Saturday, November 21, 2015

TAT-2016 Post 13 – Saturday 21 Nov 2015


Still working with one hand but cast comes off on Monday then rehab for a couple more weeks. I am definitely ready to get this off my hand.

In the meantime, I received the Grand Loop (GL) Great Basin bag and did a trial fit on the CRF. So far I’m pretty happy with the GL and it appears to be top quality construction. Even though the GL is made of waterproof material the seams may or may not be watertight. The GL does come with three (2 small, 1 large) dry bag inserts that would keep your necessaries dry even if the seams do leak in a heavy downpour. In addition, the GL comes with a heat shield (1) that straps to your pipe in case the bag is mounted close to the tail pipe (won't need to use on the CRF).

I stuffed the GL full of clothing to give it some shape and then put it on the CRF. With the RotoPax fuel tank on the back it pushed the GL too far forward thus limiting my seating area. Luckily the RotoPax can be mounted in–line (current position) or across the back rack so I rotated the mount and reinstalled the GL. That works much better. I still need to finalize the final tie down concept but it does look like it will be perfect. In addition, I can still tie my medium size watershed bag on top of the RotoPax for additional storage while still keeping weight low on the bike. My final configuration is shown in the multiple views below.

Summary:

Pros - I bought the larger GL bag to ensure I had room for all my stuff and this looks like more room than I will need counting the Watershed bag. It mounts low helping stability and it even provides a great backrest. When (not if) the bike is dropped I won’t get injured if trapped under the bag like I would be with hardshell bags.

Cons – Bag is stiff and it will take effort to take clothes in and out of the bag especially with the location of the zipper in back. The attachment to the bike is yet to be finalized but it won’t be quick on/off unless I work out some quick disconnect ideas. I will do that but need two hands. Plenty of time during cold months before launch.

Pictures also show how well the jack works on the CRF. I can actually move the bike around the garage on top of the jack with no fear of it falling off.


That’s all for now.












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