I am about to start a bike trip up the west coast of South America on my Honda XR250, I have mounted surfboard racks and will be surfing along the way as much as possible. I have no choice but to leave my bike unwatched for long periods of time. I have no panniers, only a backpack strapped to the back, and a surfboard cover which also holds clothes.

My question is, has anyone ever tried or heard of bringing a lockable bike cover on the road? If so can they recommend the cover they used? I'm looking for minimum space used and maximum efficiency and security.

I know it will be easy to cut through but I'm thinking it will be a good deteraint if the whole bike is covered and pad locked.

Thanks!!

I might be missing something here . . . .

I understand the cover ( I have a cheap, knackered-looking one that makes my bike look run down), but why not just take a chain and attach it to something? Obviously you'd have to balance the wieght of the chain with its protectiveness. A packsafe, or similar, could be used for your belongings.

I'd also go for pacsafe for your backpack, but only for short periods. I started to use pacsafe and I'm very happy. You can add a cobra cable with a padlock passing it around and through the wire mesh, so there is more deterrance. But what does long periods mean in your case?

If you mounted a rack for your board, what if you weld plates with holes in order to put padlocks? Boards are wider in the center, so they want be able to slide/push it forth or back to remove it, nor upwards. I'm not explaining it very well, hope you understand me.

It looks like a surfer and rider community is currently being born. You are at least the 3 around here (only you on a XR250, pretty impressive).

Safe riding and happy surfing,

Esteban

PS: About your idea of a lockable cover, there is something similar in international road transport, it's called a "TIR cable" and it's used to ensure that the goods transported in a truck with tarps on the sides (not solid walls) remain untouched during the transi. They put a seal on the cable, so you break it or cut the cable, no other way, but that's not really made designed against theft, but manipulation/swap of goods by the carrier. You could try a similar cable around the tarp/cover over your bike, but you would need a very thick tarp to be any useful or safe. But thick tarps are very bulky and can always be cut. Otherwise, sort of a massive home made pacsafe bike cover, but it'd be even bulkier and heavier. Maybe just use other means to secure the backpack and surfboard but adding a cover to hide them.

There appear to be several different interpretations of what you're asking. I'm assuming you want to leave your bike with backpack for hours at a time while you're off surfing.

To me a lockable bike cover would have a couple of grommets through which padlock shackle or locking cable could be passed. I don't know that this would represent much of an improvement over the cover itself, but I've sometimes snapped a few rubber bungies over my cover to keep it from flapping around in the breeze and/or being easily removed.

As always, the more beat up and dirty the cover looks the more peace of mind it brings. Hard to say whether this part is justified, but it seems to work. I use a pacsafe for anything left loose under the cover--riding clothes, backpack, duffel, or whatever else I'm carrying.

Other issues--locking your surfboard rack and locking the bike itself--can be addressed separately.

Mark

Thanks for feedback!

Mark what you assumed is right. I want my bike to be secure while I am surfing for hours at a time. Sometimes I can see my bike from the surf and sometimes I can't.

Instead of just using a pacsafe lock I thought using a whole cover might be better as it's not just one bag I want to protect. But I'm starting to think it might a bad idea. The look of a brand new cover over a bike might entice thieves more than it will deter them.

I think I will look into pacsafe locks. Thanks for the help.

PS - This is my set up so you have a better idea of what I'm talking about.

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