So Gene takes the saddlebag bracket and puts it in this gee-whiz machinist's vise on his huge Bridgeport mill, and starts to pry it back into shape. He worries about the possibility of it cracking (the bracket, not the mill) and I suggest heating it up (the bracket, not the mill). So he looks all over his newly cleaned, painted, rearranged and renovated shop and can't find his propane torch. I find it in a corner, all by itself, not buried by anything. So I hand him the torch, he walks over to the mill, and while holding the (unlit) torch in his left hand, grabs the saddlebag bracket with his right and just pulls it into proper shape.
Of course some minor tweaking was required to get everything back on the bike. Gene wasn't having any of my "That's good enough, she's not a show bike" and insisted upon doing A Good Job.
Well, the end result is, indeed, No More Rattles from the saddlebags, and strangely enough Gertrude rides better now, too. Fancy that!
Thanks for your help Gene. It was great to see you and Marie. Next time I come over we'll do something hard, the hell with this easy stuff.
