Carrying musical instruments on motorcycles?

I'm about to start playing alto and tenor sax again with a concert and stage band. Rehearsals for one of them are in the city, and I hate driving into the city. There is plenty of motorcycle parking in town though.

Thinking about riding in with the horn. Not really sure how to do it - backpack or strapped to the seat.

Anyone here done it before with their saxophone / trumpet / violin / guitar / xylophones / tympani / piano? If so, how did you do it?

 

I backpack my cheap guitars in their gig bags, so firstly, would you be able to get a bag for the sax that has shoulder straps? I would be hesitant to do that with my main guitar though. The only problem is that with the neck sticking out above your head, anything above about 80Km/h becomes difficult. Don't think you would have that problem with a sax though. Obviously there are safety concerns, you don't want to crash with a sax on your back, but if you take it easy I would say go for it.

 

It can be done, assuming you are not taking a double bass!

Two years back, a student orchestra on a European tour arrived by coach in plenty of time for an evening performance in the village only to find that one student had left their carefully packed trombone at their previous venue almost 200 miles away. Meantime I had stopped off on the VFR at a nearby pub, expecting to enjoy a lunchtime beer , only to hear the tale of woe from one of the groups minders, and eventually offered to fetch it in return for a heap of beer tokens and cash for fuel.

Whilst the minder was busy making frantic calls to nail down its exact location and ensure it was set aside for swift collection I went home to collect my GPS and the side cases and a heap of bungy chords. After a swift trip across Switzerland, I was rather shocked by just how big the trombone case was. So I ended up securely strapping it with bungie straps across the rear seat with the case extending out over the panniers. Whilst TomTom predicted I would be back after the performance ended, by bending the odd speed limits it was safely delivered before the start, even if the case was covered in dead bugs :bug:

Personally I think something like a harmonica would be a good choice for a biker



SkiMad

 

Yes that would definitely be a concern with the backpack approach, as well as any instability from weight shifting. I've never tried riding with a pack larger than about 3-4kg. I'd love to hear if there are any 'tricks of the trade' with clever packing or bungee strap / rack mounting techniques.

 

Maybe a rack from Ventura (NZ) might be a good start.

I saw a dude on a Harley once ferrying a Sousaphone. He claimed it was a ram air system.

 

If I can ride 10,000 km for 5 weeks give or take like this: , then you should easily be able to ride an hour or so with a sax. I am wearing approx 35 or so pounds in that pack, (tent, sleeping bag, pillow, ground cover and tools for set up) and total extra weight I estimate to be around 150 pounds. Carrying a back pack while riding is an easy thing to do. You just want to make sure the back pack, or anything else you may strap to your back, is snug so it does not move around a lot. Not tight or you will get sore and cut off circulation likely in your arm pit area, but snug so it is steady. With a littel effort, you should be able to make some sort of strapping that will secure your sax to your back. But I am sure you can buy a cheap back pack that will suit your purpose.

 

Rain and excess vibration is not good for most musical instruments. So rather than simply thinking about how to carry your saxaphone, you probably need to consider the logistics of whatever carry case you will carry it in.

A proper case will have padded sections for the three sections of the instrument and should protect it from the odd knock and transit bump. A hard case will also provide you with a fairly robust and water resistant box to secure onto the bike without risk to the instrument inside.

If you have the factory fitted panniers on your VFR, you will find plenty of places on the carrier frame where you can secure bungie clips to. Its obviously not wise to carry a load which extends beyond the width of the bike, but you should be fine with a load which extends from edge to edge of the panniers. just remember its there when lane splitting and take your time ensuring the case is secure - not just against fore/aft loadings but also cant slide off sideways. Bungies can come loose or break, so its always a good idea to use more than you really need to secure a load.

Take care.




SkiMad

 

I regularly carry my trumpet on my 30 minute commute. I put it in a compact rigid foam/fabric case and strap it across or along (hanging out the back a bit) the seat, usually on top of my WalMart tail bag. I just strap it on with a couple of good bungee cords and it rides fine. I think I'd be comfortable doing the same with an alto sax, but I don't think I'd try a tenor unless it were directly on a solid metal rack rather than a seat. Rain isn't a big consideration for me since I usually don't ride the bike on music days if I see rain coming, and getting wet isn't much harm to a trumpet anyway.

 

I wanted to ride with my bass guitar (a cheapie throw-around Squire vintage modified) in its gig bag on my VFR. Decided to just sit on the bike and see how I'd feel, with the neck right up against my helmet, I didn't feel like I'd be able to shift around or turn my head properly. I decided I'd likely end up dropping the bike riding that way, so I gave up on that idea.

If anyone has tips for riding with a solid-body guitar, specifically basses, I'd love to hear'em!

 

This might work - Folding travel guitars




SkiMad