Motorcycle carry

[RKirby]

My $500 + monthly gasoline bill is starting to take a toll on the monthly budget. So, like many others these days, I'm considering parking my full size pickup and going to two wheel transportation for my daily commute.

Among the things to consider, such as the traffic safety issues and fuel economy benefits, I will need to come up with an effective, yet practical way to carry concealed during the hot weather months. My usual weekend cover garment consists of an untucked t-shirt or polo shirt. That obviously won't work when riding at highway speeds. Wouldn't want to scare all the soccer moms now, would we? They might accidentally mow me down while trying to dial their cell phones to report the old guy on a motorcycle with a gun strapped to his hip.

So...all you experienced bike riders...explain to this noob biker wanna-be, how do you carry during the hot weather months?

[Kythas]

If you want to wear an untucked t-shirt or polo shirt, I'd recommend a motorcycle jacket, such as you'd find here: http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/ ... -Gear.aspx

The jacket will not only protect you from road rash in case of a spill but should help conceal your gun nicely.

Personally, I wear an untucked button down shirt and have never had a problem with my gun showing while riding.

[srothstein]

Well, you might take a hint from the Army and wear a vest. To go on base requires a reflective vest. If you wear one while riding, it will serve to keep the untucked shirt from blowing around and at the same time increase the odds of your being seen by other drivers.

I use a non reflective 5.11 tactical vest myself, but I admit the reflective style would make as much or more sense on a motorcycle.

[flb_78]

I carry IWB with an untucked button down shirt. Haven't been hassled yet. I'll get the very edge of the shirt under the holster clip to hold it in place sometimes.

[iratollah]

I won't carry on my body when on the bike. I keep it in my tank bag. When I get off the bike, I can always discretely slip the pistol into my jacket or my helmet. I don't need immediate access since I don't shoot left handed. If a bad situation arises, the throttle will do more good for removing me from trouble than the pistol.

I don't want to have the pistol holstered on me in case I fall off. I don't particularly care to land on the gun or have it come free if I bail. A state trooper told me that if he were me that he'd always have a gun available when on a bike.

Early one morning during dove season a couple of bird hunters pulled an Easy Rider on me trying to scare me with their shotgun. They did a fine job of it. I felt the blast from their shotgun roll across my back and the back of my helmet. I gassed it and got the heck out of there. Shooting back would have made no sense.

[wild child]

summer is very trying for me.
i use the fanny pack, and try not to look
too gay.


kidding...........

j

[casingpoint]

i use the fanny pack, and try not to look
too gay

Impossible.

[mr.72]

LoL

[Target1911]

I ride my Harley 99% of the time. And I carry 100% of the time. I carry a 1911 IWB @ 4:00....My cover is either a button up shirt or a t-shirt. I have never had any problems.
Now....if you are riding a sport bike this probably wont work cuz the wind usually blows the back of your shirt up. However if you are on a cruser, it shouldnt be a prob. its not for me with a 1911.

[KNFodder]

Early one morning during dove season a couple of bird hunters pulled an Easy Rider on me trying to scare me with their shotgun. They did a fine job of it. I felt the blast from their shotgun roll across my back and the back of my helmet. I gassed it and got the heck out of there. Shooting back would have made no sense.

Hi guys -

Noob to the forum, first post and all.

The "Easy Rider" thing is terrifying. Good on you for keeping the rubber side down and getting out of there. I imagine your sphincter didn't unpucker for hours.

I carry a Kahr PM9 in a pocket holster most of the time but it doesn't work well on the bike. I'll sometimes carry in my riding jacket although I tend to agree that if I were to get off at speed, I wouldn't really want it there. So, much of the time I'll carry in the back of my Wolfman Explorer Lite tank bag... there's a little rear facing pocket that fits the Kahr well. Problem is, it's not always easy to slip it discretely out if you're in a grocery store parking lot surrounded by people, and it's not secure enough to leave it in there. Thus the jacket pocket carry. Also, these issues make it basically impossible for me to carry while commuting, because I don't want to leave the gun on the bike and I can't take it in to work. There are challenges with every method of carry I suppose...

Regarding the tucked or untucked shirt, I can't recommend enough getting good riding gear. ATGATT (All The Gear All The Time) and all that. If you're commuting in a city, you will have close calls from other idiot drivers, and if you're commuting in the country you will have close calls from other idiot animals (or drivers). I've had both, including a deer that hit me broadside and a guy who pulled out from behind a bunch of corals while I was on a dirt access road in boonieville Wyoming. I T-boned him. Last year I was first on the scene (ok... first who would actually do something) and got to patch up a sport biker who was wearing a helmet, t-shirt, and jeans (no gloves or anything else). I burned through my 4x4s and roller bandages very quickly on his legs, arms, and hands. There wasn't much I could do about his back and shoulders. A guy merged into him and he lost it on Braker heading towards MoPac in Austin. We weren't even going that fast, but he donated a suprising amount of meat to the road, especially from his knees which had been protected by Levis. His helmet was shredded on one side from grinding his face on the road (lucky for him, or he wouldn't have had a face).

Just something to think about. Thanks for the great site and good information, I've been lurking on and off for awhile.

J

[Wildscar]

I have posted this before on other posts about Motorcycle carry threads so I'll to this one as well. When on a bike speed is your friend. However you need to learn how to use and when to use it or you will end up on your butt in a more precarious situation than you started. My street racing experienced paid off this night. Also rember while on a bike you have the tactical advantage. Most of the time you are sitting higher than most cars and no blind spots for people to just walk up out of nowhere.

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... ck#p169031

The best thing you can do on a bike when if something happens is to just go. Leave the area as fast as you can. Before I started carrying I was the attempted victim of a bike jacking. This all happened at about 2 in the morning. I ride a sport bike and so did the other rider in the story.

I was escorting another female rider home and while she turn off for her exit I kept going down Preston towards Northwest HWY. When I was stopped at a light I notice the black truck pulled up my right side. I get the uneasy feeling and then a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. That’s when it happened.

I glance over and see the passenger door fly open and over the hood I see a pistol coming over the hood. I only heard half of what he said because I let the clutch out and gave it the gas. I was sure the bike was going to fly out from under me and I would be done for. The front wheel did come off the ground but I was able to put my body weight over the bike and keep it down. Maybe I was hearing things or mistaken in what I heard but I thought I hear about 3 shots. I expected to get hit in the back and then be spattered all over the road. I would have crawled in the gas tank if I could have. I ran the next 3 lights and made a left turn on to North West HWY. I was hoping that at any point there would have been a cop at one of the intersections. Had I been riding like that for fun I’m sure there would have been. I finally pulled over in a well lit connivance store to catch my breath and let the adrenalin run but about the time I came to a stop I remember who I had left just moments before. I torn out for her place to make sure that wasn’t the trucks next stop. I took Northwest to Central up to Royal where she lived. She was just putting the garage door down when I flew into the drive way. I put my bike in there and then used her phone to call in a report. She thought I was crazy and made the whole story up. Then the cops got there and while I was making my report the LEO’s asked if it was a black Toyota truck. When I looked back over at her, he mouth was hanging open. One of those looks of ‘He wasn’t lying’ moments. Apparently I wasn’t the only one that got to meet them. I was just one of the lucky ones that got away. Never heard if they got them or not. I never saw that truck again.

Later that night(morning I should say) after the cops left and I was pulling my bike out of the garage to head home I started to put my helmet on. I got one of those clarity moments of what really happened. There was a scuff on my brand new helmet. One that was left by a bullet grazing off it. I rolled the bike back in the garage and decided to stay the night on the couch.

Believe what yall want. If yall don’t believe it so be it. I don’t have a video of it and nothing to back it up with. Best advice I can give it to learn your bike as you would you firearm. Develop that muscle memory that will one day possibly save your life. I know today that if that same encounter happened when I started riding it might not have ended so well.

[KNFodder]

That is incredible dude

[thankGod]

Interesting and scary situation. Good information, and thanks for the advice.

[WarHawk-AVG]

I ride a '07 Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom (My "hardly")

I wear a CrossBreed Super-Tuck Deluxe IWB with my all steel 5" 1991A1 at 3'oclock, it fits perfectly, doesn't expose when sitting and feels as comfortable as a glove.

During summer I wear a textile riding jacket that keeps me nice and cool, during winter a leather jacket
http://www.sandhillspowersports.com/

http://www.leatherup.com/site/product?pid=40178
<- I look nowhere near as "cool" looking as that guy

I recommend you come check out the motorcycle safety site run by a Texan http://www.msgroup.org/ (I'm WarHawk there)

[SlowDave]

I posted somewhere else asking about this. I carry in the hard saddlebag of my FJR1300, like someone else said, not wanting to have to land on the gun in case I have to perform a high-speed dismount. I do some roadracing (ZX-6R endurance, also "mini" NSR50) and also agree that you should also be at least as proficient on the bike as with your gun. I'm pretty sure that statistically, you're more likely to die on the bike than through an attack of the Bad Guy.

I also try to quietly pull the gun from the saddlebag into my helmet or backpack or other when I'm leaving the bike. Today, going into Academy of all places, there was a guy staring at me from the front of the store, which made me somewhat uncomfortable, but oh well. I put my body between him and the bike and put my backpack down into the saddlebag and slid the gun over into it. I carry a S&W Sigma, and it barely fits into the helmet with gloves to prevent it from being observed through the faceshield.

One question on this front: when you go into a Wal-mart or similar and they check your bag, has anyone experienced the reaction if they look in your backpack and find a (legal) gun?