Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories Magna bracket installation question

I got a set of Saddleman drifter bags and the honda magna brackets from accessories international today...
The supplied bolts are too long for my TBA...maybe by 1/2". Seems like the ends of the bolts could hit the tire. I quickly got frustrated...too late to go to the hardware store. Then I couldn't get one of the stock bolts reinstalled properly...it's kind of angled and isn't seated all the way. Arghh.
What have others done to solve this problem? Different bolts or get the supplied ones cut to fit?
Stupid question from a mechanically-challenged newbie.
Thanks for the help-
Drew

i just took the bolts to the local powersportspro dealer and got shorter bolts. be carefull when putting in those bolts, they're easy to cross-thread.

don't ask me how i know.

if you have a jack, you can line up the holes by raising/lowering the bike on/off the rear wheel.

cat

I didn't get any bolts with my brackets, but I did the same as Cat- went down to the local supply house and got new bolts.

I went down to the local H-K-S-Y dealer and got the bolts I think they were $.50 each.

Thanks for the tips guys-
I got some shorter bolts at the hardware store at lunch today. We'll see if they work when I get home tonight.
I don't have a lift/jack, so we'll see.
thanks again-
Drew

Drew, make sure your fender is still aligned, maybe doing one bolt at a time, at least finger tight to allow the bracket to move a little, is good, and never force it, they should go in with just your hand or using just a socket in your hand on them ya know? If the bolt is cockeyes, might be cross threaded... try again real easy with the new bolt. If it still doesn't go in straight, let us know. You might need to run a tap in those threads or something.

Hey Benny-
Thanks for your post. I got three of the four bolts in without any problem. The fourth (left rear) is cockeyed and sticks out too far but it seems secure. It's probably cross threaded. I got it tight, but didn't REALLY torque on it because I figured something would break. With the bags on it's not too noticable, but it's still bugging the crap out of me I'll probably stop by a buddy's auto body shop and see if he can fix it. Is tapping the hole a quick fix?

Thanks again for the advice--

later,
Drew

If you have all the bolts out, does that one still go in crooked? Does the hole in the fender bracket line up with the hole in the fender when you look straight at it? When you 'mount' the Magna bracket, does the hole still line up?

If these are yes, then you have stripped threads. Take a tap and run it in there straight and re-cut the threads square. I'd bet your auto shop buddy would have the right tap.

If the fender bracket does not line up with the hole in the fender, then you have a different problem (although by now, I would bet that the hole is stripped). You will have to find out why the holes do not line up...

Ditto what Phil said. Just be sure he uses the right thread tap, I forget if they are metric or 5/16... Usually whenever I mount something that has more than one bolt, I loosly (hand not even tight) mount all the bolts, that way there is some play so you can make sure all the holes align properly. Re-tapping the hole is quick and easy if it works:) Your auot shop buddy will be able to do it no sweat.