I've got a really nice and strong Big Flag setup for Parades, PGR Missions, etc, but for those times when we need to reach highway speeds, one of the things I've always worried about, was a grommet ripping out of the Flag material.


I buy the best Flags I can get (Tough Tex by Annin) and I've never had a problem, but it's always in the back of my mind when I'm doing 65mph on the highway.


I came up with a solution that eases my mind a bit.


I got to thinking, instead of just a grommet at the top and bottom of the flag, why not add a couple more just for the extra strength and peace of mind.


Got this from Amazon, they are the same size grommets as are currently on my Flag, 1/2" hole, 1" overall diameter, heavy brass.




Bought the refill kit also.




The kit comes with the grommets and all the tools to install them.







Decided to add 3 additional grommets.














I still have to go the store, I'm gonna get the heavy duty 3/8" Zip Ties and attach to the pole at each new grommet location. So, the Flag will actually be attached to the pole at five locations instead of just two.


Some will say this is overkill, and maybe it is, but it's worth it to me for the peace of mind on a windy day at 70 mph.


My setup is part Rivco, and part my own Fab. I also added the Luggage Rack strengtheners from Pro Pad, and the Risers from Show Chrome Accessories, because I use my Luggage Rack with a heavy duty Bungee Cord as the upper attachment point for the Flag Pole.

 

I think that is a great idea! It makes perfect sense. The missions we go on that go onto the freeway rarely go over 55 mph. My biggest worry is the beating that the flag takes and it becoming frayed. Admittedly I purchased inexpensive flags as I was and am on a tight budget. Are your flags nylon? How is the edge sewn at the very end of the flag?

 

I use the strongest Flags I can get, Tough Tex made by Annin. About $25.00 for a 3 x 5, you can get them from Amazon. I think the end seams have 4-rows of threads.

 

With all due respect, here in Minnesota we do not allow anyone to run a large 3x5 at highway speed on missions. The liability is just too great. We limit it to 35 mph or less, such as in a slow funeral procession from church to cemetery.

http://www.mnpatriotguard.org/docs/mountedflagpol.asp

 

That's not a bad idea. It doesn't happen a lot, but there are times when a mission will go from residential streets to Highway / Tollway. Kind of hard to avoid around Chicago, especially when we do pickups from OHare.


Don't think we have that rule in Illinois. With my current setup, no worries at highway speeds, although like I said, it doesn't happen very often.

 

Back in '06 when we were first starting out, we learned as we went. The standard three piece aluminum pole flag kit ($9.95 at Walmart) didn't stand up at all. One of our first missions was a funeral in town, with cemetery in the country. I was one of the riders escorting the hearse, and there were flags laying all over the road, which had fallen off bikes which had gone on before us to the country cemetery.

Needless to say, it was damn embarrassing.

We learned as the years went by. Take a flag pole with a 3x5 flag, and stick it out the driver's window of a car, and feel the force as your speed increases. That is the same force on your flag mount on your bike.

For a while, part of our duties of a ride captain was to inspect flag mounts, and make a determination if they were "safe" or not. It could not be done. Even flag poles made from water pipe would fail from vibration.

We finally came to the conclusion that each rider was responsible for the safety of their flag mount, but as an organization, we had to make a decision for everyone's safety. It was our liability as an organization. Can you imagine the lawsuit, should a flag come off, and cause an accident to a rider behind us?

In my own case, I attached a 3/4" threaded rod to my trailer hitch, and used a 3/4" electrical conduit for a flag pole, tied off to the luggage rack with nylon straps on my Ultra's top case. I ruined two sets of latches on my top case before realizing that it was the drag on the flag doing the damage to the latches. I no longer mount a 3x5 flag.

 

I had to come up with a different solution for having larger flags on my bike, due to the solo seat style. My flags are 2 1/2' X 4' and the poles are 1 1/2" PVC pipe.

 

Sarah, your bike looks awesome! Love the color and way you have the flags set up. I've got my flag mounted on a sissy bar without the back rest. Four aluminum pieces of flat bar; two at the top of the sissy and two towards the bottom. Have my flag on a piece of PVC, with an oak dowel and piece of metal conduit running through it. Got the idea from a PGR Member on here. Have had no problems with it other than the pole being too high and hitting a tree branch. (luckily I didn't drop my bike) Have been up to 80 with it no problems. Can't post any pictures at the moment.

 

Thank you! Cool! It would great to see a pic when you have the chance.

 

Finally got around to building my flag mount this week! Took inspiration from MNPGRider, but put my own spin on it.


I started with a swap meet hitch that I scored for less than $50. I removed the hitch ball, and bolted a 1-1/4" pipe cap to the hitch with a 4" long 3/4" bolt. Then I slid a 12" long 1-1/4" steel nozzle pipe over the bolt and threaded it onto the cap. I bought a 6' heavy duty steel 1-5/16" closet rod to use for a flag pole, and drilled a hole through the steel pipe and the flag pole in order to insert a 2" bolt to lock the flag pole into the mount. I then used a 3/4" wide piece of steel flat stock to build a reinforcement off of the tourpack supports, which I secured with U-bolts, and again bolted to the flag pole. planning for parade speeds only, but I imagine if pressed into it, this setup should be good to pull my big flag up to highway speed safely if necessary.