-= Packing For Motorcycle Travel =- Planning your motorcycle trip is extremely important, and how well you prepare strongly effects the enjoyment and safety of your journey. In the past few years I have made probably every fundimental mistake you can imagine, and one area I have found to be critical in setting the foundation for your travels is packing...WHAT you pack and HOW you pack it. Things to Take I'm not one of those people who believes in preparing for every possible need... you can't! Their simply is not enough storage space on a motor- cycle to prepare for every situation, even if your ride-of-choice is a Goldwing or Tour Glide. But by carefully selecting certain items you can cover MOST of the needs you are likely to encounter, minimizing the number of things that can delay, or even cancel, your trip. I have divided everything into two areas: SECURITY ITEMS (this includes personal safety, motorcycle security, and tools to use for motorcycle maintenance/ repairs) PERSONAL ITEMS (at least as important as the previous category, and if you've ever forgotten the sunblock you know what I mean) Before I begin to list the suggested items I need to point out that, unless otherwise noted, these things are chosen with a 1 week trip in mind. A week is a common incriment of time that the average person can can get away from their job. If you don't have to operate under the constraints of work or school, then you need to be writing a text such as this one about packing for some serious long-distance touring! I've also found that I can travel most anywhere in the country and back in a weeks time, and after seven days of 400+ mile days, my butt is in need of a rest. Well, here's the list... (in no particular order) SECURITY ITEMS: Cycle Locks- Don't assume that just because you ride a '76 Honda CB360 with 140,000 miles that no one will steal it. And don't put all your trust in a single form of lock. Two or more are preferred, even over a single lock that is supposedly "theft-proof". A disc-brake lock is an excellent addition to a chain or Kryptonite-type U-lock. Remember, ALL security devices can be defeated. The idea is to make stealing your bike too risky or too much trouble. Tools- Unfortunately tools are heavy, so you need to put a bit of thought into their selection. Do you have a wrench big enough to loosen the axle nuts? Flat tires and loose chains are a couple of the most common rodeside repairs. A roll of bailing wire is recommended to hold something together until a proper fix can be made. And while you should use loc-tite on vibration prone parts before you leave, be sure to take it with you! (Harley owners, are you listening?) Look your bike over and determine what the common sizes of screws and bolts are. A medium sized phillips screwdriver is always needed, as is a crescent wrench. And above all, you MUST have a repair kit for flats. The best type comes in a small zipper bag, and contains plugs for tubeless tires, patches for tubes, and Co2 cartridges to inflate the repaired tire. These can be found at bike shops, but maybe not at the first one you go to. They aren't a high demand item, and many shops aren't prompt about re-ordering. You can also get them from one of the major mail-order houses, such as Dennis Kirk or Competition Accessories. And while we're getting our hands dirty, do you know the oil consumption of your bike at prolonged highway speeds? While bulky, a quart of oil is priceless when needed. Weapons- Ah, now HERE'S a delicate subject! People vary wildly in their moral/political views on weaponry. I haven't brought up this subject to instruct trouble-makers, but to inform the traveler of their options. The easiest way to increase your safety is to have one or more people join you on your trip. Their is no substitute for the safety of numbers. I suggest that NO ONE pack a gun of any type. I'm armed to the teeth in my own home, but on the road a handgun can get you into way more trouble than you can handle...'nuff said! Mace is an option to consider. Be sure you are aware of the legality of any defense item you carry. Laws on such things vary from state-to-state and can change frequently. PERSONAL ITEMS: Clothing- I learned on my first week-long trip how many different weather conditions can be encountered in seven days. My maiden voyage to Sturgis, South Dakota presented me with temperatures varying from 45 to 102 degrees F, and at 65 mph in a drizzling rain, I soon realized just how cold 45 degrees can be! Needless to say, I was better prepared for the 100+ degree temperatures I left behind in Texas. (Hell, isn't everyone over 100 degrees in August?) The warming, wind-blocking properties of leather can't be over-stated. Leather jackets are both comfortable and stylish, and chaps drive women wild. (really!) Actually, my primary reason for preferring chaps over traditional leather pants is that chaps can be quickly removed on the road as the temperature rises. T-shirts and jeans are my favorites when the weather gets hot. Long-sleeved T-shirts are great, as they give your arms protection from the sun's rays. An important thing to remember about T-shirts... wear a size that is a bit on the small side. A loose fitting shirt will flap around in the wind at freeway speeds, and can cause considerable discomfort (pain!) over a period of time. While I always have a T-shirt packed for each day of the trip, I wear blue- jeans 2 or 3 days. They simply take up too much room, and I don't want to spend my vacation going from one laundromat to another. A couple of notes on T-shirts... if your destination is a place where you'll feel the urge to get souvenir shirts, short the number of shirts you pack by the number of shirts you plan to purchase. And if you have some T-shirts that you need to retire, then why not wear them and pitch them at the end of the day? Dirty clothes and souvenirs take up a lot of space on return trips! And while they usually look pretty goofy, rainsuits make a BIG difference when you don't have time to wait for the weather to clear. I normally have a schedule that doesn't permit me to kill time waiting for a storm that may or may not blow over in the next few minutes. Wear boots! Only imbeciles wear sneakers on a cross-country trip. (I know, I've done it!) Be sure to treat all your leather items with as protective water- proofing spray, too. Gloves are a must, as your hands are the first things to feel the cold. Be sure to select gloves that are of a "gauntlet" style, which keeps the wind from traveling up your sleeves. Unless you have hard luggage that is sure to keep your things dry, you'll need plenty of zip-lock plastic bags to keep your clothes in. The gallon size bags are the most useful, and are perfect for storing T-shirts, socks, underwear, jeans, etc. On the trip back you can re-use these bags to keep your dirty clothes or store all those nifty souvenirs you have accumulated. Misc. Personals- If you wear glasses, "sight savers" or a similar product, are great individually packaged wipes that will get the grime/bugs off in a jiffy. Items such as toothpaste and mouthwash can be gotten in sample-size containers that will save considerable space. One of my favorite things to forget to take is a comb or brush. Those new folding brushes are great, taking up little room yet getting the job done quite well. As for deodorant, the stick type is ideal because it takes up so little space, but be sure to keep it in its own zip-lock or it'll do unpleasant things to anything stored with it. And don't forget the toothbrush! It's a good idea to put several paper towels in a zip-lock, and you'll be suprised how often they come in handy. They're perfect for cleaning up after doing a little roadside bike maintenance, wiping your mirrors, checking your oil level, etc. Don't underestimate how much money you will need. The ammount required varies greatly depending on how frugle you're willing to be, and whether or not you are camping. You can't do much with personal checks out of state, so you'll need cash, plastic, or travelers checks. A VISA card or equivalent is a good idea to use for any emergency expenses that might crop up. And don't forget that Western Union is everywhere in case you have to phone home for funds! Sunscreen is an absolute must, I don't care how macho you are. The sunblock you select should have a SPF of 35 and be waterproof. (It won't work if you've sweated it off!) All-day protection is another thing to look for, and I've found that a single application in the morning does indeed work all day. Don't hesitate to use sunblock for fear that you won't get that much-desired bronzed look...believe me, you'll get a tan! I considered including helmets under Security Items, but my interest in them here pertains more to their comfort factor rather than cranium protection. I'll be the first to say it... I HATE HELMET LAWS! But I will also admit that most of the time a helmet is a good thing to have on when you and your bike part company at speed. The reason I usually wear a helmet is because they reduce fatigue-inducing wind and accompanying wind noise. Prolonged high-speed travel results in a tiresome blast of wind that reduces the length of time you can stay in the saddle. Wind noise is even more tiring than the wind blast itself. A helmet (I'm refering to the full-coverage type) reduces the winds roar and is a must when the temperature drops. To further reduce wind noise, you might consider ear plugs or one of those "Quiet Rider" helmet add-ons. The Quiet Rider is a padded item that attatches to the base of your full- face helmet, gently fitting against your neck. This reduces wind noise tremendously while keeping you cooler in summer and warmer in winter. One more thing...take plenty of film! Tourist-traps aren't known for their bargain film prices. That covers the stuff you need to take. Now I'll go over the various ways to keep it all from winding up scattered on the highway... How to Pack Successful packing is dependent upon the luggage you select and how you utilize it. I'm not speaking to the owners of full-dress machinery in this section, but rather the riders of "standard" type bikes, sportbikes, sport-tourers and cruisers. I certainly have no objection to touring- specific motorcycles, I just can't improve much on the fine setup for packing that these machines possess. But don't let anyone tell you that only dressers are suitable long-distance rides. Any bike with the power to maintain prolonged freeway speeds can be setup to work just fine. Luggage- Things to consider when selecting luggage is capacity, ease of removal, durability and appearance. Their are generally three types of on-bike luggage to consider: saddlebags, tank bags and seat bags. Saddlebags can be found made of either nylon or leather, and generally offer the greatest capacity of the three types. (for some reason, the nylon saddlebags usually hold more than the leather ones) The leather bags are often not leather at all, but a synthetic substitute which looks and feels remarkably similar to leather yet is more durable when exposed to the elements. Depending on your bike, your rear turn signals may interfere with the bags and necessitate relocation. Tank bags are only found made of nylon, and come in a great variety of sizes and mounting styles. The smaller bags are usually of the magnetic-mount style, whereas larger ones will have a system of straps and hooks to attach to the tank. Most have a clear plastic pocket on the top of the bag to hold a map for easy viewing. While the small tank bags have little value on an extended trip, the larger ones are quite useful. TourMaster offers a tank bag with a 24 liter capacity that holds more than many saddlebags, and comes in handy as a chest support when riding in a tuck for an extended period of time! The mounting straps on these bags have quick-release buckles that permit easy removal for refueling. Tank bags are better suited to some bikes than others. Magnetic-mount bags won't work on bikes with plastic bodywork where a metal gas tank traditionally resides. And many cruiser-type machines have instruments mounted in a tank top "dashboard", which forbid tank bag usage. Seat bags are of nylon construction and mount to the passenger portion of the seat. Most have built-in bungees for mounting and are of modest capacity. As long as you're not carrying a passenger, a combination of tank bag, seat bag and saddle- bags provides an enormous amount of room. My recommendation is that regardless of your choice of type, don't scrimp on quality. Spend that extra bit to buy from one of the major manufacturers, as they are of superior construction and will prove to me more durable. Some of the top-of-the-line models will also come with rain covers to further protect your stuff. Packing Techniques- Just throw yer crap in the bags, right? No way! You have to consider what you'll need to access most often, and what you will need to be able to get to quickly. We all head out with the hope that our rainsuit won't be needed, so it's tempting to put it at the bottom of one of the bags. But when it starts pouring you have a limited time to suit-up. After all, they don't work if you're already soaked. Keep it up top! Other items that need to be easily accessible are sunscreen, maps, tools, and your camera. If you will be loading up any type of luggage that doesn't have its own method of mounting, use "bungee nets". These are elastic nets with bungee-type hooks around the edges. They are ideal for securing a duffle bag, tent, helmet, etc. Bungee nets often come in two sizes, and I always get the smaller of the two. To have a sufficient ammount of tension, the large ones are just too big. The more places you have available to hook bungee's to your bike the better. You can get "bungee nuts" from your local motorcycle dealer that will give you extra mounting spots. (bungee nuts are simply replacement fender-mount nuts that are designed to hold a bungee hook) A backrest or "sissy bar" is also useful as a place to which luggage can be secured. There is even a kind of bag, the T-bag, that is designed with an upside-down pocket on one side to slide over a backrest to secure it. Well, I'm running out of steam, (finally!) so I'll say so long for now, until I decide to share more of my pearls of wisdom with a waiting world. (yea, right!) Ride Free... Mark Stevens Hey, wait... Wanna check out a Bulletin Board with lots of 'sickle stuff on it? Sure you do! Cat Byte BBS 817-922-0067