tc339 Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 So Im taking a trip next month and doing some moto camping for about 3 weeks. Im new at this whole thing and literally have no idea how to strap everything down. I did a quick search and didnt come up with much. I have the OEM hardbags for my 6th gen. as well as a Cortech sports tailbag (which I also havent figured out how to strap down.) Ill have a tent, sleeping bag, foam pad, and all that good stuff. I think I am going to stuff it all in a drybag so it will all be together. my main question is what straps do you use, and how do you strap everything down to the tail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monk Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 One thing you need is a sidestand disc to rest your stand on when on the dirt(or hot pavement).......... and attach a string to it long enough to be seated on the bike, then lift the bike off the stand and pull the disc up and put in tank bag....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayJay Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 best for me is the cargo net things, you can link up more than one to extend range of what you need to tie down.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Africord Posted May 22, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 22, 2012 best for me is the cargo net things, you can link up more than one to extend range of what you need to tie down.... That's what I use. See avatar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer texasvfr Posted May 22, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 22, 2012 GET ROKSTRAPS ™ forget any other kind of straps!! They are the best straps to use on a motorbike,bar none. MCN has always rated them the best. Once you use them you will not use anything else. One bloke used them to tie a water heater to his bike to get it home. Try that with bungee straps. No kidding. See those blue waterproof duffle bags , each one is FIRMLY held down by two rokstraps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrankoQ Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Camping trip on my 96: Camping on my 04: One saddle has the tent, the other has the mattress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BonusVFR Posted May 22, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 22, 2012 I use a combination of bungees, nets and straps from REI. Some sort of waterproof stuff sack or bag works well too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer The mailman Posted May 23, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 23, 2012 One word of caution is that if you use a regular long narrow tent bag, make sure your poles can't slide out of the middle along the way. I know some one (no not me) that arrived at his destination with a tent minus his poles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dallasb Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 +1 for cargo net, cheap and easy, but I do like the looks of the ROK Straps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tc339 Posted May 23, 2012 Author Share Posted May 23, 2012 awesome. thanks for the tips! I have one more question though. Where do you guys actually connect either like the straps or the cargo net. like what do you hook it to. I havent actually tried for myself yet, but just looking around I didnt see much to hook it to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfrcapn Posted May 23, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 23, 2012 I use a dry bag, Ortlieb, for all the camping gear and got some Aerostich straps to hold it on. Worked very well on a few trips. Added the cargo net just for anything I might need to add along the way. BTW, 3 week moto camping trip, very jealous. I've got the itch to go soon. Also check out motocampers.com for more ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer texasvfr Posted May 23, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 23, 2012 Where ever you can , it ain't no piano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Belfry Posted May 23, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 23, 2012 Eight or nine years ago I bought several items of soft luggage from RevPack in California and half a dozen of their two-part quick release straps. I found the straps to be a huge improvement on bungees, nets, rope and various other means I had used previously. One caution though: for several years I used the straps to lash stuff down to my DR 650. It's a dual sport that gets ridden off-road, in dirt and mud, so it has its share of scratches and dings. The first time I strapped my gear down to the VFR I didn't give much thought to the plastic buckles on the straps rubbing against the rear bodywork. I ended up with a very slight rub mark, likely caused by road grime getting between the buckle and the tupperware. The solution is to test fit everything at home and put a 1- to 2-inch square piece of clear film under the buckle. The quick release straps aren't stretchy like ROK straps, so I find that I cinch things down when I take off, then at the first gas stop, tighten things up again and I'm set. The nice thing about the quick-release buckles is that you don't have to adjust again if you just need to get into the bags. You pop open the buckles, access the bags, and clip the buckles again when finished. Of course, if you substantially change the load (like add or remove a jacket from a soft bag) you will have to cinch the straps again, though that only takes a few seconds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monk Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Strapes if you're concerned about the back panels.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer njcop Posted May 23, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 23, 2012 awesome. thanks for the tips! I have one more question though. Where do you guys actually connect either like the straps or the cargo net. like what do you hook it to. I havent actually tried for myself yet, but just looking around I didnt see much to hook it to. Rear pegs or rear grab handles if feasible. I use a cargo net over my backpack so I don't have to wear it on my way into work. I personally don't have side bags Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzed_viffer Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 I don't usually strap stuff to the VFR - just use two zip-together Ventura packs and an expandable tankbag. On previous bikes without a rack, I used to bungee stuff onto the pillion seat, and it was forever wriggling around. On a cautionary note, I used to have a friend who lived about a kilometre from me who had a lovely Anniversary Edition VFR (the 5th Gen one, not the 6th Gen). Apparently, the police reckoned his luggage came loose and flipped sideways into his back wheel at an estimated 100-120km/h (he woke up in hospital remembering nothing of it). His bike was pretty well trashed, and he spent months in rehabilitation. When I last spoke to him, he'd had to give up motorcycling and cycling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidTNJasonF Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Rok Straps. Only thing I use. I threw away the cheap bungee net and gave my old bungee chords to a friend. Rok straps don't have metal hooks to bend or worse yet scratch your bike. Never had one come loose and I think you could probably lift the bike off the ground if you hooked a couple of the Rok Straps to a hoist, they are strong. Many camping trips under my belt with my sleeping pad, tent poles, and a few other things in a dry bag straped down with two Rok Straps. Tent, stove, clothes, and personal items in one side case. Sleeping bag and small items in the other side case. Small cooler, tool kit, hat, spare gloves, jacket liner, and rain gear in the top case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer rdguy Posted May 24, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 24, 2012 I have a set of Roks now, but when I did my epic ride, I strapped my duffel to the seat using four bungies: two diagonally across the centre of the bag, and one each side going front to back. These were hooked to the grab rails at the back and the frames for my Givis at the front. I still back up the Roks with a couple of bungies. Edit: Leave a couple of minutes the first time to put some tape on the body panels wherever the straps or bungies contact it. Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Ryanme17 Posted May 24, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 24, 2012 awesome. thanks for the tips! I have one more question though. Where do you guys actually connect either like the straps or the cargo net. like what do you hook it to. I havent actually tried for myself yet, but just looking around I didnt see much to hook it to. There are plenty of places to strap a cargo net to. Grab handles, mounting hardware for your hardbags, footpegs, etc. If you don't see any place for it, you aren't looking. But I don't understand where you're strapping stuff to if you already have a tailbag. If it's a motorcycle specific tailbag it will already have it's own mounting system and it will occupy your tail section... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tc339 Posted May 24, 2012 Author Share Posted May 24, 2012 awesome. thanks for the tips! I have one more question though. Where do you guys actually connect either like the straps or the cargo net. like what do you hook it to. I havent actually tried for myself yet, but just looking around I didnt see much to hook it to. There are plenty of places to strap a cargo net to. Grab handles, mounting hardware for your hardbags, footpegs, etc. If you don't see any place for it, you aren't looking. But I don't understand where you're strapping stuff to if you already have a tailbag. If it's a motorcycle specific tailbag it will already have it's own mounting system and it will occupy your tail section... Its a tailbag with bungie hooks for mounting. I hooked the front hooks to the passenger pegs but there was nowhere very secure to attach the rear hooks. I think possibly with the luggage brackets on I might have somewhere to mount them, but at the moment there isnt much to attach them too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer vfrcapn Posted May 25, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 25, 2012 awesome. thanks for the tips! I have one more question though. Where do you guys actually connect either like the straps or the cargo net. like what do you hook it to. I havent actually tried for myself yet, but just looking around I didnt see much to hook it to. There are plenty of places to strap a cargo net to. Grab handles, mounting hardware for your hardbags, footpegs, etc. If you don't see any place for it, you aren't looking. But I don't understand where you're strapping stuff to if you already have a tailbag. If it's a motorcycle specific tailbag it will already have it's own mounting system and it will occupy your tail section... Its a tailbag with bungie hooks for mounting. I hooked the front hooks to the passenger pegs but there was nowhere very secure to attach the rear hooks. I think possibly with the luggage brackets on I might have somewhere to mount them, but at the moment there isnt much to attach them too. I have the Touratech tailbag with built in bungee straps. They do the job of keeping the bag on the bike but without a cargo net or bungees over it, the bag tends to slide forward on the pillion seat into the rider seat area. A couple bungees/straps or cargo net keeps it out of my way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer MaxSwell Posted May 25, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 25, 2012 awesome. thanks for the tips! I have one more question though. Where do you guys actually connect either like the straps or the cargo net. like what do you hook it to. I havent actually tried for myself yet, but just looking around I didnt see much to hook it to. Here is a pic of my solution: a REAL frankenbolt. It is an old through-engine bolt that Radar's Sliders Kit replaced. (The black shock cord is to keep the frankenbolt from rattling - it could be more elegantly installed) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFR4Lee Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I like the adjustable bungees, the nonadjustable stretch and never seem to be the right length. The straps look like they would even be better. I hate the bungee net, probably because I lost a tent one time and jacket another. They're tooooo stretchy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted May 26, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted May 26, 2012 On a cautionary note, I used to have a friend who lived about a kilometre from me who had a lovely Anniversary Edition VFR (the 5th Gen one, not the 6th Gen). Apparently, the police reckoned his luggage came loose and flipped sideways into his back wheel at an estimated 100-120km/h (he woke up in hospital remembering nothing of it). His bike was pretty well trashed, and he spent months in rehabilitation. When I last spoke to him, he'd had to give up motorcycling and cycling. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated occurrence. I have seen rear-seat loads jammed in rear wheels and have heard several stories--some ending in death. Be very careful about strapping loads to the bike where you can't see it... Ciao, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer DFerrell Posted July 24, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted July 24, 2012 So what size or length of rok straps are you guys using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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