issue of the locking tab not being in the slot.
 
The more I think about it, I kind of regret ordering a replacement hard pannier now.  I should have just ordered the semi-soft ones from Europe, which seem less troublesome in general, but oh well.  :-/
 
 
 

[carey]

I'll check for those scratches. Jolts most definitely happened. 
The highway in question was I95 though Philly and it's perceptually under construction and in an atrocious state. There are these lumpy macadam patches over joins between concrete slabs that are almost as high as parking lot speed bumps. Hitting one of those at 55+mph is nasty. I usually stand up on the pegs off-road style when going over them, lest I'm bucked off the seat. They're nasty enough that I wouldn't put it completely out of the realm of possibility that it straight up broke the locking tab through sheer force - especially because the pannier was empty and so it could flop around pretty good.

Sorry,  I was on I95 today north of Philly in Bucks County and didn't see your pannier.