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Feeling a Bit Better about my Bungee

GoRovers

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Has anyone had a luggage-holding bungee cord fail mid-ride?

Normally I don't need luggage on my NC700XD, but last weekend I needed some extra storage space for a longer ride. I used two heavy-duty (not regular) bungee cords to secure my old Cortech Sport tail bag to the rear seat. (See photos below.) That set-up worked fine. During fuel stops I simply released the forward bungee hook from the passenger peg hole (leaving the rear license frame-looped bungee in place), and raised the Cortech along with the rear seat. No problems.

This morning I Googled "using bungee cords on motorcycles" and read some stories about bungees breaking and pulling luggage into the rear wheel well, causing accidents. Yikes! So today I bought a 36" Husky heavy duty rubber strap from Home Depot. It replaces the forward bungee perfectly, with strong tension, and hopefully greater reliability.

Cortech-tail-bag2.jpg

Cortech-tail-bag3.jpg

Husky2.jpg

Husky1.jpg
 
I would still keep an eye on it, I've seen many of the ends broken off with the hooks still in them lying along the roadway. Good luck.
 
I really like Rok straps. I used them to hold my backpack on the luggage rack of my previous bike for a decade. The same ones. The fabric frayed and the rubber started to crack at the end, but they never let me down.
 
I really like Rok straps. I used them to hold my backpack on the luggage rack of my previous bike for a decade. The same ones. The fabric frayed and the rubber started to crack at the end, but they never let me down.
I have heard good things about the Rok straps I plan on ordering a set soon.
 
I always carry a couple of the heavier longer Rok Straps
 
Rok Straps are the way to go. Adjustable over nearly the whole length of the strap, you can set the tension however you want, quick release buckle, and no hooks to scratch up your bike. I've totally stopped using bungees.
 
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+2 for the straps

I have used them to bring a Costco flat of pop and a karaoke machine to work on different occasions. Feel very comfortable with them. Bought mine at a motorcycle show which saved a few bucks vs dealer pricing. Think it was $20 Canadian for the pair with taxes included...taxes...Oh Canada...
 
I am a huge fan of keeping costs down, but...

seems like you would benefit from a top box.


  • store same amount as bag
  • make fueling up easier
  • waterproof
  • less worry

See top box recipe [HERE].
 
Indeed. Other than when needing to back into a parking space right against a wall or high railing I never notice my H&B Junior55. Rear-view vision/sightline and handling are not compromised in the least and the convenience and day-to-day utility of a LOT of well-shaped storage space cannot be understated. I don't know why people go for less space in a top box, to be honest.


2017-05-21 15;11;51 by greenboy, on Flickr
 
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I've never really been a super fan of bungee cords in the first place. If you don't have enough stretch on them they don't hold so well, but stretched too much, they can be either time bombs, or difficult to wrangle with at the least opportune times.

Me, I go for plain old webbing straps with fastex buckles and D-rings/tension locks.

I have ROK straps, but the way I'm used to lashing down stuff, just never seems to work out how I want when using them. Go figure.:confused:
 
Polyester webbing straps.

You can get plenty of buckle options, tensioners, even metal side release buckles, and they availble in a variety of colors, if you are patient enough to hand sew a box with an X in it you can sew your own loops the correct size into them when needed.
Strength on those straps is measured in 1000's of pounds... as I recall the black rubber bungees are rated in the 100's of pounds.

$10 will get you 25 yards of 1 inch webbing from amazon...
Plastic side release buckles for buck each, and metal for a couple of bucks each... tensioners/adjusters for a few quarters each...

make sure to have a lighter on hand when you cut the webbing to melt the ends, after cutting so it doesn't unravel.
 
Bungee cords - or Octopus straps as they're called here - are great inventions, but I wouldn't use one on the bike. I've got a set of Gotcha Straps from New Zealand which are fantastic, and some shorter Andy Strapz. Might be better known in Australia than other distant lands.
 
Bungees are so 1970's. This is the 21st. century. You have a bike with disk brakes and fuel injection, get hep* and buy some ROK straps.

* Hep, 1950's for hip.
 
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