Rattly Side Case Fix

[Burmashave]

Now that some of us have a few miles on our H2's, I thought I'd post a link to a blog post I stumbled across when trying to fix the rattle in the side cases of my Versys 1k:

https://versysventures.blogspot.com/201 ... e-fix.html

The Kawasaki Versys, H2, Ninja etc. have identical side cases. Like the guy who made the post above, I normally wear hearing protection when I'm riding, but one day I had my Versys out for a short ride without the earplugs, and I was embarrassed by the amount of rattling coming from the side cases. Over time, the plastic in the mounts wears, causing the cases to rattle.

I tried a few different things, for dampening material, such as felt pads for furniture. I was thinking there had to be a thin adhesive dampening material better than velcro fuzz, but velcro fuzz seemed to work the best. The velcro fuzz I have on hand may be a little thick because I had to carefully shave it down a bit to get the bags to slide into the holder. Mebbe someone has a better idea for a very thin adhesive dampener.

I haven't needed to to this to the bags on my H2 yet, but I thought I'd pass it along for riders who are getting up there in miles.

[Pud1]

Mine were slightly loose when new. I used 3M plastic adhesive film. The kind used to protect car front ends from rock damage. I put one or two layers of this clear film on the two top quick releases, and the rattle was gone. Haven't had to deal with it again, and that was 14,000 km ago.,

[Prof J]

I used some aGel (AlphaGel)nto decrease vibration on a hard-mounted GoPro 4. It worked so well I could hardly tell the difference between Gopro 4 and GoPro 7 video.

It's a little thick, but I'm going to try it out.

[JustinP]

Did you not get the little stickers/pads in the mounting kit?

[Burmashave]

Did you not get the little stickers/pads in the mounting kit?

Yes. The little sticker pads don't provide enough dampening.

[Burmashave]

I used some aGel (AlphaGel)

to decrease vibration on a hard-mounted GoPro 4. It worked so well I could hardly tell the difference between Gopro 4 and GoPro 7 video.

It's a little thick, but I'm going to try it out.

Prof, where'd you get the alpha gel and what form does it come in?

[Prof J]

Burmashave,

So far the only forms I've seen are tapes, sheets, etc, though I have not looked thoroughly for other dimensions/formulations.

AlphaGel

It is a little expensive, but for my use seemed worthwhile.

americas.rsdelivers

[wellcraft]

Did you not get the little stickers/pads in the mounting kit?

Yes. The little sticker pads don't provide enough dampening.

The little shims that came with my mounting kit work perfectly with my panniers, no rattle, shaking or vibration while riding. I do think it's a poor design because the panniers on my BMW fit securely without the need for shims.

[Burmashave]

Did you not get the little stickers/pads in the mounting kit?

Yes. The little sticker pads don't provide enough dampening.

The little shims that came with my mounting kit work perfectly with my panniers, no rattle, shaking or vibration while riding. I do think it's a poor design because the panniers on my BMW fit securely without the need for shims.

Mebbe I should have been clearer. Your mileage may vary; however, in my case, the shims snugged the side cases securely on installation. After some years,and tens of thousands of miles, the cases loosened up and started to rattle.

[wellcraft]

Did you not get the little stickers/pads in the mounting kit?

Yes. The little sticker pads don't provide enough dampening.

The little shims that came with my mounting kit work perfectly with my panniers, no rattle, shaking or vibration while riding. I do think it's a poor design because the panniers on my BMW fit securely without the need for shims.

Mebbe I should have been clearer. Your mileage may vary; however, in my case, the shims snugged the side cases securely on installation. After some years,and tens of thousands of miles, the cases loosened up and started to rattle.

Thanks for painting a clearer picture I just installed panniers on my 2018 H2SXSE but I may be doomed to experiencing the same issue in a few thousand miles. I still don't understand why Kawasaki didn't manufacture the mounting brackets to be just a tad thicker so shims wouldn't be necessary I still think it's a poor design especially now that I've learned the shims wear down over time and cause the panniers to rattle. Those little shims aren't cheap either I paid 42 bucks for a complete kit.