Rok Straps

 A quick post and something of a product endorsement.

For more years than I care to remember I have been strapping things to my bike with bungie straps, a length of elastic rope with a plastic-coated metal hook on each end.

They can and do snap, and with use the plastic coating gets worn and the now exposed metal bits can damage the bike’s paintwork.

On a recommendation from a friend, I bought some “Rok Straps”. These are regular nylon straps with an elasticated mid-section that you anchor to your bike by looping around a secure point.

My bikes mostly have racks and panniers so this is not a problem for me. If you have a modern sports bike you might have to get a little creative.

I used them for the first time last weekend and they worked as well as advertised. Easy to attach, easy to use, and no likelihood of damaging the paint.

If you are looking for something to tie your gear down you could do worse than try some yourself.

 

Touring In Bygone Days

I am particularly taken by the very last sentence

More Tinkering

As suspected, the cruiser is difficult to ride at motorway speeds as the wide handlebars and lack of any protection from the wind makes for an uncomfortable and tiring day in the saddle.

While I was away in Ireland the Triumph ‘Roadster’ windscreen I had ordered was delivered. This is an officially licensed spare part and would ordinarily have cost an arm and a leg but I was lucky eough to find an unused one for sale on eBay from a dealer in the north of England.

Fitting it should have been straightforward, it was a genuine part after all, however, as seems to be the norm these days it didn’t quite fit as advertised, needing a few ‘adjustments’ to the bracketry before I could get on with it.

The end result looks quite smart and the screen does a decent job of deflecting the wind off of my chest at higher speeds.

Next up is a six-hundred-mile round trip to Wales and back. I guess I’ll be finding out just how much difference a screen will make shortly.

Tinkering

Not satisfied with a naked cruiser I immediately set about tweeking it a little to make it more suitable for longer trips away. To that end it would need some luggage, and possibly a screen if I was going to use it for holidays and/or motorcycle rallying.

As coincidence would have it, an ad on a local bulletin board was advertising some suitable bits and pieces. I ended up buying a brand-new sissy-bar/backrest that I could strap stuff to and hopefully not have it fall off the back, a spare set of unused silencers, and a curious leather tank bib with a pocket on it which may or may not come in useful for money for tolls etc. They had all been removed from a brand new bike and replaced with aftermarket parts. The owner had recently sold his bike on and was now clearing out the unnecessary bits he no longer had any use for. The silencers went into stock for future use and sissy-bar and tank bib were duly fitted. Looked good, I must admit.

Next up, I needed something to carry stuff in. As I have about six sets of decent hard panniers already, I first tried to find a fitting kit for some of these. Those available were extremely expensive and, more importantly, looked horrible when fitted to a cruiser. So, a rethink was in order.

In the end I settled for some soft canvas panniers which looked better and were relatively inexpensive. Although they are advertised as waterproof, I added a couple of small canoe dry-sacks to ensure the contents were kept dry. To keep them from fouling the rear wheel a set of guard rails were acquired. With everything fitted it gave me carrying capacity and still looked the part.

Now I was all ready for the bike’s first serious trip to Ireland in a couple of weeks.

New Jaiket

To go with the new bike, I bought myself a new bike jacket. I decided on waxed cotton this time around rather than leather or textile as I liked the traditional style and it had a degree of protection built-in with CE-approved armour and a back-protector, unlike the one I had years ago.

One of the reasons that I stopped wearing my old Belstaff was the realisation that all that stood between me and the very hard ground should I have an off was a thin cotton jacket no heavier than a regular denim one for any sort of ride. In the end I stopped wearing it altogether.

This one also came with a nice thermal liner, which I removed. I once read a decent article on long-distance touring which said you should just wear an extra jersey or sweatshirt instead. The reasoning being that it was one less item to carry around with you if you were actually wearing it, and it could be worn off the bike, unlike the liner it was replacing.

It’s also “Guaranteed 100% Waterproof”. We’ll see. I’ll reserve judgement on that until I’ve put it through a five-hour ride in the pouring rain. Or, summer, as we call it here in Scotland.

Twenty's Plenty

(spotted at Scottish Motorcycle Show)
 

Ya Boo Sucks

Mascot fitted to the front mudguard/fender of this old Indian and spotted at the Scottish Motorcycle Show.