C3 Convertible Cross Country: Security?

The trick to all of this is to not be stupid. If you are in a bad area,
then odds are you are going to lose stuff. If you keep it in view of many,
like the front desk, under the lights, by your window, etc., then it will
probably be too open for someone to bother.

When stopping to eat, I made sure I got a spot to park the bike in plain
view of the restaurant and tried to get a seat by the window to see it.

When stopped at an attraction, tried to park where everyone was passing it,
so that anyone standing around it would be noticed, unlike parked on the far
end of the lot.

Usually would make a point to get it stuck in the head of whoever was at the
door, with a simple question like "will that be ok there?", just so they
would have that image of that car/bike in their heads and an image of me so
that seeing someone else would ring a bell in their head that this wasn't
right.

When possible, park with others of your own kind, i.e., park a bike among
other bikes. people usually don't mess with a bunch, having the old 'Wild
Bunch" or Hell's Angels mentality. parking a Corvette convertible next to
others usually makes one think there is a group, and that there just make be
someone watching them. Also, the other ones may have better pickings so the
thieves won't bother yours or have time to get to yours.


"Fred" > wrote in message
t...
> << Eventually, when I got in the scenic area, the camera was strapped to
the
> tent and sleeping bag so I could get to it in a hurry for those great
shots
> you don't want to miss. >>
>
> I custom made a small rack that sits right above the cycle fuel tank
> (attached to the frame of the bike), and kept my camera in a small tankbag
> ontop of the rack (didn't want to scratch the tank). It's great having
the
> camera right in front of you in a tankbag, extremely accessible. In some
> cases I had the camera ready so that I could even pick it up out of the
> tankbag and click off a few shots while riding along. And yes, the camera
> always remains strapped to your body when you leave the bike for even a
> moment.
>
> << Now if your idea of traveling is downtown LA or East St. Louis, or
such,
> then your car isn't safe, let alone the stuff inside. >>
>
> When going on cross country trips, simply make it a point to stay in
decent
> locations. Plan out your trip ahead of time and make sure that you never
> need to stay in any congested citified areas. Of course crime can occur
in
> the backwoods also, but it is more likely to occur in city areas. But I
> will mention, once in northern California (10 years ago), I left a
> convertible (with top down) alone at a scenic rest stop (in the middle of
> nowhere with nobody around) for not more than 3 minutes and all the
contents
> in the interior were stolen (knapsack, jacket, etc). I guess you can
never
> truly let your guard down, even in the sticks.
>
> I just came back from a 4,700 mile trip in a Mustang GT convertible last
> week... half our stuff was in the backseat being that the trunk is so
darned
> small (we had to carry helmets and other bike gear being that the plan was
> to borrow some bikes along the way and do some riding, which we did).
Each
> night we carried anything valuable into the hotel room (a pain, but not so
> bad really, good exercise after driving all day), and left any other
> not-so-valuable stuff in the trunk. Always keep the interior empty or
> someone most likely WILL break in to get whatever they can see.
>
> One night I got tired early (after driving for about 800 miles straight)
and
> reluctantly decided to investigate a hotel in an area not too far from
> Detroit. When I saw the bullet-proof glass at the counter of the local
> Super 8, I knew I had to go at least another hundred more miles or so
before
> I was gonna get a chance to sleep, and off I went until I found a decent
> place to stop... (that particular day wasn't planned well obviously,
should
> have stopped earlier in the day before hitting the bad areas so as not to
be
> forced to go beyond the bad areas.... it's very bad when you're tired and
> are forced to keep driving... but I'd rather drive on than risk getting
> robbed or having the car stolen or wrecked).
>
>

Hi Fred,
This may be off topic but since you mentioned it I will ask you about the
rack you made for your bike. I worry about tank bags that might mar the
finish on a tank but the tank bag is a handy accessory if you can manage it
properly. I keep camera and that kind of stuff in the top of a tour pack
and it is easy access but one must stop and get off the bike. The tour pack
is lockable, and we all know that locks can be broken, but out of sight
helps. TIA.


"Fred" > wrote in message
t...
> << Eventually, when I got in the scenic area, the camera was strapped to
the
> tent and sleeping bag so I could get to it in a hurry for those great
shots
> you don't want to miss. >>
>
> I custom made a small rack that sits right above the cycle fuel tank
> (attached to the frame of the bike), and kept my camera in a small tankbag
> ontop of the rack (didn't want to scratch the tank). It's great having
the
> camera right in front of you in a tankbag, extremely accessible. In some
> cases I had the camera ready so that I could even pick it up out of the
> tankbag and click off a few shots while riding along. And yes, the camera
> always remains strapped to your body when you leave the bike for even a
> moment.
>
> << Now if your idea of traveling is downtown LA or East St. Louis, or
such,
> then your car isn't safe, let alone the stuff inside. >>
>
> When going on cross country trips, simply make it a point to stay in
decent
> locations. Plan out your trip ahead of time and make sure that you never
> need to stay in any congested citified areas. Of course crime can occur
in
> the backwoods also, but it is more likely to occur in city areas. But I
> will mention, once in northern California (10 years ago), I left a
> convertible (with top down) alone at a scenic rest stop (in the middle of
> nowhere with nobody around) for not more than 3 minutes and all the
contents
> in the interior were stolen (knapsack, jacket, etc). I guess you can
never
> truly let your guard down, even in the sticks.
>
> I just came back from a 4,700 mile trip in a Mustang GT convertible last
> week... half our stuff was in the backseat being that the trunk is so
darned
> small (we had to carry helmets and other bike gear being that the plan was
> to borrow some bikes along the way and do some riding, which we did).
Each
> night we carried anything valuable into the hotel room (a pain, but not so
> bad really, good exercise after driving all day), and left any other
> not-so-valuable stuff in the trunk. Always keep the interior empty or
> someone most likely WILL break in to get whatever they can see.
>
> One night I got tired early (after driving for about 800 miles straight)
and
> reluctantly decided to investigate a hotel in an area not too far from
> Detroit. When I saw the bullet-proof glass at the counter of the local
> Super 8, I knew I had to go at least another hundred more miles or so
before
> I was gonna get a chance to sleep, and off I went until I found a decent
> place to stop... (that particular day wasn't planned well obviously,
should
> have stopped earlier in the day before hitting the bad areas so as not to
be
> forced to go beyond the bad areas.... it's very bad when you're tired and
> are forced to keep driving... but I'd rather drive on than risk getting
> robbed or having the car stolen or wrecked).
>
>

Hi Fred,
This may be off topic but since you mentioned it I will ask you about the
rack you made for your bike. I worry about tank bags that might mar the
finish on a tank but the tank bag is a handy accessory if you can manage it
properly. I keep camera and that kind of stuff in the top of a tour pack
and it is easy access but one must stop and get off the bike. The tour pack
is lockable, and we all know that locks can be broken, but out of sight
helps. TIA.


"Fred" > wrote in message
t...
> << Eventually, when I got in the scenic area, the camera was strapped to
the
> tent and sleeping bag so I could get to it in a hurry for those great
shots
> you don't want to miss. >>
>
> I custom made a small rack that sits right above the cycle fuel tank
> (attached to the frame of the bike), and kept my camera in a small tankbag
> ontop of the rack (didn't want to scratch the tank). It's great having
the
> camera right in front of you in a tankbag, extremely accessible. In some
> cases I had the camera ready so that I could even pick it up out of the
> tankbag and click off a few shots while riding along. And yes, the camera
> always remains strapped to your body when you leave the bike for even a
> moment.
>
> << Now if your idea of traveling is downtown LA or East St. Louis, or
such,
> then your car isn't safe, let alone the stuff inside. >>
>
> When going on cross country trips, simply make it a point to stay in
decent
> locations. Plan out your trip ahead of time and make sure that you never
> need to stay in any congested citified areas. Of course crime can occur
in
> the backwoods also, but it is more likely to occur in city areas. But I
> will mention, once in northern California (10 years ago), I left a
> convertible (with top down) alone at a scenic rest stop (in the middle of
> nowhere with nobody around) for not more than 3 minutes and all the
contents
> in the interior were stolen (knapsack, jacket, etc). I guess you can
never
> truly let your guard down, even in the sticks.
>
> I just came back from a 4,700 mile trip in a Mustang GT convertible last
> week... half our stuff was in the backseat being that the trunk is so
darned
> small (we had to carry helmets and other bike gear being that the plan was
> to borrow some bikes along the way and do some riding, which we did).
Each
> night we carried anything valuable into the hotel room (a pain, but not so
> bad really, good exercise after driving all day), and left any other
> not-so-valuable stuff in the trunk. Always keep the interior empty or
> someone most likely WILL break in to get whatever they can see.
>
> One night I got tired early (after driving for about 800 miles straight)
and
> reluctantly decided to investigate a hotel in an area not too far from
> Detroit. When I saw the bullet-proof glass at the counter of the local
> Super 8, I knew I had to go at least another hundred more miles or so
before
> I was gonna get a chance to sleep, and off I went until I found a decent
> place to stop... (that particular day wasn't planned well obviously,
should
> have stopped earlier in the day before hitting the bad areas so as not to
be
> forced to go beyond the bad areas.... it's very bad when you're tired and
> are forced to keep driving... but I'd rather drive on than risk getting
> robbed or having the car stolen or wrecked).
>
>

<< Hi Fred, This may be off topic but since you mentioned it I will ask you
about the rack you made for your bike. I worry about tank bags that might
mar the finish on a tank...>>

I once used a strap-on tank bag that sat directly on the tank. As long as
the tank remained clean, the bag would not harm the tank finish at all.
But, once in a rain storm, some grit managed to get on the tank and find its
way under the bag, and then of course as the bag shifted around, some mild
scratching of the finish occured. After that experience, I custom made a
rack that bolts to locations on the frame... the rack goes directly over the
tank but does not touch the tank at all. Basically just two metal rails
that extend from near the fork tube area of the frame to right at the
beginning of where the seat is, crossing right over the middle of the tank,
and only about a half-inch above the tank at any given spot (yes, I custom
bent the rails to conform to the shape of the tank). I then added a solid
plate under my soft tank bag to give the bottom of the bag some rigidity so
it would sit nicely on the rack rails. The cool thing about the rack is
that being made out of somewhat flexible metal stock, the rack acts a bit
like a leaf spring and cushions shock to the camera. This was done on a V65
Magna. I guess fabricating such a rack may or may not be difficult to do
depending on the type of bike you have. The V65 Magna does have fairly
convenient areas to bolt on to (front tank mounts for front, and a frame
brace under the seat for rear).

(Note: small magnetic tank bags are ok since they will not "walk" (as long
as not overloaded). It's just always important that the tank is clean.)

<<...The tour pack is lockable, and we all know that locks can be broken,
but out of sight helps...>>

Yes. I do enjoy having lockable trunks on a bike. Chances are that thieves
will break into a car way before they consider breaking into a motorcycle
side trunk anyway. I borrowed a big Shadow once that had lockabe side
trunks and kept my camera in the trunk... I enjoyed that set-up. But
regardless, I always carry my camera everywhere, never leave it. Bad enough
to lose an N90, but I am often more worried about losing my pictures.

<< Hi Fred, This may be off topic but since you mentioned it I will ask you
about the rack you made for your bike. I worry about tank bags that might
mar the finish on a tank...>>

I once used a strap-on tank bag that sat directly on the tank. As long as
the tank remained clean, the bag would not harm the tank finish at all.
But, once in a rain storm, some grit managed to get on the tank and find its
way under the bag, and then of course as the bag shifted around, some mild
scratching of the finish occured. After that experience, I custom made a
rack that bolts to locations on the frame... the rack goes directly over the
tank but does not touch the tank at all. Basically just two metal rails
that extend from near the fork tube area of the frame to right at the
beginning of where the seat is, crossing right over the middle of the tank,
and only about a half-inch above the tank at any given spot (yes, I custom
bent the rails to conform to the shape of the tank). I then added a solid
plate under my soft tank bag to give the bottom of the bag some rigidity so
it would sit nicely on the rack rails. The cool thing about the rack is
that being made out of somewhat flexible metal stock, the rack acts a bit
like a leaf spring and cushions shock to the camera. This was done on a V65
Magna. I guess fabricating such a rack may or may not be difficult to do
depending on the type of bike you have. The V65 Magna does have fairly
convenient areas to bolt on to (front tank mounts for front, and a frame
brace under the seat for rear).

(Note: small magnetic tank bags are ok since they will not "walk" (as long
as not overloaded). It's just always important that the tank is clean.)

<<...The tour pack is lockable, and we all know that locks can be broken,
but out of sight helps...>>

Yes. I do enjoy having lockable trunks on a bike. Chances are that thieves
will break into a car way before they consider breaking into a motorcycle
side trunk anyway. I borrowed a big Shadow once that had lockabe side
trunks and kept my camera in the trunk... I enjoyed that set-up. But
regardless, I always carry my camera everywhere, never leave it. Bad enough
to lose an N90, but I am often more worried about losing my pictures.