Flags on the FJR

I am curious how folks mount flags on their FJR's and what size you use. Looking for something to mount for the "Run for the Wall" and Patriot Guard duty. Iggy's post of a cracked subframe has me worried about the pressure of a large flag at highway speeds.

v65 said:

I am curious how folks mount flags on their FJR's and what size you use. Looking for something to mount for the "Run for the Wall" and Patriot Guard duty. Iggy's post of a cracked subframe has me worried about the pressure of a large flag at highway speeds.

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I mount them in the Ventura bike rack poles when the back rack is removed.

Skippy

Interesting you should ask...

I have been on several missions with the PGR in the past few months on my old Venture as well as my FJR. The Venture has a 3 foot Firestick CB antenna that I mounted a small flag to. The trunk on both bikes is large enough accommodate my collapsible flag pole. However, I got tired of having to stow my flag every time we escorted the Hearse to the cemetery.

At highway speeds a large flag is quite unmanageable. In general the faster you go the smaller the flag must be. My firestick set up flies a 10 x 16 inch flag. Every 6 weeks I had to replace it because 80 mph commute speed tends to shred it.

The FJR is not yet equipped with a CB or radio, so there is no need for a Firestick. I kept looking at my collapsible pole, holding it up to the bike, trying to figure out just where and how to mount one. Two weeks ago I built my mount. It is strong enough to hold 2 telescopic poles flying 3 x 5 foot flags. At 30 mph they flow gracefully, at 45 mph they are straight back flapping violently in the wind. Anything faster than 35 I will fly smaller flags.



I took my lower mount off the muffler hanger, the upper mount is off my rack platform. Note the triangulation, without it the mount would be quite flimsy. The material is 3/4 aluminum tube .06 thick and 1x1x1/8 aluminum angle. It took about 6 hours to design and fabricate with a hack saw and a couple of files. A friend at work did the welding.

[SIZE=12pt]edit 8/22/2010:    That .06 wall aluminum tubing from the hardware store is way too thin and brittle. I've had to re-weld it in several places over the years. My next one will be made out of much thicker walled material.[/SIZE]

Caution... if you ever do any welding on the bike, be sure to un plug all the electronic black boxes. You don't want to damage them with high frequency tig welding.





The poles themselves ended up coming from the hardware store paint department. The yellow tips will mount a paint roller, they telescope from 3 to 6 feet. I chose them over the segmented flag poles we use on the flag lines. Also note the extra strong cord ties. When I drove with them I also had hose clamps on the tops just for safety sake. It's still a work in process.

At freeway speed I lower the poles and wrap the flags tight around them with Velcro strapping. When I get to the assembly area I unfurl the flags and let them fly. You do have to be careful how you park the bike, you don't want the wind to blow it off the kick stand. I leave mine in gear - it's the closest thing to a parking brake we have.

So far it has seen one mission last week at the VA cemetery dedication in Dixon Calif., just south of Sacremento. It was neat being one of the big flag bikes out front for a change.

Had not heard of Ventura before (sheltered life), too bad I already have a trunk. Brodie that is a nice looking setup, I think I will try to replicate it!

Has anyone ever tried using battens in the flags with a heavier material? They completely corral the material and prevent flutter for sailiors everywhere. Why not for you?

I forego the large flags while riding for two smaller flags, an American flag and a Marine Corps flag mounted with cable ties from my Helmet Guardian brackets to the lower holes on my license plate. I carry a 3 x 5 flag broken down for use at the church or the cemetary. I was behind a rider on Saturday at highway speed when his full size flag broke free from the pole.

Another rider I was with bought the flags with window mounts offered on the PGR website and then screwed them to a 10" long piece of flat aluminum stock that he had mounted to the license plate bracket. It looked good and stable and the quality of the flags is very good.

I put together a fairly simple pole base that mounts to my Givi rack. If anybody wants to copy it, I could take and post some pics later.

A little drilling and filing on the ones Harley sells will allow them to be mounted on the rack bolts of the '06+ bikes.

BTW, I found a good deal on a high-quality 3'x5' USA-made flag at Amazon.com. The business owner seems like a great guy as well and they got the products out to me right away.

v65 said:

Iggy's post of a cracked subframe has me worried about the pressure of a large flag at highway speeds.

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I wouldn't worry about your subframe. My crack was induced by a significant vertical load oscillating up and down for thousands of miles.

To mount my smallish flag that was about 18" I removed the rack and used the center bolt area. I melted 3 lexan pieces, bent them into L's, and it made the flag stand upright when still. Then at parade and slow highway speeds the flag would bend to about a 45 degree.

Hey all, glad to be here. Just joined the forum tonight. I picked up an '06 AE this weekend.

I'm a PGR member.

Regarding your comment about the flags shredding... "At highway speeds a large flag is quite unmanageable. In general the faster you go the smaller the flag must be. My firestick set up flies a 10 x 16 inch flag. Every 6 weeks I had to replace it because 80 mph commute speed tends to shred it. "

Go to WalMart (or your local discount store of choice) and pick up a grommet kit. Use a soldering iron to burn / melt a few more holes in your flag. When they're melted in, the hole edges won't fray under use. Then, insert the grommets, pound 'em flat.

Once you have the grommets in, you can add zip-ties (tie-wraps) to your flag pole.

My last flag lasted approx. 450 (open) miles... I was amazed. We get a lot of cross-winds in Chicago, and sometimes follow some pretty aggresive LEO's... Our flags definitely get road-tested. I've had mine open in the rain, wind, etc. They all last much longer if I add add'l grommets.

In a typical 3' x 5', or 2 1/2' x 4' flag, I probably added no more than 2 or 3 add'l holes. I've seen some guys add a bunch of small grommets... I typically just matched whatever came on the flag. These helped keep the flag from snapping and whipping, and held the flag more in line with the pole.

My last bike was a Kawi Z750S. I mounted up to 3' x 5' flags, and generally did pretty well at any speed. My old bike only weighed 410 lbs. I found the only real problem in high winds, was that the open flag up high, would blow the bike out from under me...

FWIW. Good luck.

-Jonathan (GypsyCaravan)

p.s. - Thanks for the photos of your rig. When I got my new FJR, one of the first things my wife asked me.... Where will you mount the flag?

Here's my flag mount.





It used to hold my telescopic pole, but a fellow PGR member just built me a nice stainless pole, to which I added a Gel grip. The downside is, I can't swap to a freeway flag, as the mount is the only way to transport the pole to missions.

Another idea is a trailer hitch either built or adapted to accept a 1-1/4" stinger. Fabricate a stinger that holds the pole at the desired angle and you're good to go. The size flag you fly will NOT be limited by the mount. :-D

I've got a setup that I built for my Wing to mount a 3'X4' flag - I wouldn't want to fly it at much over 20 mph, though. I intend to adapt it to the FJR as soon as I figure out how I want to mount the hitch. (I don't think I'll be paying full hitch $$$$ for something that won't ever pull a trailer... :dribble: )

I have never had the honor of riding Guard, but maybe this summer. I do however always ride with two small flags on the "stern of my carrier". They are the simple little flags with plastic "sticks" that you see for a buck at ??Wallyworld? or other places. I have the poles poked through the space between the license plate and the fender, (crisscrossed) so the flags are the only thing sticking out. they flutter and wave but don't shred or get dirty (much) because the windflow is minimal at that point. I have had them there since week one, and I have about 5800 miles on those two flags... and I have two more if those need replacing. The crossing of the poles is enough to keep them in place.

C

I purchased a GL1500 chrome handle that I use as a small rack bolted on the top of my Yammy matching trunk.

(yes, I went through the stress and trauma to bring myself to drill 4 holes in my trunk lid)

I know, I know, Goldwing item on my FJR - a darkside move, fur sur

Wingstuff.com - BB2376 GL1500, GL1800 Trunk Handle 1 17.95 17.95

I then mounted 3 chrome flag mounts from JC Whitney with 11" masts

I then mounted 3 car sized 12x10" flags (from left to right: PGR, American, Never Forget) on the 12" chrome masts

Works well for me and so far they are staying there perminently. However, for traveling, I did purchase a Yammy OEM

cover for the bike and I haven't tried it now that I have the flags back there. The mounts do have a fold down feature,

and pretty quickly with an allen wrench, the masts only can be removed.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mholiver/

Best of Luck,

Mike in Ole Nawlins'

Check out my Gathering Ride March 6-9, everyone here is invited

https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?a...&pid=522878

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Patriot said:

chrome

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My eyes, it burns, stop the pain!

artistonFJR said:

They are the simple little flags with plastic "sticks" that you see for a buck at ??Wallyworld? or other places.

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Exactly what I do. This is from Canada day this past summer.