Travelling by Motorcycle

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duggiebee

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Next year I have decided to do Route 66 by motorcycle. It is going to be a tour for middle aged blokes in that it is an organised tour with a guide, van with back up motorcycle etc. I want to take my camera and a couple of lenses with a view to stopping when and where I want during the course of each day. I will, of course, be doing it riding a Harley Davidson but probably one without panniers. Any ideas as to a suitable rucksack or method of carrying my camera so that I have reasonably quick access during the course of the day?
 
Try this stuff;

http://www.kriega.com/pages/Home.html

Pretty flexible and hard wearing,I use one of the rucksacks all-year round and have some of the other bags and none have let any rain in yet.Not cheap but if you ride a lot they will last for a long while and I think they will repair most items if damaged.
 
It will be very aggravating taking a back-pack off every time. I've found it far more convenient to keep an SLR in a tank bag, you can whip it out in seconds without getting off the bike if need be.
Trouble is finding a large enough bag which will fit a harley, they tend to have additional stuff on the tank making it tricky especially if you don't know the model.
If it was me I would reluctantly not take SLR in favour of a pocketable compact.
Or take a compact in addition to the SLR in backpack for those quick opportunities where you don't have 5 minutes to get the big camera out.
 
4wd said:
It will be very aggravating taking a back-pack off every time. I've found it far more convenient to keep an SLR in a tank bag, you can whip it out in seconds without getting off the bike if need be.
Trouble is finding a large enough bag which will fit a harley, they tend to have additional stuff on the tank making it tricky especially if you don't know the model.
If it was me I would reluctantly not take SLR in favour of a pocketable compact.
Or take a compact in addition to the SLR in backpack for those quick opportunities where you don't have 5 minutes to get the big camera out.
Click to expand...

with this in mind check out My Grubby's solution!! Excellent :thumbs:
http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=406473&highlight=lexmoto
Post #12
 
Im sure you have already thought about it but dont pack as much as you can as all that weight ends up pushing you down on the seat more than usual, which may result in a bit of soreness over a long ride!
 
Errm... Route 66 is 2500 miles long which is gonna take an awful long time on a Hog if you're doing the lot:cuckoo:

I don't know if you regularly take your camera out on a motorcycle here? I do (or did until a bike/Mercedes interface:() and have always been concerned about vibrations so pad my top box with a camping mat (which I then use to sit on) to minimise these. This is on a smooth Japanese inline 4. Smoothness is not something I'd associate with a Harley Davidson, so I certainly wouldn't be putting a DSLR and lens/es in anything attached to the bike.:nono:

If I were in your position I'd either carry my S90 in my pocket or I'd pick up a used D40 and stick a 50mm 1.8 on it and not worry too much if the vibrations kill it.
 
I wouldn't wear a rucksack, if you come off not only will the gear probably get damaged but your back could also. My Grubby's solution looks perfect :)
 
I do a lot of long distance motorcycle touring and even the thought of a backpack gives me shoulder pains,
There is plenty of good motorcycle bags out there that fasten to your handlebars
 
I've been wrestling with a similar (but much lower mileage) problem

I'm off to Assen next week, and I think I'll be going for a compromise. One lens (probably the 18-105 for the range) in a holster case in the front of my tankbag for easy access. I'd love to have the 35mm for the street parties at night, and the 300 for the racing with me... but I can't see any other way than the rucksack for that. Might throw a mini tripod in there too though! :)
 
stumac said:
I do a lot of long distance motorcycle touring and even the thought of a backpack gives me shoulder pains,
There is plenty of good motorcycle bags out there that fasten to your handlebars
Click to expand...

I find backpacks fine. My fully loaded bag weighs 12kg and I don't notice it, just use the waist belt to take the weight and the top joining straps to keep the holder straps together. I dislike tank bags as I find they can be restrictive and can get in the way of your arms etc.
 
On reflection, I can't imagine a tankbag fitting very well on a Hardly Dangerous anyway.
 
keep your camera gear in the back up van as you will have to stop to take pics just use your normal camera gear bag
simples
 
Wookee said:
Errm... Route 66 is 2500 miles long which is gonna take an awful long time on a Hog if you're doing the lot:cuckoo:

I don't know if you regularly take your camera out on a motorcycle here? I do (or did until a bike/Mercedes interface:() and have always been concerned about vibrations so pad my top box with a camping mat (which I then use to sit on) to minimise these. This is on a smooth Japanese inline 4. Smoothness is not something I'd associate with a Harley Davidson, so I certainly wouldn't be putting a DSLR and lens/es in anything attached to the bike.:nono:

If I were in your position I'd either carry my S90 in my pocket or I'd pick up a used D40 and stick a 50mm 1.8 on it and not worry too much if the vibrations kill it.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%. I've been riding Harleys and BMWs for most of my life and usually do at least one trip of 1500 miles plus each year. On the Harley you only have to look at the way all my tools have polished and worn themselves due to the vibrations to worry about how this would affect a DSLR and lenses. This is in solid side panniers. I wouldn't worry so much if the bike has a top box and you could carry the kit in a well padded bag and would worry much less in a top box on a BMW, or most other bikes for that matter.

This is a problem I wrestle with all the time and either carry just my compact, currently an S90, or as I've recently done, also my 5D2 body and 50 1.8 and 28 2.8 on the basis that the lenses are light, cheap and robust and I can pack the body safely.

I think it's unlikely that you'll find a satisfactory tank bag solution on the models of Harley you're likely to be riding and unless you're on a big Glide you probably won't get a top box. So a back pack is likely to be the best bet if you want to be safe with a body plus lenses.
 
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