BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

I sent this to the BMW Owners News magazine for consideration and possible inclusion in the "Touring Tips" column, and I thought I'd share it with you folks on the board:

Ever lose a system case off your BMW, or know someone who has? I'd been warned when I bought my motorcycle how easy it was for the cases to fall off, and I'd seen various "solutions" offered on the board, including CycleRob's elegant retaining pin drilled through the footpeg mounting bracket and inserted into the lower tab of the bag. I think I've come up with two things that are both simple and effective to remedy this problem.

After meeting a K1200RS rider earlier this summer who had lost a system case - guess which guy in this pict has lost his system case that day?



It was long gone by the time he was alerted to it and went back to retrieve it - the first thing I wanted to do was to identify my bags, in case they happened to fall off, as that rider's did. So, using clear packaging tape, I affixed an ID card that included not only my home address and phone number, but also my cell phone number (which I was likely to have with me on a trip) to the back side of each of my bags.



Next, to help insure that the bags would not fall completely off even if they broke free of their mountings, I used a small dog or cat collar to tether the bags to their upper mounting rails. On my '04 R, I simply ran the collar through the inner case handle (the one that opens the bag lid), and made a loop through the pillion seat handholds in the mounting rails. The first pict shows the bag closed and tethered:



The next pict shows the outer handle opened, but the collar still wrapped around the inner handle (the one that opens the bag lid):



To remove the bag, simply press the quick disconnect buckles on the collar, and remove the bag as usual. To open the bag, but still keep it mounted, be sure to leave enough slack in the collar so the inner (bag opening) handle can be raised, as shown in this last photo:



At worst case, if the bag should come off it's mounting rails, at least it'll stay tethered to the bike long enough for me to stop and fix it.

Simple, No?

good idea,

for another good solution, check out CYCLEROB's retainer pin modification.

Simple, No?

Simple, Yes..

That's a great idea...thanks for the tip.

I think most bags that come off don't have the lower foot in place.

My only concern with your idea is that if you did hit a big bump and the case was to come off..that strap might cause it to swing around and get hooked up in the rear wheel.

But I guess the chance of that is pretty slim....I like the ID sticker idea..

DJ

Those are both good ideas! Thanks!

Looking at your tie solution, I was thinking another option might be one of those carabiner clips. It might not fit around the handle but you could use any tight bit of rope or cord looped around the handle and into the carabiner. It'd still be a quick release and you could leave the carabiner on the rack or take it with you on the bag.

The only drawback to the dog collar is that the quick release usually has a safety clip that lets go if the collar gets caught up in something so the dog or cat doesn't choke to death. The pull on that safety clip may only be ten lbs. So it could let go if that's all that was holding the bag on.

I think you've got something good there. Not sure about the safety release with the dog/cat collar but I'm sure there's off teh shelf items out there that would work similarly to what you suggest.

I'm with DJ, REALLY like the ID idea on the inner edge of the bag. Good Idea

I went on a recent lngish trip (3500kms) and never had an issue, but did take a few seconds on straight stretches to reach back and 'pat' the bags to keep my mind at ease. After all, this is one 'problem' you do hear about the BMW cases regardless of model and it sticks in your head a little at speed of any kind.

Anyhow, great ideas, if only for peace of mind.

Cheers,
Chris.

Top Tip!!!

Do you have to remove the dog or cat from the collar first?















Ok, You can smack me now.

DSKYZD

Can someone explain why the cases fall off? Is it poor design or pilot error? What is the weak link in the mounting system? I have ridden several thousand miles fully loaded and at times, at very high speed and never had any problems.

Thanks

Does lightning strike the same person twice?

I have already lost a system case whilst going down the road. At speed. So I should be safe from losing another, right?

FYI - my case latch assembly failed which is why it fell off. If I had any kind of tether I'm sure the case would be damaged probably needing some sort of repair but at least I would have it. I did recover my case since a gracious car driver got my attention to let me know shortly after it happened. It was banged up and needed a new latch assembly and lid, the base was the only re-useable part. I've thought about doing something to keep this from happening and someday I might actually do it.

DSKYZD wrote:Do you have to remove the dog or cat from the collar first?

Actually, my inspiration for this tip came from an old book I have, "101 Uses for a Dead Cat".

darcym wrote:Looking at your tie solution, I was thinking another option might be one of those carabiner clips. It might not fit around the handle but you could use any tight bit of rope or cord looped around the handle and into the carabiner. It'd still be a quick release and you could leave the carabiner on the rack or take it with you on the bag.

I thought about a carabiner clip, I even have an odd one lying around the garage looking for something to be used with, but I didn't think I had enough clearance under the bag handles to use it there. Then I saw the dead cat lying around, and ...

darcym wrote:The only drawback to the dog collar is that the quick release usually has a safety clip that lets go if the collar gets caught up in something so the dog or cat doesn't choke to death. The pull on that safety clip may only be ten lbs. So it could let go if that's all that was holding the bag on.

Actually, my first attempt at this was a failure - I used a cat collar that did, indeed, break away with only a slight pull. Hmmm, that wasn't gonna work, kinda defeated the whole purpose. Next time I was at Wally World I checked out the pet collars, and found that the one I used was MADE to be a breakway type. So, I scarffed up a couple of other, more stout ones (I thought about getting some with rhinestones, but .... Nahhhh). Trust me, I pulled and pulled on these, and they ain't gonna break away all that easily. Again, the intent was just to keep the bag close until I could deal with "why" it came loose in the first place.

The inspiration for the ID came when I saw a recent post on the BMWMOA.org discussion board. A poster reported finding a system case somewhere along on interstate highway. His post was searching for the owner. If that bag had an ID tag ...

Great tip. But I've never heard of anyone's system case falling off, provided they don't overload it or improperly mount it on the bracket.

The last bag I had come off a BMW was a Krauser. It was mounted on a '79 RS I used to ride. The common fix for the Krauser bag was to secure it to the bike with a heavy rubber shock cord, the type used to secure tarps on semi trucks.

GeoffJ wrote:Great tip. But I've never heard of anyone's system case falling off, provided they don't overload it or improperly mount it on the bracket.

Now you have. Read my post above. The only thing I had in my bag at the time was my Gerbings heated jacket liner - maybe a couple pounds at most. The bag was properly mounted - like I said the reason for release was a failed latch - it broke without any warning.

I saw my system case bounce down the road one day so luckly I didn't lose it, it helps to make sure you latch the damn thing.

I have lost a Krauser though,
if anyone finds it don't bother returning, I've already sold the other side.

I have also lost one out of the back of a truck, if the bike was a little bit shorter I could have closed the tailgate

Here's the best way, although some careful drilling skills and rear wheel removal are required:

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/12180864-O.jpg
http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/12180869-O.jpg
http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/12180867-O.jpg
http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/12180866-O.jpg
http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/12180861-O.jpg

The pins are $1.20 for a bag of 2 pins at the Home Depot in one of the fastener aisle's slide-out drawers. I bought 2 extra bags for anyone willing to take a ride to my house.

You can use the dog collar until the pins are installed. The muffler and turning wheel might do considerable cosmetic damage to the collar restrained dislodged case before you "notice" it. That is impossible when they are pinned. Pinned bag security is as if they are bolted in place.

Pins.pins. Just Do It . . . . you'll be so glad you did.

orbea54 wrote:Can someone explain why the cases fall off? Is it poor design or pilot error? What is the weak link in the mounting system? I have ridden several thousand miles fully loaded and at times, at very high speed and never had any problems.

Thanks

It seems that the most likely reason (pilot error) is not having the tabs on the forward side of the case around the peg/tab below the pillion foot pegs. The latch mechanism is only a 'retainer' really, and will break if the case swings any distance. If there is any movement in your case when it is latched, then you probably ought to go with CycleRob's pin fix.

The second most likely reason, is not understanding how to latch the case in place.

I put yellow reflective triangles on the forward top corners of my cases, so I can easily spot both cases in my mirrors... it is awkward to reach around a tent and chair to get a hand on the case while riding.

P