Hi :confused1:

Simple question really ,looking at using soft luggage for my next trip (always used hard luggage in the past ) any advice on making it more thief proof on the bike ( even though I'll be putting all my important stuff in the tank bag ) ?

Cheers


Neil

Have but one, I run the straps under the seat (removable with a key) so they can't be lifted off by opportunists.

Paksafes work pretty well on softbags though are sometimes a bugger to get in and out of

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Mike


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My little Vid: India/Pakistan

BMW R1150GS
Suzuki DR650 SE: Ride it like ya stole it. Oh, somebody just did...

PacSafe products are a royal pain in the butt to use, but they're basically the only game in town. A PacSafe daypack once saved me from losing camera, credit cards, etc. to a thief who came in through a train window with a knife.

Before PacSafe arrived on the scene I used to weave guitar strings into various straps and pockets when I wanted to make them slashproof. I'd buy a bunch of ball-end high E strings and just thread them back and forth through the material, then figure out something non-lethal to do with the loose end (usually tape, which tends to wear out or fall off at inopportune moments). Note that a guitar string end which has worked itself loose can make a serious puncture in your fragile flesh--a bad idea anywhere, but especially in the tropics.

I use hard bags on my bike, but if I was relying on straps threaded under the seat for security, I might reinforce them this way so that they can't be easily cut off. On the other hand, there's a lot to be said for just trusting the universe to take good care of you....which it generally does.

Hope that helps.

Mark

I'm considering to use softbags mounted on racks and secured with pacsafe suitcase belts like these:


This should prevent the thieves from taking the bag. Is cheaper and lighter then the cablenet.

To be more precise: the wolfman expedition dry panniers.

Doesn't stop them cutting it open. I reckon with soft luggage you just have to be ready for some sort of theft if you leave it out of sight.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

Soft panniers/hard topbox are an often used combination. you get the advantages of soft luggage (better for you AND the bike if you go down). You can put the non-replaceable stuff in the top box, and stuff like clothes and kitchen in the soft bags. I have a friend on a current lap of Aussie, who spent a long time over the last 10 years buying then making what he considered the ultimate in alloy cases (very nice they were too) and then ditching them after a 'Roo jumped on him and then putting Andy Strapps soft bags on. He loves them and gave me permission to have him committed if he ever puts hard boxes on his bike ever again.

Cheers bloke

Nigel in NZ

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They dont only make big mesh bags. I find the mesh bags too time consuming, bulky and unnecessary.

I have no security on my top bag - its with in tent or hotel with me every night. Computer, documents etc are all in there.

As for the side bags, I keep them on the bike all the time ... and use pacsafe -wrapsafe cables for security. PacSafe WrapSafe Anti Theft Adjustable Cable Lock : Tooled-Up.com Much lighter, simpler and quicker than the big mesh nets.

Touch wood, but no one has taken anything from my bags since using this setup ... over 2 years, 85,000 km in Siberia and Mongolia and Central Asia.

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Nothing to add about soft panniers, but: who says that hard boxes are safe?
5 seconds with a screwdriver and our things have gone...
For sure I write something you already know, but baggages on a motorbike are never really safe, unless you always use an uncomfortable combination of the remedies described above: this could cost too much time to the thief, who could prefer to put his attention elsewhere.
Sad but true.

Hi

I would not use soft luggage for big trips becaue so far my metall boxe aved my legs some times from my bike faling on them. They also absorbet lot of energy so the bike it selfe did not get demaged if something went wrong...

If you are doing short trips the wire net shown in the picture above is a realy nice thing...

Travel save. Tobi

A couple of comments:

(1) The poster was not asking about metal boxes vs soft bags. He was asking about security for soft bags. I think we should be trying to address that question.

but since you have made a couple of points, I feel compelled to point out that I think they are quite inaccurate.

(2) Metal boxes dont absorb energy, they transmit energy. They are rigid. Impact on the metal box is transmitted to the bike directly. Soft bags absorb energy. Thats why a camera or anything else sensitive packed in a metal box, will vibrate to pieces over a long journey, while the same camera in a soft bag will not. Imagine if you had a metal tank box instead of a soft tankbag ... how do you think a camera would survive inside a metal tankbox? ... it will vibrate apart ... because metal transmits energy. Similarly, a bike equipped with metal boxes is more likely to suffer subframe damage because any impact or vibration or stress is transmitted to the bike.

(3) Metal boxes have probably broken more legs than they have saved. Almost all the cases of broken legs I can remember hearing about on long overland rides, have been with a metal box equipped bike. I cant even remember the last time I heard of a broken leg on a soft luggage bike. When people start losing control of a bike, the instinctive reaction is to put your feet out and down. You are far more likely to get them caught and broken on a metal box, than on soft side bags - side bags which will absorb the impact and still stop the bike falling all the way to the ground in any case.

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Oh for gods sake let's not repeat that tired old discussion. Telling others to stick to the point while you just address a few misrepresentations does not encourage this. Everyone wants the last word, and everyone has just as much right to have it as you.

The OP was asking about security against theft. For a brief time, people addressed the question which was asked. It was almost refreshing.

Mark

Straps don't address slashing which is what pac safe was developed for. The old one kid slashes a bag and 20 others run in to grab the goods trick. Don't think any thief really wants to walk the street with a big and dusty bag. Not saying they wouldn't off course.

Anecdotal evidence is difficult to take on for me with those things cause there are many other factors involved.

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Tacos Tyring Travels.com

Could you show a Pic on how you have attached the cable?
Cheers,

I wouldn't use pacsafe's because the amount of time it would take to access your gear all the time and also loading your bike in the morning would take longer, this is the same reason I hate bungees

Also it would make thieves curious about what you have inside which in turn may increase your chances to be robbed on the road, these pacsafes won't help you then!