Please help me figure out how to use these motorcycle cargo straps
March 1, 2018 8:10 PM
I've got a 2017 Honda Rebel 500 and I need to use these straps to secure this bag to the (stock) cargo rack and/or frame. They're all made to be used with each other, I'm just having some real spatial challenges figuring out how to do this, and the manufacturer provides no help.
Yep: I could just order some basic cargo straps, but the bag comes with handy mounting points, and I'd sort of like to figure the whole thing out partially as a matter of getting best use out of what I bought and partially because I hate being stumped by something that's probably simple once you understand it.
Yep: I could just order some basic cargo straps, but the bag comes with handy mounting points, and I'd sort of like to figure the whole thing out partially as a matter of getting best use out of what I bought and partially because I hate being stumped by something that's probably simple once you understand it.
Thanks, Bendy. Unfortunately, that video assumes I know what they mean when they tell me to run the straps around the frame fail. I can't figure out how to do that securely (and in a way that only requires me to do it once, since it'd be nice to just be able to hook the bag in without re-running the straps each time.
posted by mph at 9:05 PM on March 1, 2018
posted by mph at 9:05 PM on March 1, 2018
OK, I've gone down a rabbit hole (mefi isn't really the place to have a two-way conversation but feel free to memail me...)
This is for all intents and purposes my bike. When they say frame rail they mean essentially the frame of the bike. Like a car has parts sturdy enough to place a jack, your moto has a similar frame.
On my bike, you can see a bit of the frame under the rear of the seat. Basically they're saying attach it to a sturdy, permanent part of the bike.
If you have the factory cargo rack that could work, but personally I'd feel safer with the bag strapped lower down as in hook the straps to part of the frame under the seat. I even think the air running in under that rack could cost you some extra drag but test that theory yourself.
As for re-running the straps, is there any reason you couldn't release those hook-shaped buckles from the bag and leave the straps on the bike?
HTH
posted by bendy at 10:03 PM on March 1, 2018
This is for all intents and purposes my bike. When they say frame rail they mean essentially the frame of the bike. Like a car has parts sturdy enough to place a jack, your moto has a similar frame.
On my bike, you can see a bit of the frame under the rear of the seat. Basically they're saying attach it to a sturdy, permanent part of the bike.
If you have the factory cargo rack that could work, but personally I'd feel safer with the bag strapped lower down as in hook the straps to part of the frame under the seat. I even think the air running in under that rack could cost you some extra drag but test that theory yourself.
As for re-running the straps, is there any reason you couldn't release those hook-shaped buckles from the bag and leave the straps on the bike?
HTH
posted by bendy at 10:03 PM on March 1, 2018
Ah. Yeah. Okay. Thanks, bendy! That helps a lot.
I went out into the garage and poked around a bit and now it makes more sense. The bag's pretty long (or wide, depending on how you orient it) so it has to go back out over the cargo rack, and there's not a lot of frame back there because it's meant to go sorta full bobber if you unbolt the rear fender. There are too many moving parts too close to what there is of the frame as a result. So two of the straps are secured around the seat, as you suggested. The other two have to hang off the rack to provide a nice, wide base of attachment without coming too close to moving parts.
Guess I'll commute in tomorrow to see how it does before I take a long trip with it. Looking forward to seeing the coast on it once the weather improves!
Nice bike you've got there, too!
posted by mph at 10:38 PM on March 1, 2018
I went out into the garage and poked around a bit and now it makes more sense. The bag's pretty long (or wide, depending on how you orient it) so it has to go back out over the cargo rack, and there's not a lot of frame back there because it's meant to go sorta full bobber if you unbolt the rear fender. There are too many moving parts too close to what there is of the frame as a result. So two of the straps are secured around the seat, as you suggested. The other two have to hang off the rack to provide a nice, wide base of attachment without coming too close to moving parts.
Guess I'll commute in tomorrow to see how it does before I take a long trip with it. Looking forward to seeing the coast on it once the weather improves!
Nice bike you've got there, too!
posted by mph at 10:38 PM on March 1, 2018
« Older Simple explanation of dimensional space | Is it OK for male colleague to touch a woman's... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by bendy at 8:36 PM on March 1, 2018