Careful with soft luggage, straps & bungees

[teeter]

Check out what happened to a friend of mine the other day. Be careful with straps et al. I'm a paranoid freak when packing the bike. Just in case you aren't, take a look and think twice next time...

Quoted:
"I was doing about 70mph and had just passed I295 overpass, when my rear wheel completely locked up. I found my self fishtailing all over my lane. I managed to keep the bike upright using the remaining gyroscopic force in the front wheel. I had to drag the bike sideways into the emergency lane. What I found was my rear bag containing my rainsuit wrapped around the sprocket. Some how the bungee cords had let go so that it jammed in the rear wheel.
The nylon had melted almost to the point of catching fire."

It's one thing to have a melted mess all over the rear end of your bike, but a whole other story to have full rear lockup at 70mph. Scary sheet.

 

[keira]

glad your friend is ok!!

 

[pjstud1v]

Wow, thanks for sharing. I try to carry as little as possible when I'm on the bike.

 

[mstewar1]

Aw man. I've been on the fence about keeping my aftermarket exhaust because it meant that I can no longer use my givi hard case. I've been using a soft tail bag...

Your friend did a great job on the save. I have to wonder how many folks might have succumbed or just not reacted well enough to the situation.

Thanks.

 

[teeter]

Aw man. I've been on the fence about keeping my aftermarket exhaust because it meant that I can no longer use my givi hard case. I've been using a soft tail bag...

Your friend did a great job on the save. I have to wonder how many folks might have succumbed or just not reacted well enough to the situation.

Thanks.

Yeah, he maintains that it was luck, not skill that kept him upright. He's got at least 30 years of experience in the saddle.... I'm sure that experience played a major roll.

The only thing keeping me from getting hard luggage is $$$. Now I have a good excuse!! "But honey, it's for my safety...." I haven't taken advantage of it YET, but my wife always supports major cash outlays when it comes to my safety on the bike.

 

[JohnTex]

Thanks for sharing, and glad your friend is O.K. I normally keep my Cortech bag on the bike, and will add a check of the bungees & mounting to my daily pre-ride inspection.

 

[RedX7]

Wow! I'm gonna have to double and triple check all my soft luggage now. Especially since I'm heading all the way up to Laguna Seca from San Diego. Thanks for the heads up, and glad your friend is okay.

 

[Gopher]

So, what would be the best tail bag to get?

I'm still a newbie, and my bikes home is still the showroom (with a 'sold' tag on it), but I'm already looking for the bits I will need when I get riding. And I really dont want this to happen on my 'cross-UK' trek I have planned....

I've been looking at Givi tail bags (with the built in straps), but are these appropriate, given the S2's pipes are under the tail cowl?

Like I say, I'm still a Newbie to biking, and I very much doubt I would have the skills to recover from a lock-up at that speed! (Well done to ur mate btw!)

 

[fast blue one]

I think your friend is just being modest.

 

[colobb]

I believe something like this happened in the UK/Europe with Oxford soft panniers. The straps came loose or were hanging too low and got caught in the wheel or sprocket. The rider was killed. Perhaps Nelly or one of my other fellow countrymen could elaborate on this if they are aware of the details.

As with anything, make you sure have clearance and that its not going to catch on anything! Check those straps!

 

[boo68]

Your friend definitely had the experience and kept his wits about him. If he had panicked things likely would have turn out a bit different. It is really too bad the pipe has nylon all over, but your friend is okay and that is all that matters.

Deb

 

[Wildcard]

Talk about Deja Vu!! Same exact thing happened to my roommate today. He was going to work on his Ninja 500 and he normally straps his book bag on the back seat. Well straps came undone and the bag got caught in the sprocket. Bag got shredded, chain flew off, but he managed to keep the bike upright and pull off to the side of the road.

 

[jsteinb95]

DAMN!!!! Atleast he was able to keep the bike up......kudos to him. Glad he's ok!