Rivco works for me. After a bunch of research, I never saw anything homemade that gave me the warm fuzzies for my safety or fellow riders and could be removed from the bike with any kind of efficiency. The Rivco requires absolutely no tools, pull 2 pins and pop chrome caps in the tubes. My observations have been that the angled flag is less prone to wrap around than the fully vertical at low speeds and wouldn't ride around the block with one mounted mid-bike. The only thing I did was shortened the mounting rods to take some of the leverage away on the side to side movement and recently replaced them with 1018 round in place of the aluminum. I've been running this setup for over 2 years with no additional bracing, mostly with 2 flags and at times full hiway speeds (well over 65MPH) with no issues. I am retired and do have the time to make plenty of PGR missions. Yes, I feel it back there in heavy crosswinds, but it's just wagging the tail, not the entire bike.
Go down to post #10 in this thread and you can see I'm fully capable of rollin' my own too.
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/the-p...sportster.html
Respects for your ingenuity and hope to stand a flag line with you some day.

 

Thanks everyone for your comments and concerns. I had hoped that this thread would not turn into a flag mount wars thread. Some replies seem to want it to go in that direction. The Rivco product is a good and proven product and that has not been disputed anywhere. So I hope we are all clear on that issue. I really appreciate your concerns and your schooling on that product, but rest assured that I have researched it a lot and have read countless posts from Rivco owners.

I struggled with whether or not to even post the prototype mount. I knew there would be a great deal of consternation from the parade riders on this forum. But I thought that the design and idea for mounting might be of interest to some.

And, cutting to the chase, after testing I have a great deal of confidence in the ability of the mount to withstand more wind resistance and torque than the flag will be able to endure.

So as a follow-up to the original post, I wanted to offer you some test results from yesterday. It was a windy, sunny day here on the coast. So let's get started.

Yesterday, I went out for about a 30 mile ride. I was on everything from 70 mph roads to heavy stop and go traffic.

During the high speed test, with speeds slightly over 70 and sustained speed at 65 mph for about 15 minutes, the flag holder was rock solid with no flexing or movement whatsoever. The bag guard on which the holder is mounted remained rock solid as I expected given it's hardy construction, configuration, and large attachment bolts.

In stop and go traffic, and with the flags close proximity to my right rear, I found that it is possible for the flag itself to "bump" me when stopped if the wind happens to catch it just right. You have to be aware of this. There was never any safety issues however, in fact nothing even close to being an issue. The flag, being adjacent to my right shoulder, was very easy to control during stops. It is a heavier fabric than the paper-thin nylon flags that some use, so being heavier it lays down sooner and behave better at stops with windy conditions from yesterday. I believe a nylon flag mounted in this position would be more difficult to deal with during windy stops so I wouldn't recommend a thin nylon flag in this position.

Although my flag is a very high quality Tuff-Tex open-weave polyester design for high wind applications, I did notice that the bottom grommet did "pull" a little. I suppose that occurred during the 70+ mph testing. The grommet pull is very minor, and I don't expect to be in any kind of parade function that would approach that speed, so I believe the flag will hold up fine for normal use. Also, based on feedback from one post, I probably won't be invited or allowed to participate in any group rides anyway, so I will always be riding alone I guess.

I removed the holder after this test to dismantle it and inspect it for wear, cracks, or any other stress areas. I found nothing at all. I even inspected the tightness of the mounting bolts on the bag guards and they were factory tight. So I am very pleased with the performance of the mount and confident that at any speed, it will handle the torque. The steel retainer strap would have to break before there would be any concern, and that is not likely to happen.

I did make some mostly cosmetic changes and may apply some black paint to the flat steel retainer. I think I will leave the U-bolts unpainted and of course leave the SS rod holder nice and shiny as well.

Anyone can build this with a hack saw and a drill. However, do not skimp on any parts, use grade 8 hardware, reinforce the rod holder clamp with JB Weld, and test. You do not want this to fail when you are at speed and you certainly don't want your flag and support to separate from the bike. Safety is the guiding principle when hanging anything from a motorcycle.

As with any homebrew project, you will be responsible for your design and mechanical implementation and I accept no liability for your mechanical interpretation.

I offer this approach simply as an option to forum members that may be interested or that have been thinking about flying the colors with something other than the 6"x 9" mini-flags (which I still fly 100% of the time).

I hope everyone has a great and memorable 4th of July week! Remember, patriotism does not belong exclusively to any one group, regardless of who what or where they are or what they are doing at any given time. So fly the colors when and if you can...as a lone rider or with your friends.

May God bless our troops at home and abroad.

 

LowcountryJoe you are a class act.