Taking a laptop on a motorcycle trip?

[Monkeyleg]

I'm hoping to be able to take a cycle trip to Utah in July. I'd be on the road for probably ten days.

I'd like to be able to take orders from my online store in the evenings, but I'd need my laptop for that. I'm just wondering if folks here think it would be safe to pack this thing.

I'd have it in the middle of soft stuff (clothes), and in double or even triple plastic bags in case of rain.

I really have no alternative except to put a notice on the site that the store will be closed for those ten days. I hate to lose money, though. Business isn't that great to begin with.

Thoughts?

[41magsnub]

I think you would be fine doing it how you described.  If you want a little extra protection for the laptop take a look at a laptop boot type bag such as: http://www.spireusa.com/products/boot.htm.

If you want to be really hard core (and can find one buy domestically):  http://www.outdoorsports24.com/PACKS-BAGS/Notebook-Cases/Haglofs-LAPTOP-DRYBAG-17-Waterproof-protection-bag--6699.html

[Nick1911]

I think that would be fine.

Of course, you might damage the laptop if you have to lay the bike down - but I think that'd be the least of your concerns then.

Other random thought: Do you have a internet connected cell you could use instead?

[Boomhauer]

Pelican or Hardigg case.

[Tallpine]

You plan on balancing it on the handlebars and taking care of business while you ride? 

[gunsmith]

I've done it plenty of times, you'll be fine.

I simply put it in my messenger bag, just be sure not to leave it alone in a coffee shop etc.

[Monkeyleg]

Other random thought: Do you have a internet connected cell you could use instead?

I have internet connectivity on my Blackberry, but I need the laptop to process orders. That can't be done from a cell phone, only a PC.

I've always carried a camera with me on trips, and never had a problem with that. Don't know if laptops are more fragile than cameras.

You plan on balancing it on the handlebars and taking care of business while you ride?

No, I'll only do that when I'm darting in and out of traffic.

I simply put it in my messenger bag, just be sure not to leave it alone in a coffee shop etc.

Thanks, gunsmith. This laptop is like my own nuclear football. It's never out of my sight.

[Boomhauer]

I've always carried a camera with me on trips, and never had a problem with that. Don't know if laptops are more fragile than cameras.

My laptop has "met the floor" a time or two and is still ticking.

I don't expect the same if my dSLR was to hit the floor. One of my classmates dropped his DSLR on a concrete floor last year and the sound was...horrifying...

[Hawkmoon]

Personally, I would do what I did a few months ago for a trip -- drop by Wal-Mart and spend $275 on an Acer Aspire One netbook. It's fairly sturdy, it's small enough that the size alone makes it less vulnerable to physical damage -- and for that price it ain't the end of the world if something does happen to it.

Mine survived the trip and is now in the custody of my daughter (which means I'll never see it again).

[Doggy Daddy]

+1 on the netbook.

I bought HPs for my wife and myself last Christmas and rarely take my full-sized laptops to work now.  I use Dropbox to keep important files synced between the three, and mostly any program that runs on the full-sized laptops (both Dells) will run on the Netbook.  The weight difference is substantial.  And as Hawkmoon says, the smaller size makes it sturdier.

DD

[bedlamite]

Another vote for the Netbook. I recently picked up an ASUS 1215T for exactly that purpose, it's the biggest one that would fit in my tank bag and cost me $320. BTW, I'll be leaving Friday for a week in the Appalachians.