Weeks before I’m ready to leave on a long motorcycle trip, I start
getting excited. Often I get to the point where I can think of anything
else. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that I spend the time getting
prepared for it. I usually put this off to the very end. I’ve learned
however over the years that this means that my packing never matches
what I will really need for the trip. Proof, last year I was in Sturgis
with nothing more than a sweatshirt and leather vest riding around in
45 to 55 degree weather. DUMB MOVE.
Anyway, to try to avoid that I’ve started putting a list together of
the stuff I need to pack for every trip and where I want to store it on
the motorcycle. To help me build the list I put everything in
categories to help keep it a little more organized. The categories I
use are:
Things to keep the Motorcycle Rolling
Things to keep the Motorcycle Secure
Things to keep the rider going
Protective clothing and gear (Riding Gear)
Hygiene
Camping Equipment
Miscellaneous Stuff
Things to keep the Motorcycle Rolling
Regardless of your
mechanical skills, on long trips you will usually end up having to fix
something on your motorcycle. It’s just the nature of motorcycles. At a
bare minimum I always carry tire patch and CO2 cartridges to perform
those road side tire problems and hope I don’t have far to go till the
next motorcycle shop. If the shop is a fair distance away you should
have tools that would allow you to remove the tire and hitch a ride.
Since I ride a Harley Davidson (not balanced and not rubber-mounted) I
always carry a complete set of wrenches, Torx, and Allen wrenches,
along with a bottle of LocTite to tighten up those parts that think it
would be better to end up on the side of the road. I also carry a small
multi-tool that includes a small LED flashlight because it seems I
always breakdown after dark. In my tool pouch you can almost (important
word there) always find extra fuses, an extra sparkplug and extra light
bulbs. And the two most important things, zip ties and electrical tape.
After all with those you can fix just about anything that would keep
you from making it down the road. I’ve found that for most brands of
motorcycles you can find pre-packaged tool pouches that have a good set
of tools lined up for you. Sometimes the quality of the tools may be
questionable, but hey all they’re going to do is ride around in your
saddlebags and they’ll do in a pinch.
Things to keep the Motorcycle Secure
If you plan your
trips like me (NOT) you don’t always end up staying at the most
reputable establishments. It’s always a good idea to lock your bike and
have some way of locking the wheels. At least that way you’ll keep the
lazy motorcycle thieves from getting away with your bike. I always
carry two keys for every lock with me when I travel. There’s the ones
that I carry in my pocket or attached to my belt, and the ones I carry
deep in my bag for when I lose the other ones. As for disc lock I
really recommend them. They are small, strong and provide a pretty good
deterrent. They don’t however address the case where someone comes with
a lift and just hauls your bike away. For that you need to carry a
heavy duty cable or chain lock to tie your bike to a solid structure. I
personally don’t like these due to the bulk and weight that they add to
the saddlebags, but then I have pretty good insurance to replace the
motorcycle if it’s stolen.
Things to keep the rider going
Taking care of
the rider is every bit, if not more so, important as keeping the
motorcycle going. When we are out there in the wind there are millions
of things that affect our ability to be comfortable and safe. Some of
these I’ve discussed in other articles. First and foremost we need to
make sure that we are protected from the sun. Getting sunburned on your
arms, hands and face can absolutely ruin a good day of riding. I carry
a stick sunscreen that has a SPF-30 rating and is waterproof and dries
instantly. I use it on any skin that I have exposed to the sun. In
addition I always carry a lip balm. Chapped lips can be a very painful
thing on the road.
Both sunburn and chapped lips can sneak up on you without you
being aware of it. Other things that I pack are a first aid kit that
includes bandages, pain reliever and antiseptic ointments. Injuries on
the road can become infected very easy due to the road grim that we are
constantly hit by.
Perhaps my most important piece of equipment is my cell phone.
I always carry that with me and make sure that it’s always charged.
Today, there is probably no piece of equipment that is more important
than a cell phone in case of emergency. I usually carry a charger for
use at night and a 12v car charger. Luckily I’ve installed a lighter on
my motorcycle that allows me to charge my phone from the bike. This way
I never have to worry about being stranded with a dead phone.
While I’m talking about phones, please make sure that you
have I.C.E. number coded into your address book on the phone. I.C.E.
numbers are the first thing that emergency workers will look for In
Case of Emergency. Having these number(s) in your phone can greatly
increase your chances of getting proper medical care. Two basic
considerations for the numbers should be:
Make sure the numbers are current. It won’t do any good to have a number that is no longer valid specified as your ICE.
Make sure that the person that answers that call has some
basic knowledge about your medical history. Things like known
allergies, blood type and doctors’ name. By providing this basic
information the emergency medical workers will be able to make much
more informed decisions.
Protective clothing and gear (Riding Gear)
On long
trips you are most likely going to hit every kind of conceivable
weather. No matter how hot it may get in the middle of that sunny
summer day, there’s probably some cold miserable weather waiting out
there for you. If you’re in the middle of the desert you’re sure to run
into some rain. After all you are on a motorcycle. To be prepared, I
save all of the space in my saddlebags for riding gear. My usual list
is:
My colors. Can’t ride a bike without those.
Leather Jacket preferably one that has a removable lining and good ventilation.
Chaps. Make sure they fit well and are in good condition.
Fingerless gloves and full fingered gloves
A couple of extra doo rags. I’m always losing those things.
Face mask of some sort. I’ve got a windshield on my bike and that
protects me most of the time but in heavy rain, hail and the cold a
neoprene face mask really helps.
Sunglasses and/or goggles. I personally like the convertible
combos, which can change from sunglasses to goggles and have
interchangeable lenses. My personal favorites are the SG-1 from WileyX.
Rain Suit. One of those cheap sets from Wally World won’t
do. Sure they may keep you dry for awhile, but more often than not
you’ll get 30 miles down the road and the suit will be flying behind
you like streamers. Don’t skimp here.
A couple of bandannas will always come in handy.
If the weather is going to be extremely hot then a polymer crystal
cooling bandanna is a great piece of gear to be carrying. I usually
carry this in a small baggie that helps keep it fresh and keeps other
things from getting wet from it when not in use.
Of course as has been said millions of times “Dressing in
layers is the way to go". Being able to add layers and take off layers
can substantially add to your riding comfort. As far as clothing is
concerned keep it to a minimum. Carry enough for a few days and plan
wash stops into your trip. This will help keep your load manageable.
The key is to pack for all the conditions you are likely to run into
but keep the load as sparse as possible. Get creative and figure out
multiple uses for different pieces of clothing and the best way to
extend the wear-ability of the clothes. After all if you get caught in
the rain without your rainsuit, those clothes are good for another day.
Aren’t they?
Hygiene
Even a scummy old biker like me likes to
clean up every once in awhile. And since I often alternate between
camping and motels I carry things to wash up with. These would include
a towel, washcloth and those little bars of soap and bottles of shampoo
you can get at most motels. It helps that in my day job I travel all
the time so I’ve got a life time supply of those.
I’m also trying to keep the last few remaining teeth that I
have so that means I have to carry my toothbrush and toothpaste. Since
I’ve got long hair I have to carry a brush to get the rat’s nest that
forms in my hair every day out. Usually on long trips I don’t shave,
but I always have a razor with me. I just use the soap to lather up on
my face instead of carrying shaving cream.
One last item you should never leave without is toilet paper.
There’s nothing worse than suddenly needing it when you’re out on the
road and not having it. I usually start out with a small quantity which
would take care of the duties a couple of times. If I end up using that
up, I usually restock courtesy of the next gas stop or hotel.
All of this is carried in a small bag that I always have
packed so I never have to worry about it. If I use something, I replace
it and it’s a thoughtless act to throw that in the T-Bags.
Camping Equipment
Camping equipment is probably one of the hardest things to
carry and pack on a motorcycle. This is based mostly on the fact that
it usually bulky and doesn’t necessarily pack down real well. Even when
they pack down the bags seem to be longer than you would want. They
usually end up being to tall if you tie them on standing up, or to wide
if you try to have them laying down.
For a tent, I’ve found that the small two man dome tents work
best. They are easy to set up, have plenty of room to spread out in at
night (if there’s only one person in it), and they pack down pretty
nice. My tent originally came in a flimsy nylon bag that I knew would
hold up to rolling down the road so I replaced the bag with a sturdier
one. My tent is usually bungeed onto my T-Bag and additional one to
attach it to the motorcycle.
On the other side of the T-Bag, I have my mattress. As the
years have gone by that ground has gotten harder and harder. I use one
of those self-inflating mattresses that blow themselves up. While
they’re not the most comfortable, it sure beat sleeping on the ground.
In the morning all you have to do is open the valve, roll it up and
it’s ready to go. I got a bag to carry the mattress in too.
Miscellaneous Stuff
I’ve always found that carrying cameras on a motorcycle trip
can be a pain. The old styles (film based) have a tendency to take up
to much space. And the digital camera require to much accessory stuff,
like chargers, place to download the pictures and such. For a while I
was carrying Advantix cameras, since they can be relatively small and
take good quality pictures. Now I’ve never been a fan of the panoramic
views but that is available on them. I’m now carrying a digital camera
and have bought several different memory cards for it. This way I can
use the cards like regular film and don’t have to carry all the stuff
to download the pictures until I get home.
Other important items are a wallet, credit cards and money.
Can’t keep going without these. And the one thing that I consider the
most important, a notebook and pens. When I’m on a trip it’s great to
be able to keep notes about what you saw, how the motorcycle was
running, where I stayed and interesting characters I meet along the
way. It’s also important cause if you’re like me and suffer from CRAFT
disease (write me if you want to know what that stands for) it’s a
great way to refresh your memories of the trip years from now.
Now that the bike’s all loaded up one last thing to remember
is that with all the additional weight of the stuff you’re carrying the
motorcycle is likely to handle differently. Remember to try to keep the
weight as low and as close to the center of the motorcycle as possible.
This will help keep the front wheel from getting to light or making the
motorcycle a little top heavy. Make sure everything is strapped on real
well. Good straps and bungies will give you a good dose of peace of
mind knowing that your load is secure.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
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