Touring bag support for motorcycles

A touring bag support is secured on top of a motorcycle luggage rack. A touring bag is secured to the support in a variety of ways. The bottom of the touring bag remains flat and stable on the support because the support is longer and wider than the touring bag and the motorcycle luggage rack. A plurality of slots on an outer perimeter of the support allow for easy attachment of the touring bag to the support by bungee cords and straps. The touring bag support provides a safe, stable load on the rear of the motorcycle. Further, an overall neat, aesthetically pleasing appearance is also provided.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
 The present invention relates to the field of a touring bag support to be
 mounted on a luggage rack of a motorcycle for supporting a motorcycle
 touring bag in a fully supported manner.
 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
 With the ever increasing popularity of motorcycles, many novice or amateur
 riders are becoming involved in the use of motorcycles as a hobby.
 Oftentimes, a novice motorcyclist is more interested in accessorizing
 their motorcycle than operating the motorcycle in a safe manner.
 For instance, touring bags for motorcycles are used to pack clothing and
 other necessities for around town or extended trips. The manufacturer of
 the touring bag usually suggests a load of not more than ten pounds to be
 placed in the touring bag. It is also usually stressed by the manufacturer
 that the load in the touring bag be even and balanced.
 However, oftentimes, the touring bag is larger than the luggage rack
 provided or installed on the motorcycle. Also, the advice to limit the
 load to ten pounds is oftentimes ignored.
 The maintaining of a load in a motorcycle touring bag in a balanced and
 safe position is often difficult to do when attaching the touring bag
 directly to the motorcycle luggage rack due to the small size of the
 luggage rack in comparison to the size of the touring bag. The touring bag
 usually sags over the sides and the rear of the luggage rack.
 When riding on bumpy roads, for example, the load in the touring bag is
 caused to shift. A suddenly shifted load in a touring bag presents an
 unexpected danger when cornering or driving at fast rates of speeds. The
 shifting load or an unbalanced load can change the operating conditions of
 the motorcycle unexpectedly. The sudden shift in the center of gravity of
 the motorcycle can catch the driver off guard and Cause an overturning of
 the motorcycle by the momentum of the shifting load. Needless to say, this
 is an extremely dangerous situation.
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
 It is therefore an object of the present invention to is provide a touring
 bag support which is secured on top of a motorcycle luggage rack. A
 touring bag is secured to the support in a variety of ways. The bottom of
 the touring bag remains flat and stable on the support because the support
 is longer and wider than the touring bag and the motorcycle luggage rack.
 A plurality of slots on an outer perimeter of the support allow for easy
 attachment of the touring bag to the support by bungee cords and straps.
 The touring bag support of the present invention provides a safe, stable
 load on the rear of the motorcycle. Further, an overall neat,
 aesthetically pleasing appearance is also provided.
 The touring bag support of the present invention is made of rigid plastic
 or other rigid material. The overall dimensions of the support are
 approximately eleven inches wide by approximately nineteen inches long.
 Centrally located on the support are a plurality of openings for use in
 securing the support to a luggage rack of a motorcycle. Spaced about the
 periphery of the support are additional openings of various sizes for
 securing the support to a "sissy bar" of the motorcycle and for securing a
 touring bag to the support.
 The support is secured to the motorcycle luggage rack by wrapping a
 plurality of loop portions of a hook and loop fastener, such as VELCRO,
 around the bars of a luggage rack and through the openings in the central
 portion of the support. Permanently secured on an upper surface of the
 support are several loop portions of a hook and loop fastener. The loop
 portions of the hook and loop fasteners are passed around the bars of a
 motorcycle luggage rack, and through the openings in the central portion
 of the support to secure the hook portions to the loop portions.
 A series of narrow slots, two each on both sides and a front edge portion
 of the support, are used for securing one end of a bungee cord. The
 opposite end of the bungee cord is used to secure the touring bag to the
 support. Preferably, a D-ring spaced along a seam on the touring bag
 receives the opposite end of the bungee cords for a secure connection
 between the touring bag and the support.
 Two slot openings in the rear edge portion of the support are used for
 attaching touring bag straps which are secured to the touring bag, to the
 support. The touring bag straps have a buckle and clip fastener. The clip
 on a strap passes through the openings at the rear edge portion of the
 support and wrap around the support to reconnect to the buckle secured to
 the touring bag. The two openings at the rear edge portion of the support
 provide an easy access location for anchoring the touring bag straps to
 the support as compared to the difficult connection (due to their
 location) of the touring bag straps to a "sissy bar" or the luggage rack
 as was previously done.
 Accordingly, it is another object of the present invention to provide a
 touring bag support to be mounted on a luggage rack of a motorcycle by a
 hook and loop fastener having a loop portion permanently affixed to an
 upper surface of the support and a hook portion passing through openings
 in a central portion of the support and wrapped around portions of the
 motorcycle, including its luggage rack, sissy bar and other portions, for
 example.
 It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a touring bag
 support to be mounted on a luggage rack of a motorcycle by a hook and loop
 fastener having a loop portion permanently affixed to an upper surface of
 the support and a hook portion passing through openings in a central
 portion of the support and wrapped around portions of the motorcycle,
 including its luggage rack, sissy bar and other portions, for example, and
 having a plurality of spaced openings about the periphery of the front and
 side edges of the support for securing one end of a bungee cord with the
 opposite end being secured to the touring bag.
 It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a
 touring bag support to be mounted on a luggage rack of a motorcycle by a
 hook and loop fastener having a loop portion permanently affixed to an
 upper surface of the support and a hook portion passing through openings
 in a central portion of the support and wrapped around portions of the
 motorcycle, including its luggage rack, sissy bar and other portions, for
 example, and having a plurality of spaced openings about the periphery of
 the front and side edges of the support for securing one end of a bungee
 cord with the opposite end being secured to the touring bag and having two
 openings along a rear edge portion for receipt of a touring bag strap
 having a clip at one end and a buckle at an opposite end so as to wrap the
 strap through and around the support for connection of the buckle and clip
 so as to tightly secure the touring bag to the support.
 It is still yet a further object of the present invention to provide a
 touring bag support to be mounted on a luggage rack of a motorcycle by a
 hook and loop fastener having a loop portion permanently affixed to an
 upper surface of the support and a hook portion passing through openings
 in a central portion of the support and wrapped around portions of the
 motorcycle, including its luggage rack, sissy bar and other portions, for
 example, and having a plurality of spaced openings about the periphery of
 the front and side edges of the support for securing one end of a bungee
 cord with the opposite end being secured to the touring bag and having two
 openings along a rear edge portion for receipt of a touring bag strap
 having a clip at one end and a buckle at an opposite end so as to wrap the
 strap through and around the support for connection of the buckle and clip
 so as to tightly secure the touring bag to the support with the support
 having overall dimensions of eleven inches wide by nineteen inches long,
 and preferably one inch wider and one inch longer than a base portion of a
 touring bag.
 These and other objects of the invention, as well as many of the intended
 advantages thereof, will become more readily apparent when reference is
 made to the following description taken in conjunction with the
 accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
 In describing a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the
 drawings, specific terminology will be resorted to for the sake of
 clarity. However, the invention is not intended to be limited to the
 specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific
 term includes all technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner
 to accomplish a similar purpose.
 With reference to the drawings, in general, and to FIGS. 1 and 2, in
 particular, a touring bag support plate embodying the teachings of the
 subject invention is generally designated as 10. With reference to its
 orientation in FIG. 1, the touring bag support plate includes an upper
 surface 12, opposed side edge portions 14, 16, front edge portion 18, rear
 edge portion 20 and central portion 22.
 The touring bag support plate 10 has a front edge portion 18 to rear edge
 portion 20 width of approximately 11 inches and a length between opposed
 side edge portions 14, 16 of approximately 19 inches. The support plate 10
 preferably has a thickness of 1/4 to 3/4 of an inch, and more preferably a
 thickness of 1/2inch.
 At various locations spaced across the upper surface 12 of the support
 plate 10 are located sections 24, 26, 28 of loop portions of a hook and
 loop fastener. Inter-dispersed in the loop fastener section 24 are three
 rectangular openings 30a, 30b, 30c. In addition, two additional laterally
 located openings 32a, 32b are located in central portion 22.
 As shown in FIG. 3, straps 34a, 34b, including hook fastener portions of a
 hook and loop fastener, are wrapped around two of the bars 36a, 36b, 36c
 or 36d which are formed between the openings formed between openings 32a
 and 30a, openings 30a and 30b, openings 30b and 30c and between openings
 30c and 32b. The straps 34 extend around the bars 38a, 38b, 38c or 38d of
 the luggage rack of a motorcycle. The hook portions of the straps 34a, 34b
 are rigidly secured to the loop portion section 24.
 Similarly, straps 40a, 40b extend through an elongated rectangular opening
 42 at the rear edge portion 20 of the support as shown in FIG. 3. The
 straps 40a, 40b are wrapped around sissy bar 44 and rigidly secured to the
 loop fastener portion 28 so as to additionally secure the support plate 10
 to the motorcycle luggage rack.
 Additional connection of the support plate 10 to the motorcycle luggage
 rack is provided by straps 46a, 46b passing through elongated rectangular
 opening 48 at front edge portion 18. The hook fastener portion on the
 straps 46a, 46b are secured to loop fastener section 26 so as the anchor
 the support plate to additional anchoring points on a motorcycle.
 Located on each of side edges portions 14, 16 and front edge portion 18 are
 two rectangular shaped slots 50a, 50b, 52a, 52b and 54a, 54b. Each slot is
 approximately 1/4 inch wide and approximately 1/2 inches long.
 As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, two bungee cords 56, 58 are used to secure a
 motorcycle touring bag 60 to the touring bag support plate 10. One end 56a
 of bungee cord 56 is inserted through slot 54b and rotated to extend over
 front edge 62 of the support plate 10. This anchors end 56a of bungee cord
 56 in place. The opposite end 56b, as shown in FIG. 5, is passed to extend
 through a D-ring 64 which is secured on a seam 66 of touring bag 60.
 Similarly, end 56a of bungee cord 56 is passed through slot 54a and the
 opposite end (not shown) is secured to a D-ring on the opposite side of
 the touring bag 60.
 Most touring bags, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, include a touring bag strap
 assembly 70 including a strap 72 terminating in a buckle 74 anchored to
 the touring bag 60 by the webbing 90. The opposite end of the strap is
 threaded through the clip 76 which is adjustably mounted on the strap.
 Clip 76 is fed downwardly through one of the openings 78a, 78b located in
 the rear edge portion 20 of the support. Openings 78a, 78b are
 approximately 1/2 inch wide and approximately 2 inches long so as to
 provide passage therethrough of the clip 76.
 After the clip 76 is passed through the opening 78a as shown in FIG. 7, it
 is connected to the buckle 74 and the strap tightened by pulling the strap
 72 in the direction of arrow 80. A similar securing of a touring bag strap
 is done on the opposite side of the touring bag (not shown) by passage
 through opening 78b in the support plate 10.
 The touring bag support plate of the present invention provides numerous
 openings for securing the support plate to a motorcycle luggage rack as
 well as for securing a touring bag to the support plate.
 The foregoing description should be considered as illustrative only of the
 principles of the invention. Since numerous modifications and changes will
 readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the
 invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described,
 and, accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be
 resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.