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15" MBP and motorcycles

S

skygremlin

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 14, 2009
40
0
I was wondering the durability of MBP's. I have a 15" MBP and want to take it with me on my motorcycle. I have a InCase Nylon backpack, that I currently use whenever transporting it in my car, with no issues. So far..lol

I have a Harley Road King, I am NOT a crazy driver, but am concerned about any bumps and flat out bouncing around while traveling down the Freeway. I can use either the backpack, or I can put the Mac in my saddle bag (fiber glass).

Does anybody have any experience with taking their MPB's with them on a motorcycle?

thanx
 
I ride my bike way more than Harley Riders. (I'm kidding). I ride to work on my bike if the temps are above 32 and below 100. I put my 15" in a basic sleeve and in a Saddlemen side bag. It bounces around a tad, but I have never had any issues. Been doing it for years. Now if you have a get off.....all bets are off.
 
thanx

Thanx that's what I thought and heard, just want to do a little "extra" research..

Always try to keep it on 2 wheels.. lol

ak
 
power

Hey do you guys power off the laptop or just close the lid and suspend it?
 
"I have a Harley Road King, I am NOT a crazy driver, but am concerned about any bumps and flat out bouncing around while traveling down the Freeway. I can use either the backpack, or I can put the Mac in my saddle bag (fiber glass)."

The nice thing about the fiberglass saddlebags is that they are [nearly] waterproof if it rains. I wouldn't go so far as to say 100% waterproof, but pretty close so long as they don't come loose.

Having said that, I've noticed that anything I put into the hard bags on my Harley gets "jostled around" some. So I would make sure that whatever sleeve or carry bag you're going to use has PLENTY OF PADDING in it. I don't think that a simple "sleeve" would be enough -- you need a bag that will "isolate" the Mac inside it, that is, hopefully keep it from moving around INSIDE the bag. Otherwise it's going to do that, and there are chances that it could be scratched by whatever it comes in contact with (even inside the bag) while you're riding.

Also, the OUTSIDE of the carry bag is going to get some wear marks. Again, because things do move around inside the hard bags. Look at whatever is inside your saddlebags _now_ and you'll see what I mean.

And I would definitely shut the laptop all the way down before taking it on a bike. Rattling, bangs, bumps, and vibrations no matter which bike you ride!
 
I use a booq Vyper to protect my MBP on the road. If you plan on doing a lot of riding and are concerned about vibration, you might consider a SSD rather than a hard drive. Other than that, just wrap your MBP in a shirt or two before putting it in your bag, for extra cushion. I've been carrying laptops on Harleys for years with no problems... many miles of fun! :cool:
 
I ride a Honda CBR600RR with my 17" MBP. It's just stored in a generic Jansport backpack, nothing special. No problems even when I hit the hills and do some crazy leans or hitting gravel paved roads around here or hitting upper 140mph speeds. I never turn off my laptop, just throw it into standby.
 
lcseds said:
I ride my bike way more than Harley Riders. (I'm kidding). I ride to work on my bike if the temps are above 32 and below 100. I put my 15" in a basic sleeve and in a Saddlemen side bag. It bounces around a tad, but I have never had any issues. Been doing it for years. Now if you have a get off.....all bets are off.
Click to expand...

Shoot, I had my Macbook in my tank bag and dropped my bike. It still works fine. Granted, it was just a drop (bike is lowered cause I'm short, I took a turn out of a gravel parking lot and hit a pothole right before the road which had a raised area, my bike scraped, stopped, and tipped over). So it wasn't like a major crash (pick bike up, keep going). Oh, and I had saddlebags on it at the time as well so they cushioned the bike and kept the side from hitting the ground (meaning the macbook in the tankbag didn't get banged on the ground).

I have only had my macbook twice with me on the bike (two different roadtrips) and it seems to handle it fine. Both times I had it in my tankbag iwth lots of soft stuff around it padding it from vibration as well as it being in its padded and fits like a glove laptop bag.
 
I have a Jansport backpack that they made for a few years, and stopped making, but it has a laptop compartment that is a pouch resting up against your back. At the bottom of the pouch, there is a "Shock absorbing" system, it's a honeycomb pattern rubber piece and high density foam.

That combined with a Booq Vyper has done me well for many years. Might be able to find the bags on eBay or the internet still.

EDIT: It's called ShockShield
EDIT 2: Believe it or not, someone still has a listing for it on their website:
Link
 
I've taken mine with me on plenty of trips and back and forth from school on my V-Rod. Never had an issue I have a gorilla backpack with a Viper M3 sleeve for it.
 
My wife and I each have Mac laptops and ride about 10,000 miles a year on our Harleys... she rides her own. We take trips up to 3000/4000 miles at a time and never had a problem. We pack ours in our luggage or saddle bags and use them to plan our next day and check the weather and of course to keep up with our emails !!
 
I've been lugging various Powerbooks/Macbooks over the last five years on my motorcycles. I've never had a single problem with any of them. I never shut them down and I don't use a sleeve. I simply put them into my Targus backpack (best backpack I have ever had) and make sure it's zipped up before I ride to my destination. As of now I am lugging my 17" i7 everywhere with me. No problems at all. We are nearing 100 degree days now. It's definitely hot on the bike but my Mac still keeps on kickin'. :D
 
I have a Soft Tail Classic with leather saddle bags and have never has a problem with my MBP. I have the incase messenger bag and the MBP has thus far been unhurt. I have even taken trips from Houston to Austin, etc...
 
I had a ninja 250r and I used one of those Swiss backpacks with a computer slot. Unfortunately I am one of those crazy drivers and I hit a patch turning a corner and slid off (I was fine. I wear full street gear all the time) Rolled a few times and MBP came out absolutely fine. It was just in the backpack with no other case.

I feel that as long as you have your MBP in standby, ala with the lid closed, you should have no problems having it on your bike. If you want to be "safer" and have an excuse to upgrade, get an SSD and you'll be fine. :)
 
akramer said:
I'm not sure if the people suggesting backpacks have ever tried to shove a full sized backpack into a motorcycle pannier. :)

I hate riding with a backpack on, so luggage is the way to go for me.

I've carried a 15" MBP in a Givi topcase for years in one of these http://www.tombihn.com/page/001/PROD/300/TB0300 and for a year now in one of these: http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/laptop/laptop-cases/coder

The HDD in one of the MBPs died when I hit a lincoln town car, but I can excuse that. ;)
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Riding with a backpack is just a personal preference, I liked it because when I got to my destination, I had something to carry it in (along with books), not to mention hard luggage doesn't fit every bike. I've yet to find any soft luggage that fits a super sport bike that would hold a laptop. I have saddle and tail bags that would hold a 13", but thats about it.

Not to mention some of those hard luggage brands absolutely kill the lines of a motorcycle, and look like they belong on a car of the future from the 1950's. Blech!
 
as long as you turn it off to prevent the drive from skipping around while in use over bumps, you'll be fine.
 
Definitely shut it down - nothing good can come out in riding the bike with your computer in sleep mode.

cheers!
 
Deeya said:
Riding with a backpack is just a personal preference, I liked it because when I got to my destination, I had something to carry it in (along with books), not to mention hard luggage doesn't fit every bike. I've yet to find any soft luggage that fits a super sport bike that would hold a laptop. I have saddle and tail bags that would hold a 13", but thats about it.

Not to mention some of those hard luggage brands absolutely kill the lines of a motorcycle, and look like they belong on a car of the future from the 1950's. Blech!
Click to expand...

I dunno if you have a metal tank or not but my soft givi tank bag (uses magnets to stay on which is why I ask) just barely fits my 13" with it's sleeve/case (it's a sleeve that has handles, pockets, and a removable strap) in it. May even fit a macbook pro 15" without a case (but you know what, that's one reason I want a 13", a lot easier to take around. The whole point of a laptop is to be portable). And that tank bag fits on my Ninja 500 so not even a big bike.

And riding with a backpack means you have a fulcrum if you land on your backpack that will break your back. I try to only have my armor on when I ride. The less stuff on your person, the less stuff that can cause problems in a get off.

Not that I plan on crashing (but, who does ;)? ).
 
tigress666 said:
I dunno if you have a metal tank or not but my soft givi tank bag (uses magnets to stay on which is why I ask) just barely fits my 13" with it's sleeve/case (it's a sleeve that has handles, pockets, and a removable strap) in it. May even fit a macbook pro 15" without a case (but you know what, that's one reason I want a 13", a lot easier to take around. The whole point of a laptop is to be portable). And that tank bag fits on my Ninja 500 so not even a big bike.

And riding with a backpack means you have a fulcrum if you land on your backpack that will break your back. I try to only have my armor on when I ride. The less stuff on your person, the less stuff that can cause problems in a get off.

Not that I plan on crashing (but, who does ;)? ).
Click to expand...

Magnetic tank bag and a laptop is a bad idea. :eek:

A backpack in a motorcycle crash will absorb energy, not act as a fulcrum and break your back. That's about as true as the full face helmet breaking your neck ideology.
 
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