Visible seam in the saddle bag of 98 tourer not in my 99 I/S. Why?

[cokebottle10]

I’m looking at a 98 tourer for a friend. It has a visible seam in the saddle bag. I have seen this seam in other tourer bags and it looks stock. My 99 I/S does not have a visible seam. Was this just a change as the years went by? Also it looks like someone added epoxy to the seam inside of the bag on the right side. The left also looks like it has epoxy but much less and the left looks factory. Is this something to worry about?

Thanks, David in Fletcher NC.

[rhinor61]

The 1997-98 bags are ABS/form as 2 pieces and seamed together.
1999 and later models this seam/gap was filled in prior to paint.

[Challenger]

I was under the impression that all I/S bags were seamless and all tour bags had seams, But I could be wrong.

[The emperor has no clothes]

I was under the impression that all I/S bags were seamless and all tour bags had seams, But I could be wrong.

+1

[John Schmidt]

One thing you'll find is the lids have the same part number for both Tourer and I/S once the I/S went into production. The only difference is the number and manner in which the cables attached. So they made just one lid with all the needed attachment points on it, then if it went on a Tourer, only one cable was used and the other two attachment points weren't. If it went on an I/S, then two attachment points were used and the single one on the side left open. There does seem to be a difference in the bag p/n however, why I don't know because physically it's the same bag, just lacks the seam on the I/S.

I do know some of the seams on the Tourer bags had a tendency to leak, probably why those had some sort of sealer on there.

[BobB]

My '98 Tourer bags do not leak.  I have considered filling in the seams with body filler, before having the bike painted.  But I learned that only 308 Valks were painted jade/black and I declined to change it. 

[cokebottle10]

Thanks guys,

I was just wondering if this was a common repair for a leaky bag with the seam.

Its a low mileage Tourer (less than 20K) and looks good. Just this leak repair and a broken and repaired catch on the right side cover. Some spoting on the back side of the shocks and under the crome rails that hold the fender. The rest of the crome, paint and aluminum looks like new. Mostly stock.

Thanks, David in Fletcher NC.

[Hoser]

My 99 tourer bags has the seams, my 99 Interstate did not.  Neither of them leak. The 99 Tourer has  hinges, the 99 IS had cable stays, to allow for clearance for the trunk.  Those are the only differences.   Hoser   

[da prez]

   I filled the seam with JB weld before painting.  I used a saw blade to clean out the wax and build up out of the seam before filling. If you use ABS glue , use only the black ABS that is only for ABS. Do not use the multi-purpose . It will not get hard. Body filler will not stick.

                        da prez

[rhinor61]

I would use a product that specifically made for plastic repair.
Its gets semi hard... used on bumper skins..

3M 4240 Duramix Semi-Rigid Plastic Repair

[Gryphon Rider]

My 2000 Tourer bags have seams, and havn't leaked.