Laptops and motorcycle vibration

I got an inquiry from a pair of sexagenarian females relatively new to riding; one on an H-D bagger, the other on a Honda Shadow. They asked whether motorcycle vibration was an issue when it comes to carrying a laptop. I bring an iPad but have never packed a laptop. I suspect a soft carrying case would eliminate worries. My guess is vibration is not issue but maybe folks more knowledgeable could chime in.

As long as it is off, and in a well sealed and padded case, its probably not an issue.

Worry about the hard drive being the primary concern... as long as it is off, the RW heads are typically "parked" and the disc survace is not vulnerable.

If you have a laptop, tablet, netbook, or chromebook with an SSD(Solid State Drive) and not a typical rotating patter storage device, your risk decreases.

Depending on the quality of the computing device used, and the care(or lack thereof) in packaging and handling while transporting, connectors may be a concern (memory and add on cards being first on that list as they are heavier and their connectors are typically also their mount), but it is unlikely to be an issue and if it is, you can most times just re-seat them and have it work.

I would be more concerned about temperature extremes and humidity control than vibration.

I've had three suspect incidents over the years with a laptop in my Pelican case. One I had it wrapped in a towel, but it moved and rubbed against something else in the case....some surface abrasion to the case. Second case was one where I had learned that lesson and put in a neoprene case. It wouldn't boot up when I got back to work after a particularly long ride and techs said the hard drive connector was loose. They pulled off, reseated, and booted up.

Parked hard drives when powered down absolutely and some sort of decent packing (e.g. neoprene bags or equivalent work pretty well). But the vibration does probably add some amount of toll to consumer devices that may or may not have been tested for that much vibration....let alone the paint can shaker action of a HD. YRMV & caveat emptor.

I've lugged laptops around for years in my various bikes. I'm sure it's not good for their hard drives, parked or not. That said, the two hard drive failures I can recall happened to laptops that hadn't been carried in any bike for years.

They've always been in padded cases within a top box, so heat extremes wouldn't be a factor, and at least some vibration would be damped out. But then I don't ride HDs. These have been Hondas (and lately the FJR a bit). I do see some of the big twins, when stopped with the engine running, where all the bags be big time oscillating and paint-can-shaker doesn't seem too far off - cringe.

I commute on my bike 365, and I transport my laptop to and from work.

I've not had any issues, but I can imagine that issues could arise.

so . . . +1 to both "completely powered off" and "in a padded case."

If there is valid worry about the life of the PC, then I'll say this: Panasonic Toughbook. I have used one for years and we have very few failures that are not caused by our IT group. I have seen them dropped off the roof of a car as it re-entered the freeway. That one slid down the road and booted up like it never happened. I have seen them dropped, thrown at people (don't ask, but it wasn't me), and basically abused with extreme temperatures. They are awesome...The CF31 I currently have is the nicest one I have had so far.

BUT...That's only if there is solid concern about what it will carry and be able to stand up to. For 99% of the population, this is overkill.

Is a laptop absolutely necessary?

The solid-state drives of tablets or netbooks may be

a better choice for motorcycle travel.

My last laptop helped me kill a deer...and still worked afterwards. It was off and in a padded case, continued to work for a year later before I upgraded to an ultrabook for no other reason than to get my hands on some sleeker faster tech.

New ultrabook has SSD and travels with me on the motorcycle in a neoprene case. So far, no issues.

YMMV.

This forum is a marvelous place. So many helpful and knowledgeable folks. Thanks!

My favorite bike/computer story: A former employer wrecked his Honda Sabre 1100 (which tells you how long ago this was). He was passing a car when it turned left and he plowed into its left front fender, then went into the ditch. He totaled the bike but only broke his arm. In the meantime, emergency response vehicles were also in the ditch and one of them ran over his Mac laptop which was in a padded case. There was a tire tread mark on it. The actual plastic computer shell was broken. The machine was sent in, the shell replaced and stuffed with the original electronics guts and all was well. Must have been very soft soil in that ditch.

I used to carry a Lenovo back and forth to the office, and often did some spirited riding on the way home. The first one I did this with I carried in the side case where it was standing on edge, and I did kill the hard drive. After that I put the new one in the top case laying flat in a backpack that was made for a laptop with a little padding built in. It was fine. I still carry my personal laptop most of the time when I go on multi-day trips and never had an issue.

I commute with my laptop (Macbook Pro w/ SSD) in a padded bag. Never had a problem, I just shut the lid, it suspends, and zoom zoom off we go.

Just install a SSD, transforms the notebook's speed as well.

I carry a Lenovo for work, and I travelled quite a bit with it. I lost about two HD's a year until convinced them to pony for an SSD. 10 months now, no failures.

If they have a HD I can only say never use sleep/suspend (turn off or hibernate instead) and make frequent backups. Then replace it with an SSD when it goes out.

+1 on the SSD

+1 for the power off./ hibernate

+100 for backups

Whoever invented sleep/suspend should have em cut off...

Yea, I don't recommend using the side cases. Put the laptop in a proper laptop bag and then put that in a top box. That's what I've been doing with my work laptops for years.

Current job gave me a mac. I'm tempted to put this piece of crap in the side bag resting on it's corner.

Been using my 2008 MacBook on many FJR trips, And have had ZERO issues. The KEY is making sure it's off and well padded against abrasion and sharp jolts.

Yeah... but what if you're a "Sexagenarian" ? Do you have to be careful of whats "on the hard drive"?

I will tell you.. I wouldn't google that word at work...

All kidding aside...

I take my laptop to work every day it's above 32 and reasonably dry... It's in a backpack... 5 yrs old and the only reason I put new drives in it is to increase capacity once every 2 or so... (you could view this as PM on the drive...as they dont get old that way)

Might not be comfy for long trips.. but if you just have the laptop in the bag..it's not soo bulky, and might be ok.

With reasonable SSD's now being available in new laptops, this is the way to go. I'm trying to decide whether or not to spring for a new MacBook with SSD. No problems with this 2009 other than a hard disk failure last year (which caused me to buy my FJR - long story).

HotRodZilla said:

If there is valid worry about the life of the PC, then I'll say this: Panasonic Toughbook. I have used one for years and we have very few failures that are not caused by our IT group. I have seen them dropped off the roof of a car as it re-entered the freeway. That one slid down the road and booted up like it never happened. I have seen them dropped, thrown at people (don't ask, but it wasn't me), and basically abused with extreme temperatures. They are awesome...The CF31 I currently have is the nicest one I have had so far.
BUT...That's only if there is solid concern about what it will carry and be able to stand up to. For 99% of the population, this is overkill.

Click to expand...

The signal techs in WSDOT use the Panasonic toughbooks too. The demo from the sales guy was to boot it up and throw it across the table onto the floor. Kept running just fine. They have most of their laptops mounted in the trucks using similar RAM mounts the WSP uses. I have not heard of any failures from vibration. The only one I did hear of was falling off the truck when they left a jobsite and then backing over it when they went to retrieve it.

Personally, I use a dell laptop and put in my top case shutdown, in a neoprene sleeve setting on top of rags and spare gloves. Lots of miles including many on gravel roads. No issues so far. My laptop is bout 4 years old now and I use it everyday.