My new 1800 was only 12 weeks old when the left saddlebag started refusing to open. It released OK with the plunger under the hole in the trunk, but you soon get fed up doing that! Anyway, how embarrassing is it that you pay £22,000 for a bike [yes you lucky US guys - here in the UK it costs over $36,000 for a GL1800 with a few bits of safety chrome!] and the saddlebag only opens if you remove all the contents of your trunk and wiggle your finger in a hole!
I studied Fred Harmon's excellent details on how to fix this (
http://www.pbase.com/fredharmon/saddlebaglatch), but didn't really fancy removing the whole assembly and welding nuts under the cam mechanism. I held a thin screwdriver under the latch assembly and the saddlebag opened fine - thus verifying the cause as Fred states it (some of your force is being used to bend the cam downwards instead of rotating it).
So, after studying for a while, I came up with a solution which is working fine so far and only took a few minutes to implement. I cut a piece of thin wire from a coat hanger - it's about 8" long and the wire's diameter is about 1/16th of an inch. Starting from the right hand side (as you peer at the assembly leaning over the back of the trunk), I threaded this wire underneath ALL the cam assemblies (roughly in the middle of the whole shooting match), until it appeared on the left hand end having finally run through the area where Fred stuck his two nuts.
With a little bending at the ends, I was able to convince the wire to stay in place (semi-permanently, I think). Effectively, of course, it provides the same support as Fred's two nuts - and I must say the saddlebag now opens better than it ever did!
I have taken photos of my latch fix, after many people requested it. I have also enhanced one to highlight the wire. You can find the pictures on our website, which is:
http://www.NorthWalesWings.org.uk/
Once at the home page, chose the "Photos" section from the navigation bar on the left hand side. Then select the "Miscellaneous" album. In there, you will find a link to the "GL1800 left saddlebag fix" page.
Let me know if you try it, and how it works out. Others have told me it works great - and is quick.
And yes, I KNOW Honda should fix it under warranty - but that's a 200 mile round-trip every time!