Motorcyclists traveling with gear question

I've taken my T2i on the bike. I have a 3cyl sport touring bike as well that has side hard bags on it. The bike is pretty smooth, not a lot of vibration. I usually wrap the camera (lens mounted) in a soft jacket and just put it in the hard bag. No problems, yet.

I've carried a DSLR on my rides since I got my first one in 2005. I got some "camera foam" from the local foam shop and made some cutouts for my tank bag. Never had a problem.

Here's my old 300D tucked in (I should take a more recent shot.)

DRZ400, Lowepro Rover AW200 backpack. I usually just have something like 5d/50/1.8 or 5d/24tse in there. Sometimes I throw a tripod in the holder if I'm going to shoot a long exposure at night. Comfortable, no worries about vibrations, but I'm sure I wouldn't want to have an off with that hard, unyielding gear strapped to my person.

I travel a lot by motorcycle, and usually have a camera in the tankbag.

A rough estimate is that my T90 traveled over 50K miles that way. It was always wrapped in a neoprene cover (Zing case), but unpadded except for that. My DSLR bodies have probably done ~15K miles (make that ~20K by the end of June), either wrapped in the same kind of cover, or in a foam enclosure within the tank bag.

I'd guess that a few hundred miles of that riding with cameras have been on gravel, dirt roads, and one memorable stretch down a set of railroad tracks.... None of the camera equipment (4 bodies & 7 lenses over the years) was ever damaged.

My moto travel kit for long trips (overnight -- 3 weeks) normally consists of an XSi or 60D body, 10-22, 24-105 (attached) and 70-300, plus a spare battery and a small tripod, (mainly for the obligatory roadside self-portrait).

I've always got my main lens attached to the camera. In the past, I'd keep the second lens in a padded foam sack (insulated bags for waterbottles are just right!). Now that I carry more lenses, I've made a foam insert for the bottom section of the tankbag, with cutouts for the camera and each lens, a CPL filter, and a battery. I've got straps so that I wear the tankbag as a backpack when I'm off the bike. The tankbag isn't waterproof, but it does have a good raincover.

The tankbag in the photo below holds all that gear in just the bottom compartment (with no room to spare).

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I took my 5Dc with 17-40L and even my ancient 400mm f/4.5 prime FD lens (converted to EF mount) with me on my last trip up thru the NE of Canada, to Labrador, NewFoundland, Nova Scotia and back to Michigan.

It was a bit of a pain with the big old 400mm (that I never used once), but the 17-40 was great.

However, I'm selling all my DSLR gear and keeping the tiny NEX-5N with various classic MF lenses, and this is about 1/4 the size and maybe 1/2 the weight of the DSLR.

I like the foam setup in the tankbag above!

Some pics from the last trip....

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Harley Street Bob here. no problems, just throw the sucker in your tank bag. it'll be fine. i've ridden multiple thousand mile trips, not counting the average 5k I put on the bike every year, and it's always in the tank bag. no extra padding or anything. it's fine!

my dad has a x-bones and throws his in the saddlebags all the time. no problem there either. oh, i use 7d, him 5d mkii

number six wrote in post #14339923
I've carried a DSLR on my rides since I got my first one in 2005. I got some "camera foam" from the local foam shop and made some cutouts for my tank bag. Never had a problem.

Here's my old 300D tucked in (I should take a more recent shot.)

This is on my SV 650, which doesn't vibrate much. I'd worry about vibration on a Harley, though...

-js

Aww man.. don't be knocking the Harleys'

I carry the dslr in the tank bag as well and if I go on longer trips more lenses in the panniers. That way it's just very quick to stop and snap a picture and go again.

madjack wrote in post #14340652
Aww man.. don't be knocking the Harleys'

Never. My first bike was a Harley.

It was all I could afford.

(This was in 1958.)

-js

number six wrote in post #14340962
Never. My first bike was a Harley.

It was all I could afford.

(This was in 1958.)

-js

Haha oh how the times have changed.

I don't know about the rest of you but I'm loving the pictures of the bikes on the road!

I used to carry my T1I, kit lens and 70-300 lens in a Lowepro toploader pro series bag, I would strap it to the outside of my T-bag that I had secured on the passengers seat of my Goldwing. Easy access for pulling over to grab a quick picture. That set up, rode with me for over 20K miles. Now with the 60D and the Tokina, I have a Canon Gadget bag now that I carry in the trunk or the T-bag.. Not as accessible as the toploader though.. dang it.. Hmmm I need to figure something out that will work better. Hmmm maybe go back to the toploader and get a seperate padded lens case to carry the other lenses.
Ohh, I also was able to get a superb tripod from Sportsmans warehouse that folds up nice and small to fit in my sidesaddle, yet it still supports the weight of the 60D and any lens that I put on it. I forget the name or brand of the tripod now, but the price was right and I have been happy with it.

madjack wrote in post #14340652
Aww man.. don't be knocking the Harleys'

I once had a bumper sticker - " I'd rather push my Moto Guzzi than ride your Harley"..

My vote would be for a backpack for a DSLR system. Your body will absorb the vibrations.
But personally I try to leave my DSLR at home and pack my Micro 4/3rds system into a tank bag on the bike (Panasonic GF1 + lenses). I spent 4 weeks riding across Australia with this setup and never had a problem. And the camera is always easily at hand too, no need to take helmet or goves off, or even get off the bike.

edit: My bikes have been 4-cyl sportsbikes or 4-cyl nakeds - fairly smooth with minimal vibrations.

foster2380 wrote in post #14335738
I was thinking of making some custom foam piece to slide into the saddlebag. What type of bike are you on if you don't mind me asking?

I'm on an SV650. It's not the smoothest bike out there, but it seems to be a lot smoother than the one Harley that I've ridden once.

There was a guy on another forum who keeps his 5Dc+16-35 in his tank bag with the zipper slightly open, and in the twisties (I think he was on a CBR?) he would reach in with his left hand, pull out the camera with his hand on top of the camera, and take some incredible shots. I'll try digging it up again..