Opening Side Case with Broken Latch?

Well I'm on my second broken side-case latch now. This time it broke with the case closed and after taking the hinges off the bottom I'll be darned if I can figure out how to get the case to open without breaking something.

There are a bunch of threads here on the board were people ask this same question but I can't find any clear answer as to how it is done. There is an allusion to drilling a small hole to work the lock but where? And a post or two that says ' I got it open' but don't say how.

I know how to fix it once its open but can't figure out how to open it, anyone have a clue?

I gave up and drilled it.

My other case hasn't been working perfectly so I figured why not take it apart and find the exact drill location by referring to it as I wasn't doing so well with online pictures and diagrams.

Here is what I did as documentation for the next guy.

Here is a picture of the good case. What I wanted is a small hole (target marked in red) just aft of the standoff which would put me in a good position to push the lock mechanism aft (blue arrow) to unlock the case.

It was easy to locate the right spot because on both cases I could actually feel a little indent in the outer plastic where the standoff is on the inside. I drilled the hole 3 and 1/8 inches behind the flapper handle and was able to use a screwdriver to pry the lock forward and release it.

Here is the exact hole for reference.

All in all it's not really a big deal, I'll probably just put a piece of black gaff tape over the hole when I'm done.

Another option to seal the hole is regular JB Weld epoxy, it dries black and waterproof. A good cleaning and re-lube every few years makes the latches operate much more easily. As you did, it's important do only one side at a time so you can use the other one to figure out where everything goes. The space between the inner and outer halves is not sealed, and I've found an amazing amount of dirt and sand in there.

PM to you regarding button head rubber plugs for the holes.

On 4/19/2018 at 11:10 PM, lkraus said:

Another option to seal the hole is regular JB Weld epoxy, it dries black and waterproof. A good cleaning and re-lube every few years makes the latches operate much more easily. As you did, it's important do only one side at a time so you can use the other one to figure out where everything goes. The space between the inner and outer halves is not sealed, and I've found an amazing amount of dirt and sand in there.

That's what I used to seal up my holes when I had to drill a hole to unlock my case. I sanded it smooth and later painted the area to make it blend in more so than the epoxy and I agree on taking them apart every year or so to re-lube everything to make the latches operate smoothly. Besides the dirt and sand between the inner and outer halves the gear and teeth of the mechanism to remove the cases from the bike also had a lot of grit in them.