Packing for a MotoTrip

[biikChiQ]

I am curious about what you guys pack for traveling. List your top 10.

[Drano]

Clovis taught me many things about distance riding, so I'll pass on what I remember. He's probably got a ton more suggestions as well.

These are not in any particular order:
01. Small spray bottle of glass cleaner and a rag for cleaning off your visor.
02. A swimsuit for the hot tub at the hotel. Your sore body will thank you.
03. Ibuprofen.
04. Never underestimate the value of a rain suit, and a medium-weight jacket/hoodie for layering (if you don't have heated gear).
05. A couple changes of lightweight clothes. Hiking pants, shorts, etc.
06. Your bike's tool kit if you still have it. Or a compact collection of tools to work on your bike plus a tire plug kit.
07. A mini, led flashlight.
08. Replacement fuses.
09. A 3 to 4 foot stretch of flexible, plastic tubing in case you need to siphon gas.
10. If you don't have heated grips, hand warmers for skiing/snowboarding work wonders.

Have fun!

[texlurch]

I use the wet glass wipes, they last a good long time in a ziplock bag

Not a bad idea to take an extra key for the bike
charger for cell phone, helmet bluetooth etc
I have a compact first aid kit, stays under the seat
handful of zip ties
wrap all your clothes up in a ziploc bag, you can get all the air out and they take up less space, and keep your clothes dry
earplugs

[big_sur]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...RmA/edit#gid=0

[birchyboy]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...RmA/edit#gid=0

How big is your tank bag?

[Jmetz]

Clothes, 1 or 2 liters of water, ration of food, plug kit, bike tool kit + leatherman, aspirin/painkillers, mobile device chargers, 1 shot of fireball, 1 of vodka, and 1 of Jäger.

[Nolan]

Any particular plug kit recommended? See two types on Amazon, mushroom type and rope.....

[big_sur]

How big is your tank bag?

[texlurch]

Any particular plug kit recommended? See two types on Amazon, mushroom type and rope.....

I've had better luck with the rope type.. seem to be more forgiving

[kawasakirob]

Will you be camping or staying at a hotel?

Rainsuit
Bugspray
Sunglasses
Toilet Paper
Leatherman or multitool
Fresh undies
matches/lighter
chain lube
a couple rags
balaclava
maps
tire pressure guage
spare bungee's / straps

A cool tip to save space in your saddlebags is to roll all your clothes up and put them in a ziploc bag. They will take up much less space while also being waterproof.

My stuff in a nutshell

[kawasakirob]

Great Pic!

[asp_125]

I've had better luck with the rope type.. seem to be more forgiving

+1 for the rope type. I've had good luck with em. My friend otoh, tried the mushroom type and both times they blew out at speed (one at 55mph)

One more nice to have item particularly if you're riding solo. Some kind of GPS tracking app on your phone, or the SPOT locater beacon. Lets loved ones or yourself see your route or send "OK" statuses. I've used GPS tracker by Greenalp (freeware) on my android in the past. We also have a SPOT (subscription).

[biikChiQ]

great lists guys, some that i haven't thought of or come across with researching.. now i'll have to invest in more luggages.

[Nolan]

I'm looking at the Swmotech bags. Givi might be coming out with luggage for mine as well so who knows. I plan on a couple long trips and one week next summer.

[GMR]

1. Sunglasses
2. Radar detector
3. Monster
4. Clothes
5. Skateboard
6. Skis
7. Beer?
8. Towels
9. Swimsuit
10. My Acura

[FZRguy]

Vicodin
.380
spare key as mentioned
tire plugs + mini-compresssor

[Clovis]

Clovis taught me many things about distance riding, so I'll pass on what I remember. He's probably got a ton more suggestions as well.

These are not in any particular order:
01. Small spray bottle of glass cleaner and a rag for cleaning off your visor.
02. A swimsuit for the hot tub at the hotel. Your sore body will thank you.
03. Ibuprofen.
04. Never underestimate the value of a rain suit, and a medium-weight jacket/hoodie for layering (if you don't have heated gear).
05. A couple changes of lightweight clothes. Hiking pants, shorts, etc.
06. Your bike's tool kit if you still have it. Or a compact collection of tools to work on your bike plus a tire plug kit.
07. A mini, led flashlight.
08. Replacement fuses.
09. A 3 to 4 foot stretch of flexible, plastic tubing in case you need to siphon gas.
10. If you don't have heated grips, hand warmers for skiing/snowboarding work wonders.

Have fun!

Drano sums it up nicely.

For day rides and over nights - seek to average 50 miles traveled per hour. That's covering an average of 50 miles per hour with gas stops, little breaks, ect. Add an hour or so for lunch. I use a GPS app called "MotionX GPS" (more on that below # and one feature is coaching. I have mine set to chime in every hour to tell me how many hours completed, how far I've traveled and what my average speed is). 50mph might sound low but trust me - if you can do 56 or 60... you're hauling.

1) My most priced possession is my little $1 spray bottle filed with glass cleaner and a microfiber towel to wipe the bugs off. I keep this in my tank bag and clean as necessary. The little spray bottles can be found in the travel section of grocery stores or wal-mart. Fill with regular ole' windex.

2) Before every ride, I'll take 800mg of ibprofen and lately 1000mg of tylanol. The ibprofen will help keep your joints flowing and loose and the rider comfortable.

3) Sunscreen and chapstick with SPF! Apply to your face and neck.

4) A "wool buff" - you can get these at REI. The extra nice and a little warmer one cost $30. This thing is great! I wear it in the morning and in the late afternoon. Very comfortable, doesn't get in the way and you can also pulls this thing over your head, mouth, ect. It's very versatile and you would be amazed how effective it is at keeping that cold air (not to mention bugs, rocks) off your neck.

Link: http://www.google.com/shopping/produ...45508906&hl=en

5) Extra layers. Heated gear is great but expensive - around $450 for a dual control heat troller, jacket liner and heated gloves. Even with my heated jacket liner and gloves, I'll still throw a hoodie on over my liner. The "hoodie" also helps keep cold air off your neck and from going down your back. Make sure you leave room to stow it when not needed. I prefer the "zip up" hoodies over a pull over because I can put on or remove the hoodie without taking off my helmet.

6) Tire repair kit AND some way of inflating. Slime makes a small compressor that takes up very little room, runs off a 12v and costs $15. Can be purchased online or locally at Lowes, Home Depot, probably Walmart. Of course, to use this you need to have a 12v power outlet installed (very easy to do). If this isn't an option, "complete" tire kits come with little CO2 cartridges just like you might remember from air rifles. Personally, every bike I've owned I've installed 1 or 2 12v power addapters.

Air compressor: http://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/...YfYaAhLn8P8HAQ

Here's a write up I did a few years ago on how to install. Costs about $50 and all the parts can be purchased from NAPA Auto Parts.

http://www.cosportbikeclub.org/forum...our-motorcycle

The 12v power outlet also serves nicely to charge phone, bluetooth headset, ect.

7) Clear shield or clear sunglasses. I prefer sunglasses over visors so I use a clear shield 100% of the time and swap out my sunglasses. I tried out a ton of motorcycle sunglasses and have found these cheapos to be the best! Global Vision Hercules. They are nearly unbreakable and only cost $14 or less.

Link for tinted: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Link for clear: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

RAM Mount cell phone mount! I use my iPhone for everything and having it mounted on the brake or clutch lever is very handy. Opt for the "short" ram arm. I use my iPhone for music, GPS directions, GPS trip record/live updates (App: MotionX GPS - lets you record your ride, maps it and friends can see where you are. My wife loves this!) and WEATHER! Get the weather channel app. You can save up to 10 locations, so on your route enter the towns you'll hit along the way. This little app has helped me avoid the rain. Also has live radar!

9) Tool kit - your original tool kit will contain pretty much everything you need to tear down the bike on the side of the road (if you had to). Having some extra common size metric tools helps too. I also carry a socket wrench with a 3" and 6" extender, 10mm, 12mm, 15mm, 17mm sockets and wrenches. Stowed in a bag under my seat. A set of alan wrenches is handy too and if space is sparce you can buy a pocket knife style of wrenches from Lowes/Home Depot for around $10

I've never had to use mine but a 3 to 4 foot section of CLEAR plastic tubing can be helpful to syphon gas into or from a buddy's tank. REI also sells MSR fuel cans. Looks just like an alumimum water bottle and cost $22 for a 30oz (roughly 1/4 gallon) bottle.

Link: http://www.rei.com/product/783963/ms...p-cap-30-fl-oz

10) "Leatherman" tool. Plyers, knife, flat/philips screw driver, can opener all in a pocket knife size.

Other nice things:

Radar detector - I didn't put this on the list because it's expensive ($1000 for everything, around $730 if you already have a bluetooth headset on your helmet) but has saved me from A LOT more than $1000 in tickets. Doesn't save you all the time but gives you a fighting chance. The State Patrol is always a tough one because they're usually running around with no radar and will "instant on" when they see someone who appears to be speeding.

Sheriffs on the other hand, which you're more likely to see in the mountains run radar on continuously if at all. You'll "see" them coming around a few corners ahead as their radar bounces off the canyon walls.

I've been meaning to do a write up on my particular setup (My 3rd setup and greatest) all year.

Funny, there are 3 other guys I frequently ride with and 3 of the 4 of us all have radar detectors

Eagle Creek bags for luggage. I've been meaning to get some of these. The idea is to have a main bag (such as a tail bag) with all the "small" items like cell phone charger, bluetooth charger, tools, ect packed into one of these little bags.

Much to my amazement, Ezrider showed up at my house for this year's 4 day trip to the Devils spine with a tiny bag just a little bigger then a sportbike pilon seat with 4 days worth of stuff packed.

Fuses are also handy to have. On a 2011 trip my headlight fuse went out sometime during the day and I only noticed as it was getting dark and we were in the mountains. I "raced against the sun" to find a gas station and once I finally did... no mini fuses. Yamaha, thankfully included a spare in their fuse box.

Flipflops - regular shoes take up a lot of bag space.

A rain suit can come in handy and doesn't take up much space. I've never used one as it's always been my experience as soon as the guy with one spends 10 minutes putting it on, it has stopped raining.

Other tips:

Take your feet off the pegs and dangle them or rest them on your frame sliders every chance you get in between the fun parts. Doing this will help delay fatigue and knee stiffness.

Throttle lock! Kaoko makes the best one I've tried. My last 3 bikes have had this. Costs around $130 and can be installed in 5-10 minutes. Works very well! You can adjust the lock and you can always close the throtle even with the lock engaged. It uses friction to hold the throttle open. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Drink plenty of water and prefer water over Power aid/Gator aid type drinks.

Insulated cooler bag with a "blue ice" block. Keeps drinks cold. Keep the bag out of the sun! I stow mine in my tail bag along with drinking water. I got my little "Midwest Airlines" cooler bag as corporate swag 8 years ago, never thought I would use it... until I started taking it with me on rides. Great thing to have!

That's it off the top of my head. Have fun!

Clovis

[milehizx6r]

Vicodin
.380
spare key as mentioned
tire plugs + mini-compresssor

Wow, Vico din and a .380, what a great combination, narcotics and a fire arm, explain that to a cop.

[Clovis]

Wow, Vico din and a .380, what a great combination, narcotics and a fire arm, explain that to a cop.

Assuming he has a perscription and isn't barred from owning a firearm, what's the problem?

Vicodin for pain, firearm for protection.

[Matrix]

+1 for the rope type. I've had good luck with em. My friend otoh, tried the mushroom type and both times they blew out at speed (one at 55mph)
(subscription).

I had to use a plug kit for the first time in nearly 50K miles of riding a couple of weeks back. Luckily I had this little setup under my pillion seat. Worked like a charm!

http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Tire-Pl...t+tire+plugger

Also, I did a long solo trip (20+ days) a few years back and posted the details below. Shows you everything I packed and how I packed it.

http://www.cosportbikeclub.org/forum...highlight=6600

[FZRguy]

Assuming he has a perscription and isn't barred from owning a firearm, what's the problem?

Vicodin for pain, firearm for protection.

Exactly. Best to not use the two together, or while riding, YMMV.

[Spooph]

What are you packing for biikChiQ, or did I miss that? How many nights? twisties? possible gravel? camping? cold? hot? dry? wet?

For Luggage - check out Wolfman, they have great water proof options, and some killer looking canyon tail packs for sport bikes.... Plus, they're local to Colorado.

[biikChiQ]

wow thanks Clovis for going into detail.. and for everyone else's comments/links.

I def need throttle lock and better gloves.. i need to get rid of handlebar vibration too. I was so unprepared for my last trip. One of my friends I rode with, on my most recent trip is battling cancer so I just upped and left. Came back and my hands were tingly for over 2 weeks.

Spooph, I just wanted to be better prepared for my next trip. Planning to make my next trip much longer than a week.