Securing Luggage

[Comiha22]

So I'm taking a nice 300mi trip home to upstate NY next weekend, and I don't currently own any hard cases or luggage. I'm planning on taking a medium size duffle bag along for the ride, but am unsure about how to secure it on the back of the bike.

Does anyone have any experience/recommendations/suggestions?

 

[cbzdel]

you could always try a full size hiking backpack, i have one and its HUGE!

 

[Verranth]

Colgan Power Sports in Manassas have some hooks and tie downs that you can secure that bag with. Just hook it up under the side bars on the rear seat.

I havent used them personally, but its worth a look. You can always go old school and stop by Home Depot and get some twine....though, that elastic net with hooks would probably be safer and easier to deal with.

Let me know what you end up using and more importantly, how well it worked after your trip. I was planning a shorter trip to C'ville to visit my brother and stay for a day or two. I dont really like using the backpack and was also looking at tie downs so I can just enjoy the ride.

 

[Comiha22]

you could always try a full size hiking backpack, i have one and its HUGE!

Yeah, I have a decent sized backpack, but figure it might get old after 200+ miles. Have you gone on any long trips with yours?

 

[Comiha22]

Verranth - Nice call on that. I bought my bike from Champion Motorsports in Sterling, but have heard good things about Colgan as well.

A mesh net sounds like a pretty solid idea. I'll take a look this weekend and let you know what I decide on and how it goes.

 

[99vengeur]

Here's what I would suggest. If the duffel bag has a shoulder strap, tighten it down as far as it will go. Then, take the rear seat off and slip the should strap around the rear seat. When you latch the seat back down, the shoulder strap will be locked under the seat. Then get an elastic net with hooks and stretch it over the bag and hook it to the grabrail. This is what I do with my lunch when I ride to work. It works wonders, plus it gives you two levels of security (shoulder strap and elastic net).

 

[joloy133]

Comiha: Home depot has nylon straps that are various lengths with pinch type buckles. They would work well with your duffle. All you would have to do is position your duffle and weave the strap like a lace over the top and through/around the grab rail and post, just look at your shoes; (I carried a hang glider on top of a ladder this way for years). They come individually and in four packs, as low as $2 on sale, (Harbor Freight). U could use one long one or multiple shorter ones. They don't take up much space when rolled up, which you'll see in buying them.

 

[mattjb]

I use a bungie-cord cargo net with three hooks on each side. The front hooks are attached under the rear seat, the middle and rear hooks attach to the little posts that attach the black hand-grabby thing to the rear seat, only crossed, so middle goes to back and back goes to middle. Seems pretty secure.