Zippers

We had lots of zipper problems on this trip!

Doug broke two tabs off zippers on his Aerostich riding suit, one on his tankbag, and one on another small case he had. He scarfed every handy keyring holder as replacements.

On our way back to the USA on Mex 15, my leather jacket's main front zipper foot broke in half. No keyring would fix this, and it was serious -- an open front zipper on a jacket is like driving a car with no windshield. Not only was getting cold, but the sun had just set and we didn't have much daylight left to get to Hermosillo. In Mexico you do not ride at night! Doug almost safety-wired the front of my jacket closed, but after a frantic search for a matching zipper foot, I found and sacrificed the zipper foot on the sleeve pocket of the same jacket. I put it on the main zipper by slicing between two teeth, and that emergency repair holds to this day.

My tank bag zipper quit zipping toward the end, and unfortunately my camera was a casualty of an open zipper, not being in its case, and a bike drop which immersed the camera in mud. My little magnetic Lockhart Sportsak is exactly that: a *Sport* sak, absolutely inadequate for off-roading and touring.

From now on, large, beefy, durable zippers are an important criterion in choosing any sort of motorcycling gear! Or, in some cases, the absence of zippers, such as on boots.

Why did our zippers fail? Mostly from dust, dirt and heavy usage.

1994