Parade flag holder

[pquirk]

Originally Posted by Cindy Dietz

What ever you do remember that a flag loose on the ground is a huge hazard for bikes behind you...

That's a good point. On mine I drillled a hole through the flag mount into the pole and put a screw in there it make sure it stays put, you can see that in the second pic. I unscrew that and take the wing nut off to remove the whole assembly. It's a 30 second operation.

[Cindy Dietz]

I have seen this same kind of a sandwich mount used on a back rack, again using a flag holder meant to be used on the side of a house, but having it jut up from the back rack.

[A-K]

Patriot Guard Rider here...
Unfortunately my solution requires that you have a luggage rack: My solution is not particularly pretty but, I'm sure you can use the basic design & come up with ways to make cosmetic improvements. I took two 6-inch squares of 1/2-inch plywood and sandwiched the luggage rack between them, using bolts, washers and locking nuts to clamp the plywood squares on the top and bottom of the luggage rack. I then bolted a pipe flange to the top piece of plywood and screwed a 12-inch section of steel pipe into the flange.

Having seen too many PVC "flagpole" snap off at highway speed, I chose to use a 5-foot section of heavy-walled copper pipe for my flagpole. This pipe is small enough to slide into the the steel pipe and is held in place w/ bolts running through the steel pipe and the copper tubing of the flagpole. Since copper tubing is now very expensive, you may need to resort to using PVC. If you do, please reinforce it by inserting a wooden rod inside (pushbroom handles from a hardware work very well). Should your flagpole fail and you flag end up on a following car's windshield and result in an accident ... you will be the responsible party and subject to litigation. The gold coloration of copper tubing is very impressive with your American Flag.

I've used a flag mount like this for two years and have never had a problem. Even at speeds of 80+ mph my flag has flown proudly.

I will make another suggestion: See if you can find a flag distributor who sells the Hercules flag. It is made in the USA and is designed to withstand higher wind velocities. In Indianapolis, Indiana they can be purchased from Flag and Banner on Lafayette Road. The Hercules is made of a mesh-like nylon material, looks very nice w/ fully embroidered stars, and is machine washable.

After riding Patriot Guard missions, often on Interstates I've only destroyed one Hercules flag after two years of wear and hard riding.

I'd love to have pictures to show you but my youngest kid took my camera to college for a photojournalism class this semester.

[dave]

Originally Posted by A-K

Patriot Guard Rider here...
Having seen too many PVC "flagpole" snap off at highway speed

I use 3/4" PVC, but I slide a 3/4" hardwood dowel inside (it fits perfectly). This greatly increases the strength of the flagpole.

I will make another suggestion: See if you can find a flag distributor who sells the Hercules flag. It is made in the USA and is designed to withstand higher wind velocities.

I've been looking for something like this! Thanks for the suggestion. I'm a Patriot Guard Rider as well, and those flags can really take a beating at 70mph!

[A-K]

Dave Funk -
Hey Brother, If you want the address/phone number of the Indianapolis company where you can buy a Hercules Flag. Go to the national PGR webside and find me under screen name: gegans. Send me an e-mail & I'll get the information for you. Most of us here in the Indiana PGR ride w/ this flag. If you order one from the company I'll recommend to you, ask them to add the "PGR stitching" along the back seam and they'll run some extra thread along the edge. If any of the flag starts to fray, I've found a little heating w/ a BIC lighter helps to seal any of the fraying nylon.

[dave]

Originally Posted by A-K

Dave Funk -
Hey Brother, If you want the address/phone number of the Indianapolis company where you can buy a Hercules Flag. Go to the national PGR webside and find me under screen name: gegans. Send me an e-mail & I'll get the information for you. Most of us here in the Indiana PGR ride w/ this flag. If you order one from the company I'll recommend to you, ask them to add the "PGR stitching" along the back seam and they'll run some extra thread along the edge. If any of the flag starts to fray, I've found a little heating w/ a BIC lighter helps to seal any of the fraying nylon.

Thanks A-k! That sounds great! I'll check that out tomorrow....

[Gone]

My bike sports a (much smaller: 1X2) flag all of the time. Hell, I don't know if I'd feel right pulling her out of the garage without it.

J&P Cycles has a whole bunch of different flag mounts, if that helps......

[dave]

All this talk about flag holders got me in the mood to re-design the one I was using. I had some difficult design criteria:

1. Must accommodate 3x5 flag.
2. Must be very sturdy (for freeway riding).
3. Must accommodate 2up riding.
4. Must accommodate my "T-bag".
5. Must have movable attachment points (in case replacement flag has grommets in a different location).
6. Must mount close to vertical (it flies and looks better).
7. Must look reasonably good.
8. Must be instantly removable (so I can stand in a flag line).
9. Must be tall enough to hold in a flag line.
10. Must not require any modification (e.g., drilling holes) to bike.

I think I achieved all of the criteria. The flag pole fits into a "scabbard" on the bike so I can just pull it out (I use a tiny bungee cord as a safety, to make sure the wind won't pull it out). The flag pole is 1" PVC, with a 3/4" wooden dowel inside. The scabbard is 1 1/4" PVC (1" PVC fits nicely inside it), and is a little over 6' tall (I can easily go taller, if I want to). The flag is attached to a couple of splitrings, which are attached to a pair of homemade brackets, and the brackets are held in place with stainless steel hose clamps (which are obviously movable). The scabbard is supported by a 1" PVC T (which slides over the passenger footpeg) at the bottom, and by a homemade clamp at the top, which attaches to the sissy bar. The flag flies almost vertical, because I used another PVC T below my homemade clamp. I painted everything black, and it pretty much "disappears" on the bike. It is very sturdy; I took it up to over 70mph, and it was very happy.

By the way, it is *really* important to paint PVC if it is exposed to sunlight. The UV will cause the PVC to become brittle, if you don't. This is why older exposed srpinkler pipe shatters after a few years.

Here are some pics...

The "whole bike":


Bottom section (the "scabbard"):


Mount with flag removed:


Closeup of mount/sissybar clamp:


Closeup of flagpole bracket:

[Pamd14]

I am a Patriot Guard Rider and have a question about the PVC with the wooden dowel inside for extra strength.......how do you attach your flag?

I bought the plastic rings from the flag shop but they were to small for the pipe.

Any suggestions for attaching the flag to the pipe?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Pam

[dave]

Originally Posted by Pamd14

I am a Patriot Guard Rider and have a question about the PVC with the wooden dowel inside for extra strength.......how do you attach your flag?

I bought the plastic rings from the flag shop but they were to small for the pipe.

Any suggestions for attaching the flag to the pipe?

Thanks for any suggestions.

Pam

Pam, First of all - welcome to the forum!

If you look at the photos in my post, you'll see the bracket I made to attach the flag to the pole. The bracket is just a short piece of small angle iron. I cut a slot in it (using a drill and then a dremel tool). You can then slide the "tongue" of a stainless steel worm clamp through the slot. I also drilled a small hole in the angle iron. A splitring goes into that hole, and then into the grommet hole of the flag. This arrangement allows me to move the clamps up and down to accomodate the potentially different grommet locations of a replacement flag.

You also might be able to loop the splitring into the stainless steel worm clamp, and avoid fabricating the bracket. I didn't try this, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is a little spot for the splitring right near the screw...