and follow the instructions. I wanted to save all of you the trouble (and expense) I caused myself this weekend. I installed the moco saddlebag mounting hardware and nylon bags on Saturday. On Sunday, I took it all for a nice ride in the country. Fifty miles out, at a fortuitous gas stop, I found that one of the mounting bolts (right side, forward, if you know the installation) was shaving rubber from the rear tire when bumps compressed the shocks to a certain point. The roadside fix was to back out and reverse the bolt, leaving the head in and the nut out, a much less attractive image. I then limped slowly home without a blowout. The tire did not lose pressure, and no cord is showing. The rubber I lost seems to be right at the point where the sidewall meets the tread face, but I cannot trust it not to catastrophically fail the next time it gets hot. The sad (and embarrasing) truth? When I recovered the instructions from the trash at home and looked more closely, the diagram clearly calls for these bolts to be installed inside-to-outside, with the washer and nut on the outside. The rear carriage bolt and nut gos the other way - outside in. Doh! Moral: RTFD. . .

Put a fancy chrome acorn nut on the part of the bolt that sticks out.....

When I recovered the instructions from the trash at home and looked more closely, the diagram clearly calls for these bolts to be installed inside-to-outside, with the washer and nut on the outside. The rear carriage bolt and nut gos the other way - outside in. Doh! Moral: RTFD. . .

No worries there....happen to more people than those that mention it. Did the same thing with the bolt when I first installed mine. Figured it out before taking it out on the road after re-reading the instructions more closely like you did. Got to say those diagrams on those instructions sheets are not all that clear though. :moped: