OK, let's look at it from another angle.
Any method of holding loads on any motorcycle will vary according to the items to be carried and to some degree or another the ease of use and the cost of the straps.
For instance, for several odd shaped boxes or for something (say a full waterproof oversuit) that you want to get your hands on quickly, a simple cargo net is maybe best. A cargo net is also very useful for holding a tail pack in place on the pillion seat or on a rear carrier, not least as it avoids the potential crushing of the bag and anything in it. They are cheap and can be discarded quite happily when they lose their stretch.
For spare tyres, the humble bungee is sometimes best, if only because it can be coiled snake like around a tyre's carcass, something that is maybe difficult to do with a Rok Strap.
For some soft luggage, for instance a large North Face bag, Rok Straps can make excellent companions. That being said, they are relativly expensive and their ease of being undone by light fingered opportunists may worry some nervous travellers. Nervous fellows often adopt a belt and braces approach, wrapping the bag and the straps in a wire cargo net, with a padlock to boot. Whether their fears of loss are justified, or whether the time spent securing and then removing the whole assembly is worth it is another matter entirely. Take care that your over vigorous pulling of the Rok Stap does not crush your bag; remember you are not trying to hold the bag down to resist a category five hurricane..... Just sufficient to hold the bag in place will do.
What else? Well just about anything that takes your fancy and performs the function you want it to perform at that moment. Good examples might vary between ratchet straps (probably over the top for most needs) to cut down restraining straps available free from any decent sized bike dealers who receive bikes in crates. In a real emergency, string or rope may be a godsend.
So OP, get out.... Look at the alternatives, compare what is available with your current and maybe future needs, usage and the capacity of your wallet.... And make a decision for yourself..... All the time wondering what exactly any of this has to do with 1200cc motorcycles of the GS ilk, other than you plan to ride one to Switzerland via Belgium........ you anarchist, you.
PS Whatever method you chose may still result in a load shifting during use. Check that everything is still hunky-dory from time to time. A simple 'ping' of the retaining strap and a light push to make sure all is well will suffice, I promise.
Anarachy Is the Mother of Order
