travel with surfboard
 

Hi!
Has anyone ever run accross surfers riding motorbikes with their boards on a big overland trip? The longest I have heard of was down mexico's baja peninsuia with some custom welded racks, for their boards (about 6 ft long) mounted to the side of the bikes.

I was thinking that it may be an option for a trans-africa trip. I have traveled tons with surfboards, but never tried to do it on a motorbike, and I was wondering how feasible it would be. If anyone has any input on this rediculous idea please speak up!

surfing
 

i met a guy a number of years ago in costa rica who had ridden his bicycle with board attached all over the country. shouldn't be all that hard to rig a place to put a short board.

Not mine but should help...
 

Check this out... http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=117195

http://thesinkisfulloffishes.smugmug...11629293-M.jpg
http://thesinkisfulloffishes.smugmug...11629300-L.jpg

hey thats awesome. that thread had tons of info. looks like i would have to make somthing custom that would be bike specific or have a metal fabricator do it. would suck to drop the bike on the wrong side is all. wonder if anyone has done a really long trip with a board?

Yea I too asked this question. I was advised to just stick with a vehicle. A moto would be soo much better and waaaaaay cheaper. I was planning on doing a Mexico/Central America trip on a moto with surfboards, but they advised against it. You said it man, one fall, and no more surfing for you.

They did mention a trailer or sidecar option. Im thinking about taking their advice and selling my 97 2wd RAV4 and looking for a toyota truck 4x4 to just sleep in and surf my brains out. Should be hitting Mexico/Guatemala for 2 months next summer.

Well something else to consider, bring a board and ding repair doing the best you can if you crash. If you crash THAT bad the board will be the least of your worries...If you are just doing Mexico and C.America, there are places to replace a board with a used one from souces there. Either way its cheaper and more fun then hassling with a car. -Shane

moto surf racks
 

Believe it or not....Surfer mag had an ad for surf racks for motorcycles.....maybe check microfische in the library.....but they are being made. Or maybe call Surfer direct and check their archives.

There has to be a way to build a siderack and make it so when you fall if you do, there will be minimal damage to the board. I would be interested in building a siderack that could hold 2 boards in a board bag and possibly have some type of buffer to keep them off the ground during a crash. Also bubble wrap the crap out of the boards in the bag

What about a trailer? Not ideal but not as awkward as a sidecar attachment.

They said that during offroading, the trailer stands a good chance of flipping or something. It limits you to the areas you get to travel to.

Another thing they mentioned was security. The security of this setup is limited compared to a vehicle.

done it...
 

hi mate, yep ive done a bit of travel on my xtz660 with a surfboard strapped to the side.
i have alu panniers and custom made front crash bars/jerry can holders...
my board straps on perfectly to the front crash bar and mounts to the rear pannier with elastic straps...

it gives you total freedom to move, just beware of the extra width and the effect of wind resistance at high speed...other than that great fun and easy...
biggest problem was what to do with a wet wet suit when you want to get going in a hury.

hope this helps...phil.

Surfboard on the side? -> trailer!
 

Brrr, wouldn't want that to be at the side of my motorbike!
Wind blowing against it, no freedom of making strange moves ;-)

I would choose for a trailer. They don't flip that easy! I have a Beta Techno 1997 at home. And moved it around with my Honda Magna like this:

http://onderhoud.luiemotorfiets.net/...4482_thumb.jpg http://onderhoud.luiemotorfiets.net/...4300_thumb.jpg http://onderhoud.luiemotorfiets.net/...3671_thumb.jpg http://onderhoud.luiemotorfiets.net/...3674_thumb.jpg
(Click on the pictures to enlarge)

No problem at all. With the wheels at the back, its stable and you can move almost anything :thumbup1:

I built some racks for my right side of my V-Strom for my Pope Bisect(9'6" two piece board), rode with it on but didn't like the way it felt. I think maybe an overhead or other type would be better or small board.

surf trailers
 

:thumbup1: I had a surf board trailer made for my gsx 750 and it works a treat, can hardly tell its on there. Very useful for carrying loads of luggage for camping trips. I've had a mountain bike on there too without any problems. I had a bracket made which bolts to the swingarm (a bit controversial - everyone told me i should have mounted it on the frame, but as i said it works fine.) Not done any off road with it though!! There are EU rules on motorbike trailers though; if i can remember correctly max length is 2m from rear wheel hub to back of trailer, and max width is 1m. The trailer weight can be up to half the weight of the bike (not sure whether thats gross weights or not) and the trailer should be marked with its weight - although mine isn't and luckily i've not yet been pulled over with it on. Max speed 60mph and a trailer light board required of course. If anyone's interested let me know and i'll try and dig out these rules plus get a photo or too of my bike & trailer.

Yesss please :thumbup1:
rules are not my intrest, you can build it yourself in holland...

yes... i would be very interested in a "surf board" only trailer. Looking at the other examples, i think it is possible to build one that will hold some extra luggage, and "lock" to keep everything secure and somewhat water tight.

Carver Surf Racks in Hawaii makes a rack specifically designed for mopeds, it looks like it can be adapted pretty easily for motorcycle use:
http://www.carversurfracks.com/
I am planning on adapting it to my Buell Ulysses somehow
JD:funmeteryes:

Surfboard trailer
 

Here's a photo of my bike n trailer i promised a month or two back. sorry for the delay i've been working too much lately....

Knew a chap before who used to travel around the country with two Prijon Invader kayaks (anyone remeber them.. big tanks) strapped to the side of a honda 50!! that was nuts.
Bust some of those pics with the board look cool!:thumbup1:

thanks for the options
 

hey everyone, thanks for the advice. I haven't checked this thread in a long time. good to know that it can be done. seems like it might be too cumbersome for a long trip across africa with non-surfing sections. I may be resolved to simply trying to beg and borrow boards at the best spots - maybe places with surf camps in mozambique and senegal will have boards.

have a look at this!
 

Have a look at this 10 minute video and you will see (starting at about 4.50 min) how you can carry a surfboard accros Africa.

YouTube - Crossing Africa (short extract)

Have fun!

cheers
Noel
exploreafrica.web-log.nl

bicycle rack anyone?
 

Hey guys!

Yeah, rules :censored:!
Guess what, here in Malaysia trailers are very very 'alien'!:rolleyes2:
Getting a personal or private co's car to register a trailer is very difficult, (UNLESS ITS GOVERMENT)
my company is in thE process of registering trailer & its like forever!:funmeterno:
so imagine bike with trailer!
Ive cycled in NZ with a couple from Canada; even their bicycle had a trailer!
So since were talking about the topic; any ideas on taking a Mountain Bike on my Dommie?:confused1:

I might be able give it a go with the board after all! those carver racks might be able to attach to a rear luggage rack if they can fit around a pannier. If someone can do it with a kayak, a surfboard should be a piece of cake.

Gary

Thanks Noel. I like the way that the guy had it set up in the video - inside the pannier and high out the back- out of the way. It would be even easier with a shorter board.

board set up
 

Hi stormrider,

He tried al kinds of set ups and found this the best. He had a slot with the shape (tapered) of the back end of his board between his panier and bike. The board went in about 40 to 50 cm with a towel rapped around it. Further he had a strap around the tip and from this strap he had another ratchet strap going back to the oposite side of the frame of where the board was fitted. When he tightened the ratchet strap, it sort of curved the board and pulled it in the slot and prevented it from sideways movement. Very sturdy!!

cheers,

Noel
exploreafrica.web-log.nl

board on bike
 

I have been looking at photos of pannier set ups to try to figure out which brand might allow that space between the bike and the pannier frame for a dr350 or dr650. Anyone have suggestions?

Gary

home made frame
 

Gary,

I believe he made the frame to hook the panniers on himself, or had it made! Not 100% sure though

Cheers,

Noel