looking for hardbag mounting rubber spacer

[chmorro]

Has anyone seen the post on Gadgetfixit, about what rubber gasket you can buy at the hardware store to replace the rubber "O" rings that the hardbags sit on, on the saddlebag brace on the Nomad. I lost one and need to replace it. I remember seeing a post on Gadgetfixit, but I cannot find it. Help!
Thanks guys..

[davepa]

Flush valve seal for mansfield models...208 & 209 toilet valve. From Home Depot For about $2.00.
OR
Kawasaki Part # 92160-1981
Dave

[chmorro]

hey thanks a lot davepa! I appreciate it!

[davepa]

any time!
Dave

[bobzinger]

I lost one too. I took a piece of 1/2 diameter rubber hose and split it lengthwise. put it around the inside of the hole and zip tied it in place. Been there over a year and still OK. I'll look for that toilet seal though. In a pinch the rubber hose works.

[dogdoc]

How is it possible to lose that rubber grommet with the bag in place?? just curious.

[bobzinger]

I think when I took a bag off it stuck to the bag and came out of the frame...somewhere along the dog chewed it up or gremlins took it for their tolet valve seal.
Last night I went to home depot and found that exact flush valve seal the guy on Gadget calls for. I don't know how you could use it! The OD and the ID aren't even close.
I'll stick with the split rubber hose for now.

[dogdoc]

Good to know Bob, i like your style.

[chmorro]

I purchased the seal and it actually works better in my opinion than the stock seal. The toilet valve seal sits on the bracket and the male end on the bag fits perfectly in the valve seal, and it sits nice and snug not like the stock seal. The toilet valve seal also has much more rubber to pad the bags. I'm going to replace all the stock rubber mounts with the toilet valve seals. I recommend it! Just don't tell anyone we put toilet seals on our bikes, then no one is going to want to buy a Nomad. Mine fell off somewhere during the cleaning of the bags I think???

[bobzinger]

The darn thing is 3-4 inches in diameter. I guess I'll get one and actually take it out of the package to see what's up. What holds it in place...does it have a lip like the original, or does the weight of the bag hold it there?

[bobzinger]

I bought one of the toilet seals and it does work. If "better than stock" means cheaper...I agree! I'm all for saving a buck and beating out "The Man" (i.e. any major money grubbing mfg).

[trip]

I've used that flush valve seal successfully for the past two years. That's one of the first things I read about on gadget's website.

[chmorro]

In my opinion, it works better because it provides more surface area for cushion. If you notice the stock dampner basically keeps the metal mounting hole from scratching the male end of the hard bags. With the valve seal, it actually provides some "dampening". The valve seal doesn't have a lip to secure to the bracket, but the bags are heavy enough to keep it in place. Glad you found it works for you. How the heck did someone find a toilet seal valve to work on a motorcycle anyway???LOL :-/

[bobzinger]

They say "Necessity is the Mother of Invention". It's challenging to try and find a common or unique item to use for other purposes than what it was intended. Kinda like using the chrome end of the grips to cover bolts. In fact that may be a cool thread to start. "What's the wierdest thing you've ever put on your bike for an accessory", or something like that.
I'll bet Nad riders have come up with some great ones.

[toby]

I like the idea of starting the wierdest thing ever put on as an accessory. I've got a good one I used on my 05 Nomad 1600. I wanted to dress up my grip ends a bit so I went to our local hardware store and purchased two round Chrome plated Steel door cabinet knobs, drilled a small 1/16 hole in the end of my plastic grip ends, slipped the screw that came with the knobs and used a little grip lock to make sure it didn't come off and Voila. Chrome handle bar end knobs for a cost of about $2.95 each plus about 15 minutes of my time. Looks great and it's real chrome plated steel, not plastic. Toby