Riding & Camping Suggestions

[jprism]

I have been riding a motorcycle and camping for quite some time now but this June have plans to finally go to Alaska from Nashville TN. On all past longer trips, I have always pulled a trailer behind the bike. I ride a 2010 Gold Wing which has 2 saddle bags, a tour pack, a luggage rack and an empty passenger seat. As I study the post / blogs / videos I see that many of you do not use a trailer and simply pack the bike with everything needed. I will be gone a total of 31 days in June-July. So would those of you that have experience with this please shed some light on the following areas?

*** Revision ***

I already own all the equipment for camping, cooking, etc. But simply need ideas on what I should carry along on my 31 day trip and how maybe to pack all on the bike.

A) Clothing
B) Camping Gear
C) Cooking Gear
D) Cameras / Phones
E) Miscellaneous Gear

Thanks in advance for your ideas!

Jim

[thomas.tc.young]

It really depends on you the rider, if you want to take the trailer and have more of everything all while being comfy trailer is the way to go. Your only limited to paved roads but your on the wing so I don't think it's that big of a deal. If you like to suffer a bit the pack lightly and forgo the trailer.

[kag]

I have a trailer and do sometimes pull it but after a couple of like 800 mile trips with it......I always bring too much crap. So on my Alaska trip I am going to pack light. My Harley ultra I took the rear tour pack off and so it will be saddle bags and back pack strapped to back rest.

Anges sleeping gear. A small dome tent, Svea123 stove, 3 jeans, 3 t-shirts, 4 flannel button up, 7 socks (3 cotton, 4 warm), rain gear, meds (getting old), decent point and shoot camera, netbook, Nuvi GPS, Insulated bibs & jacket, heated vest and gloves. Nook reader, clothes line cord, hand ax, Makers Mark Boubon, Guide Post, basic tools & tire repair, bug spray and head net, toilet paper, baby wipes to days when there is no shower, 2 pairs of boots, ......as far as I got so far

Just me though.......

[bikerfish]

any good backpacking camping gear will do you well. no reason your tent, pad, sleeping bag can't fit in one waterproof duffle.
buy a good small campstove and cookset, and learn to use it, pack along some backpacking meals, it's nice to not have to worry about finding a restaurant.
as for clothing, use the lightweight travel stuff, discussed here in length in other threads. I take 2 changes of clothes, I wash the dirty stuff at the campground/motel, hang up and it's dry by morning.
no cotton! it's dead, forget it. it's good for wearing to the bar, that's about it. smartwool, poly blends, fleece, etc, these will be your friends on a long trip, pack smaller and dries much quicker.
get some good riding gear, goretex jacket and pants.
if you take the right gear, you'll have leftover room in those saddlebags. I travel two-up, without a trailer, and do just fine.
and since you have a goldwing, pick some good road music.

[falcore]

Well I've just done the east coast of Australia on a st1100. All up was 14000klms.

Tent (3man), blow up mattress, blow up pillow, sleeping bag all go in a Duffel bag which is wrapped up in a tarp which goes on pillion seat. Btw having a tarp for a ground sheet makes life more comfortable.

For cooking little gas burner an throw away bottles. We've got Coleman here but bound to be similar product your neck of the woods. Most camping shops will sell small kettle, frying pan etc. I make sure the gas cylinder fits inside the kettle. Its those little butane things an they last quite a while.

Other than that its just clothes etc. I've also got a second 220cca battery which charges via a manual switch from the bike. That's sole purpose is to run a small 150w inverter for my computer an camera gear. Plus this power point is handy for blowing up said mattress an pillow.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[falcore]

No offense kag but damn you carry a lot of stuff

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[BigDogAdventures.com]

I seem to be on the edge compared to what you guys pack.

But here's a little video I made of how I packed when i rode to Alaska.

I lacked nothing---and packed on a 250cc bike. It had too much horsepower but I guess my ego got carried away with me---a smaller bike would have been fine.

I had full camping and cooking gear----a very roomy tent------complete riding gear for any kind of weather.

Chair to sit in------fire starting stuff---carried lots of water.

anyway--------here it is for your enjoyment.

I hardly touched the pavement at all when I went to Alaska.

That story link is below:

http://www.bigdogadventures.com/1Alaska.htm



BigDog

[jprism]

Originally Posted by BigDogAdventures.com

I seem to be on the edge compared to what you guys pack.

But here's a little video I made of how I packed when i rode to Alaska.

I lacked nothing---and packed on a 250cc bike. It had too much horsepower but I guess my ego got carried away with me---a smaller bike would have been fine.

I had full camping and cooking gear----a very roomy tent------complete riding gear for any kind of weather.

Chair to sit in------fire starting stuff---carried lots of water.

anyway--------here it is for your enjoyment.

I hardly touched the pavement at all when I went to Alaska.

That story link is below:

http://www.bigdogadventures.com/1Alaska.htm



BigDog

Thanks Big Dog...I got a lot of good ideas from your video and think that I can now maybe eliminate the trailer. I don't think I will be comfortable with the few clothes you take but will trim down pants, t-shirts, underwear, socks to all fit in one waterproof bag that will easily fit on my trunk rack. I do not have the ability to use a tank bag but the GW has two dash pockets that I can use for small camera, ink pen, etc.

Jim

[jprism]

Originally Posted by kag

I have a trailer and do sometimes pull it but after a couple of like 800 mile trips with it......I always bring too much crap. So on my Alaska trip I am going to pack light. My Harley ultra I took the rear tour pack off and so it will be saddle bags and back pack strapped to back rest.

Anges sleeping gear. A small dome tent, Svea123 stove, 3 jeans, 3 t-shirts, 4 flannel button up, 7 socks (3 cotton, 4 warm), rain gear, meds (getting old), decent point and shoot camera, netbook, Nuvi GPS, Insulated bibs & jacket, heated vest and gloves. Nook reader, clothes line cord, hand ax, Makers Mark Boubon, Guide Post, basic tools & tire repair, bug spray and head net, toilet paper, baby wipes to days when there is no shower, 2 pairs of boots, ......as far as I got so far

Just me though.......

Thanks Kag and nice bike...I just sold my 2009 Ultra last November for a 2010 Honda Gold Wing and by looking at your bike think I have more packing space that you do. What I was looking for were some ideas on what not to take and how to pack the essentials on 1 bike for a 31 day trip. Hope to see you in Alaska June-July I will be on a Yellow GW with Tennessee tags.

[jprism]

Originally Posted by falcore

Well I've just done the east coast of Australia on a st1100. All up was 14000klms.

Tent (3man), blow up mattress, blow up pillow, sleeping bag all go in a Duffel bag which is wrapped up in a tarp which goes on pillion seat. Btw having a tarp for a ground sheet makes life more comfortable.

For cooking little gas burner an throw away bottles. We've got Coleman here but bound to be similar product your neck of the woods. Most camping shops will sell small kettle, frying pan etc. I make sure the gas cylinder fits inside the kettle. Its those little butane things an they last quite a while.

Other than that its just clothes etc. I've also got a second 220cca battery which charges via a manual switch from the bike. That's sole purpose is to run a small 150w inverter for my computer an camera gear. Plus this power point is handy for blowing up said mattress an pillow.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

Small battery great idea...when I take the trailer I have a large marine battery and inverter that I charge from the bike or 110v but no way to carry that on the bike.

Jim

[kantuckid]

"large marine battery", trailer or not??? you and I are on much different pages when it comes to MC travel!!! While I'm far from a minimalist , I do fine with a top case,2 side cases,tank bag & MC travel bag(fancier than a gym bag as it's more protective) on pillion seat. I carry in the travel bag each night if hotels, if camping the tent,chair & sleeping bag goes in its place in water proof army bag. I can also do w/o the extra bag & do fine with the 3 cases + tank bag. I recharge from a Powerlet into tank bag which keeps cameras/phones etc. dry when charging & can be done while riding unless using heated jacket. This could also do the lap top(which I don't carry) charging too by running the cord to top case.
I always have room for Mexico trinkets on that long trip as I wear easily washable clothes that dry overnight so only carry one extra just in case. Get away from denim jeans & cotton as stated above.

[jprism]

Originally Posted by kantuckid

"large marine battery", trailer or not??? you and I are on much different pages when it comes to MC travel!!! While I'm far from a minimalist , I do fine with a top case,2 side cases,tank bag & MC travel bag(fancier than a gym bag as it's more protective) on pillion seat. I carry in the travel bag each night if hotels, if camping the tent,chair & sleeping bag goes in its place in water proof army bag. I can also do w/o the extra bag & do fine with the 3 cases + tank bag. I recharge from a Powerlet into tank bag which keeps cameras/phones etc. dry when charging & can be done while riding unless using heated jacket. This could also do the lap top(which I don't carry) charging too by running the cord to top case.
I always have room for Mexico trinkets on that long trip as I wear easily washable clothes that dry overnight so only carry one extra just in case. Get away from denim jeans & cotton as stated above.

Yes when I pull the trailer I use a marine battery and inverter to charge the laptop! I write a lot and blog on trips, use map software to do on the fly routes for the GPS and keep up with my business and personal emails. For all other devices I have 2 power outlets in the tour pack 1 12v and 1 USB charging station. The idea of carrying a second small motorcycle battery is to make sure I do not drain the bike battery while charging the laptop. Great idea to get away from denim and cotton as it takes forever to dry. Jim

[bigphish]

Less is more.
Like in the above video, I carry lightweight nylon clothing. A pair of Coumbia nylon pants that zip down to shorts and another pair of nylon shorts. These also double as swim wear if needed. Also two nylon type fishing shirts one long sleeve one short. This all drys in minutes and packs small. I wear a pair of bike shorts as well, Mountain bike shorts that look good when the riding pants come off. two pair of riding socks and one pair of low white running socks. I will pack one t-shirt for my 4 to 6 week trip this year becaue In know i will prolly buy a couple along the way. I am trying to talk myself out of even taking a pair of jeans because I will most likely wear them two or three days in 6 weeks but I have enough room if I do take them.
One pair of Underarmour wind blockers pants and a pair of Airglide 2 thermal liners to be worn under D-lites as weather dictates. Both of those can be worn around camp casually as well. Heatd jacket liner and gloves as well, saves on layering up in the mountains.
One pair of light weight Merrel hiking shoes. These are everyday shoes as well but good if you want to hike around the camp a bit. One pair of Teva flip flops, nice on the feet after the boots come off, ( when warm enough )
10 degree sleeping bag, REI half dome tent, Kelty tarp, small camp stove and two titanium pans. I take coffee in a tea container and strain through a tea strainer. works great. Let's not forget the Kermit chair,ultra light spinning gear and American Outdoors cooler..
This all goes in to a pair of Nelsen Rigg CL 850's a Motofizz medium on tail rack and a Bags connection rack pack across back seat. All of the luggage is treated for water protection and everything is packed in dry sacks.I don't think the whole setup weighs 60 lbs fully loaded bags included.

Ride safe