craig007
Senior Member
When I ride somewhere, I always felt uncomfortable leaving my gear on my bike. I have a Cortec tank bag that converts to a back pack, but I didn't want to carry it around, but wanted it to be there when I returned. There may be a commercial lock out there that is better, but I couldn't find one. I made my own.
I went to Loews (or Home Depot) and bought about 3 feet of 3/32 inch diameter coated 316 stainless steel cable along with a set of ferrules. This cable can be cut easily with a rotory tool, but it is VERY hard to cut it with wire cutters. I made small loops at each end and secured the loops with the ferrules. The ferruels are crip connections, so I used a vise, a small nail and pressure to crimp them.
I then took some 1/16" 316 ss uncoated cable and ferrules and made a small loop. The 1/16" cable is bendable and will slip into the zipper thingy and can be looped around. When I secure the main zipper with the 1/16" cable, and slip the 3/32" cable through the loop, and through the tank bag handle, I can slip the other end of the cable through the helment D ring and then to the helmet lock of my FZ6 (no need for an extra lock or key). I can then hang my helmet off of the pasenger foot peg (which is a lot easier then using the helmet lock as designed. Alternatively, I can use my disk brake lock to secure the cable if I want. Best of all, I can route the cable through my riding pants and/or jacket and now I have all of my gear locked down.
I know that this will not stop a determined thief, but it will keep most people honest. The cables are small and light enough to fit into my small tank bag pocket. They will not rust.
When I made the 3/32" cable, I pulled the return cable too far through the ferrule. This left some rough cable exposed and it was sharp. Since I had extra ferrules I just crimped another one on to cover the rough edge. If you do it correctly and end the return cable inside the ferrule, it will look better. However, since I only care about functionality and mine works fine, I'm not going to redo it. 3' for the 3/32" cable is just slightly on the short side. If I had to do it again, I would make it a little longer.
Anyway, now I can leave my stuff on my bike and be pretty sure that it will be there when I return. Here are some pics:
I went to Loews (or Home Depot) and bought about 3 feet of 3/32 inch diameter coated 316 stainless steel cable along with a set of ferrules. This cable can be cut easily with a rotory tool, but it is VERY hard to cut it with wire cutters. I made small loops at each end and secured the loops with the ferrules. The ferruels are crip connections, so I used a vise, a small nail and pressure to crimp them.
I then took some 1/16" 316 ss uncoated cable and ferrules and made a small loop. The 1/16" cable is bendable and will slip into the zipper thingy and can be looped around. When I secure the main zipper with the 1/16" cable, and slip the 3/32" cable through the loop, and through the tank bag handle, I can slip the other end of the cable through the helment D ring and then to the helmet lock of my FZ6 (no need for an extra lock or key). I can then hang my helmet off of the pasenger foot peg (which is a lot easier then using the helmet lock as designed. Alternatively, I can use my disk brake lock to secure the cable if I want. Best of all, I can route the cable through my riding pants and/or jacket and now I have all of my gear locked down.
I know that this will not stop a determined thief, but it will keep most people honest. The cables are small and light enough to fit into my small tank bag pocket. They will not rust.
When I made the 3/32" cable, I pulled the return cable too far through the ferrule. This left some rough cable exposed and it was sharp. Since I had extra ferrules I just crimped another one on to cover the rough edge. If you do it correctly and end the return cable inside the ferrule, it will look better. However, since I only care about functionality and mine works fine, I'm not going to redo it. 3' for the 3/32" cable is just slightly on the short side. If I had to do it again, I would make it a little longer.
Anyway, now I can leave my stuff on my bike and be pretty sure that it will be there when I return. Here are some pics: