anyone got experiance with strap ons ??

[Lancastermick]

Will do mate...Saturday I'm thinkin...

[cookingfat]

BMW bike dealerships always have a load of straps, (BM use them to keep the new bikes on the pallet) ask nicely and they should give you some.

Hairy string or old rope with knots always looks the muts nuts. Wifes old tights have also been used to secure loads on bike, you can also wear them if it's a bit cold.

[minkyhead]

BMW bike dealerships always have a load of straps, (BM use them to keep the new bikes on the pallet) ask nicely and they should give you some.

Hairy string or old rope with knots always looks the muts nuts. Wifes old tights have also been used to secure loads on bike, you can also wear them if it's a bit cold.

this thread gets better and better :woohoo: B)

[Selous]

Rok Straps - bungees are sooooo last century
http://www.traveldriplus.com/index.php? ... 00ff5c502d
I just use two to hold the camping bag on - which for a two weeker usually holds a tent,stove,fuel and cooking accoutrements,picnic mat - two stools, candle lantern,and my collapsible hiking pole(dodgy knee)Weights about the same as the stuff you have strapped on if not more and in over 7 years they have never worked loose. i must have sold hundreds of pairs for Les over the years when people have seen the bikes rattling and banging down trails and the as luggage never slips or the tie downs loosened off we always get asked "where did you get them... ?"
BTW move the tent off the top box, keep all the weight as low as you can, and as central as you can. Don't forget Ewan McG had frame problems due to an overloaded top-box - frame under the pillion seat is designed to take more weight than a heavy weight pressing down where the rack is... longer fulcrum, so easier to snap welds - kinda falls into the law of levers.

Yep Roc Straps is the way to go, would also suggest buy a copy of Fast Bikes, they are giving away a cargo net

Susan Bike.JPG (108.2 KiB) Viewed 1856 times

[scouse]

Cargo nets every time. Plenty of places for lashing easy to access stuff like packets of fags, french (Moroccan) bread and pasties at double quick time without frigging with the rigging. :blink: The kind of thing you'll appreciate on tour.

After years of using them and seeing them last three months before they became stretched beyond all reasonable use and the hooks scratching paintwork and bending out of shape ( do a lot of weekends away and rallies) I would never give one house-room again - try Rock straps and you will be converted straight away.

[scouse]

BMW bike dealerships always have a load of straps, (BM use them to keep the new bikes on the pallet) ask nicely and they should give you some.

Hairy string or old rope with knots always looks the muts nuts. Wifes old tights have also been used to secure loads on bike, you can also wear them if it's a bit cold.

Loads shift and the numbers of times I have seen gear slip off racks and end up in wheels due to people using tie downs, and rope is far too many. You need something that will shift when the load settles or shifts. Tie straps are too rigid and everyone I know still using them has to adjust theirs at every petrol stop... sorry but I want my gear to stay in place at all times not have to constantly check it to see if it coming loose.

Tie straps are hand for extra support on some ferries and emergency tow ropes tho' so if you can get some cheap grab 'em and distribute them through here

[scouse]

Cargo nets and bungees, they are couple of quid each.

Those rokstraps seem a good idea but aren't they £20 a pop or something.

We have two pairs each... one in use and one kept spare in case the ones on the bikes get nicked when parked up... we bought the first pairs over 7 years ago and they are still in use. Given that we can be away on the bikes camping at rallies or one night parties 15-20 times a year plus two weeks touring holidays and one week'rs every now and again, use them all the time for carrying stuff on the bikes... 20 quid is a damn good investment in my opinion I know based on the past using bungees and cargo nets I would be spending around a fiver a year on replacements, so I am at least 15 quid in profit on the first set and the second set I bought at a discount at the HU meet last year... still on the card and never been used but I know I have a set spare if I the ones permanently attached to the bike are nicked.

Only way I can think of having to replace them is that they get nicked... average bungee last around a year under constant use, if that, and will start scratching paint work way before that... sometimes being canny with cash ends up costing you a lot more

[scouse]

In addition, I always finish by wrapping the item linked below around my soft-luggage. It gives me piece of mind when I'm off on foot around a town or the like as I know any opportunists don't stand a chance of casually undoing my stuff and wandering off....

We use a pac safe mesh when travelling solo for the soft bags as it stops the bags being nicked or slashed open by an opportunist. Usually there are the two of us so one stays with the bikes.



Looks expensive but if you are travelling solo across continents what price peace of mind... and you can sell them on years later and not lose too much - usually for for 25-30 on evilBay.

I spend quite a bit on kit as I use it a lot and want it to last. Also I want to depend on it. Decades spent struggling on sometimes exposed, cold and wet rally sites both packing and un-packing bikes as quick as possible, and then sometimes doing it all again the next day, and the day after etc. have given me a lot of experience of the different ways of securing luggage... and which ones work everytime

[scouse]

loading ... the big thing on the box is my super dooper downey bed roll thingy .. very light

i havnt got a tent as im sharing ..[lucky bloke ]
so im toting tow ropes and chain tools and stuff for opthers and trying to pack most heavy things forward and low


ive been plaesed with the bike off road with all this stuff on 22kg .approx
i dont think nets would solve my particlar problem but i see the benfits of them ....

I would still keep it low though, I try and keep the profile as low as possible with luggage as I have had some bad experience with side winds with a loaded up rack, and a mate was nearly blown off a flyover when a similar sized bag to your turned into a "wing"

Keep it low and central and it will make for better fast road work... and save petrol as that lump on the top box will most likely cause more drag than being in the dead air space behind you. Drag cuts MPG... so if your MPG starts dropping get the bag behind you... also makes a good backrest for longer road sections

Luggage packing is an art that comes with experience the more you do it the easier it becomes. by the time you get back you will do it and not even remember how long it took

[scouse]

Those rokstraps seem a good idea but aren't they £20 a pop or something.

Just a note - they get sold in pairs ... so that is 20 quid for two straps to replace 4 bungees and at least one cargo net... which will not need replacing every year...