Motorcycle and LF Equipment

We just purchased a new Honda Goldwing with a Trike conversion. We are planning on setting out next week for a ten day road trip to Northern New Mexico and Arizona along with Southern Utah and Colorado to shoot some Fall landscapes. The trike has a large trunk with plenty of room for my LF equipment. We also have a small trailer to pull behind us if we need it. Riding the thing Friday from Kansas back to Texas last Friday, I found the ride to be very smooth for the most part - but it did have its moments. My digital camera came through fine. My question is, will constant vibration and a bit of jarring mess up any of my LF gear? My main concern are the shutters and Pentax Spot Meter. Would well-padded cases do the trick?

Well, I have not noto - exprience (yet), but I can imagine that Honda Goldwing rebuilt to trike is somewehre 500 - 600 kg. This in Europe would mean a small car (well, really small one). Together witht that engine which is I expect silky smooth (HD might be a different story) and produces rather little vibrations is your gear in a soft padded box secure.

Have a nice trip :)

I've been jammin' down logging roads in Washington state for three decades and I've never had a problem. I just got a large sissy bar bag for my Harley so I can carry my LF on the bike.

I think any padded case should be enough for vibration protection. Besides, that giant rig you are riding is more like a small RV than a motorcycle.:D

I have carried gear in a padded bag on the back of my Ducati, and never had problems. I have also done the backpack carry, though it is not comfortable for many miles of travel.

Only two vehicle travel problems I ever had with gear did not involve motorcycles. One was in an off-road truck going a bit too fast, and one of my Nikon bodies got loose, which shook the mirror out of the holding (easy repair later). The other issue has been a constant problem of airline travel with a carry-on, namely dust getting into everything. The dust issue I have mostly solved by putting most items into locking freezer bags, then placing that within my padded Lowepro pack.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio

Whoa-- perfect timing for this question, was just bantering with my better half about taking the bikes a bit north to catch the foliage and was *really* tempted to take the Shen Hao.

But I just have a Sporty, not a Goldwing..... ;)

JT

LF gear is probably a lot more able to withstand a rough ride than any "modern" camera. Usual caveats apply as with anything else: pad the important stuff (i.e., lenses) so they don't experience the worst of it, and have a great ride.

I've have some screws come loose on my Crown Graphic when hauling it on my Nighthawk. Now what I can't answer is whether they were loose to begin with and became more so on the bike. I carry it inside a Givi top case on a piece of foam. I know your trike will be much smoother than my bike so you probably will be OK.

For three years I carried a 5x7 in an unpadded box screwed to a rack on the back of a small motorcycle with very tight suspension on small bumpy roads in upstate NY. Although I don't have the bike or the camera any more, I still have the lightmeter and lens, and both are in fine shape.

I have had several motorcycles over the years (even the cruiser-style Valkyrie) and have found that it's not really the "vibration" (what we feel as we go over bumps) so much that is the issue as it is gyroscopic vibration of the motor. Because it goes in a pattern I have found that on a LONG trip that filters can rotate off of lenses so I would imagine that there are other things going on with the lenses (elements) that I am not seeing.

Just make sure that you tighten down filters and keep things padded well. If you are one who regularly gets lenses serviced you should see no issues.