Copied / moved from GPS section - BMW gloves, tank bag, bag roll etc

RSInterloper

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I naturally chose the wettest day (Sunday) of the bank holiday weekend for stage 1 of my journey to south west France (Cardiff - Rouen via tunnel). By the time I reached the M20 the Nav VI screen was flashing on and off and I noticed with horror that there appeared to be water inside the screen on the left hand side and along the bottom. By the time I was in France I had no screen at all but was still receiving occasional voice instructions, and with only a few odd diversions finally made it to my hotel stop.

After a large beer and dinner I had a look at the Nav. As I lifted it up water ran out of a gap between the top of the battery cover (the end without the screws) and the case - where of course there shouldn't be a gap :eek:

By now the water has spread across the entire screen, the battery plug was "tight" and on trying to disconnect it the whole thing came away from some very green looking corroded wires on the board beneath....yes, it was well and truly fucked.

I'm pretty sure that I put the cover back on properly when I put the SD card in a year or so ago. I can only think that when the Nav fell onto a carpeted floor some time ago it might have "popped" the cover, but who knows?

So lesson learned - check that the cover is seated properly before setting off :rolleyes:

As an aside - my BMW "2 in 1" gloves (bought a few months ago) have a "waterproof" section which did not prove to be so on this trip. My dealer has replaced them without quibble but I suspect that it will be a case of "they all do that sir". Having dried my hands I put on my BMW Pro Summer gloves and had no further problems.

Also, my BMW tank bag (for R1200RS) bought 4 days before I left leaked water into the transparent top panel, ruining the documents I had in there, AND into the "waterproof" inner bag in which I had various expensive electronic items - these became "damp" but were not ruined, fortunately. The dealer is replacing that as well but I am not hopeful that the replacement will be any better. For heaven's sake, I had a "no name" tank bag on my Norton in 1978 and that didn't leak!

On the positive side my BMW large soft bag, panniers, pillion seat bag and All Round boots all stayed perfectly dry.

Anyone recommend a tank bag that is absolutely waterproof?
 
I’m not sure about your bag but most rely on a waterproof over cover. When I’m touring or doing a long run I always pack anything that I’m worried about getting damp in a water proof plastic bag. Freezer bags are good. JJH
 
I think these days most people put stuff into waterproof roll bags and then put the stuff into ‘waterproof’ tank bags/panniers.
 
The BMW gloves are supposed to be the same as the Held ones. My Held 2in1 gloves have been 100% waterproof for 2 years, so hopefully yours were faulty and they should be ok now.
 
I use the Enduristan Sandstorm range of tank bags, they have been waterproof to date and are very nicely made.

They use Rokstrap type elastic to tension the holding straps with the result that the tank bag stays put and doesn’t slip sideways.
Worth a look and probably cheaper than the BMW bag.

http://www.enduristan.com/en/products/sandstorm-tankbags.html


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SW motech, comes with waterproof cover but is pretty good without unless the rain is biblically heavy, extensively tested this june in pyrenees!
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I was being optimistic about the tank bag, based on my experiences with other BMW bags using the same "technology" that have been fine. I don't like tank bags in general so I may try to figure an alternative packing strategy.

Santa - the dead one is no more I'm afraid. But the screen appeared to be a "unit" and I couldn't see a way to dis-assemble it in order to get the water out. Lots of what looked like "electrolytically accelerated" corrosion elsewhere as well, as the battery had remained connected.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I was being optimistic about the tank bag, based on my experiences with other BMW bags using the same "technology" that have been fine. I don't like tank bags in general so I may try to figure an alternative packing strategy.

Yeah scrap the tank bag I don’t use one anymore you can easily get by without one.
 


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