How do you pack your bagger?

[papabruce]

The group I tour with, stay in hotels/motels. I'm always amazed at those who can pack everything for a long trip in the 2 saddle bags.

I have a clothing touring suitcase behind me (attached with bungee cords and acts like a bit of a back rest) and both saddle bags are full of shoes, rain suit, smallish bike cover, litre of oil, extra bungee cords, space for coat, helmut etc.

I'm always looking for a better way to cram all my stuff in. How do you do it?

[WEGI]

Hi Papa
Not the most storage available on our B. I tend to wear waterproof jacket and over pants with zippered vents so I pack no separate rain gear. Saddlebags have thin bike cover rolled up small, few tools, tape ,tie wraps, tire plugs air pump, spray cleaner with cloth, heat out/freeze out jerseys, mesh jacket... Then I have a Torrent 40 liter waterproof bag for my clothes, boat shoes, toiletries. It straps on the rear seat. Like you, I can't fit everything in just the saddlebags. And it serves as a backrest. Maybe somebody will invent disposable clothes!
Small flashlight, helmet "T" to lock to bike, extra earplugs, small cloth to wipe off helmet shield and windshield pen, tire gauge in left cubby. Center cubby holds my GPS when parked for short time, sunglasses,
Happy trails!
WEG

[Az Wingrider]

Papabruce,

This may be one of those threads that gets tons of replies because everyone has different needs and different ideas about what they need to take with them but since you asked I will tell you how I pack my bike.

I carry a bag strapped to my back seat which has all my clothes, doff kit, laptop computer, all my charging cords and all other personal items I need on a daily basis. This makes it easy to put everything in my motel room or throw it in the tent after each days ride.

In my left side hard bag i have the following items, all of which are packed into small individual bags. Tool kit, tire plug kit, small 12 volt compressor, small bag of spare bulbs and small parts, extra tie down strap and bungees, my heated jacket liner, my cool vest, 2 endura cool neck wraps, 2 pair of spare gloves, a lightweight motorcycle cover, rain pants and several neck scarves. That sounds like a lot but it all fits.

My right side hard bag has my leather chaps (rolled not folded) and plenty of room for my textile riding jack which is waterproof and armored and room for miscellaneous items needed during the day including food and water bottles.

The center cubby compartment is for registration and small items that i need to access frequently.

I also have a hydration system mounted to my right side passenger foot peg and rear crash bar. The hydration system is essentially a camelback but it is mounted on the bike and not carried on my back. It hold a gallon of water and keeps it cold all day.

Kind of a long response but that's what I travel with.

Good Luck and travel safe
Az Wingrider

[WEGI]

Hi AZ
Can you put up a pic of your Camelback hydration bag attached to the passenger foot peg and rear crash bar?
Thanks
WEG

[Az Wingrider]

WEG,

I don't have any pictures of my hydration system right now and it is not on the bike. I should have time Thursday and I will take pictures of the individual pieces and of the complete system on the bike and then post them.

The system is not hard to make. It consists of a one gallon Coleman insulated water jug that I bought at Walmart (about $8.00), some 5/16" food grade vinyl tubing bought at Home Depot ( about $10.00 for 15 ft.) and a bite valve for a camelback bought anyplace that has hiking supplies. And then build a fixture that clamps to the rear crash bar and comes forward to rest on the passenger foot peg.

The Coleman water jug has a fixture on the lid that turns up for drinking from it. The 5/16" food grade tubing is a tight fit but can be forced down through this fixture. Push enough tubing through to reach the bottom of the jug then measure off enough tubing to easily reach your mouth when tucked under your leg on the way forward. Then put the bite valve on the end of the tubing. About 5" back from the bight valve I wrap the tubing with velcro and secure the velcro with small zip ties. I then glue a small piece of velcro to my fuel door for a place to secure the tubing when I am not drinking.

I wear a modular helmet and when I want a drink I flip up the chin bar, stick the bight valve in my mouth and then drop the chin bar back down. When I am finished drinking I replace the tubing back on the velcro. A gallon of ice water stays cold and generally lasts a full day.

I got the idea for this from some articles in Iron Butt Magazine. I think you can find some of their articles online. The Iron Butt riders are serious long distance riders and I have learned quite a few neat tricks from their forum and from the magazine.

As I said I am busy tomorrow but Thursday I will get the system out and take pictures of the pieces and pictures of it installed on the bike.

Az Wingrider

[dksmith]

20160402_063103.jpg

Papa
Photo before leaving for Florida from Eastern NY, 2600 miles round trip. I have rain suit, tool kit, tire plugger, hoodie, winter gloves in right bag, left bag has first aid kit (an old band-aid box restocked) but mostly open space for jacket and GPS at stops. Bag on passenger seat is adequate for 2-3 day trips, longer, I add the roll bag. All clothing, sneakers so I don't need to wear riding boots, pledge, bike cover, etc in add on bags. At hotel, just unstrap add on bags and walk in. This trip I took a three legged folding stool for the airshow.
Dave

[gadgeteer]

20160402_063103.jpg

Papa
Photo before leaving for Florida from Eastern NY, 2600 miles round trip. I have rain suit, tool kit, tire plugger, hoodie, winter gloves in right bag, left bag has first aid kit (an old band-aid box restocked) but mostly open space for jacket and GPS at stops. Bag on passenger seat is adequate for 2-3 day trips, longer, I add the roll bag. All clothing, sneakers so I don't need to wear riding boots, pledge, bike cover, etc in add on bags. At hotel, just unstrap add on bags and walk in. This trip I took a three legged folding stool for the airshow.
Dave

Pretty darn close to the way I travel too. : )

[JGF6B]

I always wear my mesh jacket and pants when riding so my riding clothes consist of shorts and a t-shirt. I only have to worry about packing clothes for additional non-riding events instead of full pants for each day on the road. This really trims down the space required for clothing.

[seagravesg]

what type/brand mesh pants do you guys recommend?

[F6Bster]

This thread has some interesting info for sure. Everyone has different needs and requirements, that's for sure. In my early years of cross-country riding (70's) I traveled very light and had all kinds of stuff tied to my bike with bungee cords, including tent, sleeping bag, clothes, etc. Very little in the way of tools or well-designed riding gear like we have today. It was pretty much a mess, but served my purpose at a low cost.

For my F6B:

• Left saddlebag (my goal is to never open this bag on a trip): A few tools, tire plug kit, small air compressor, rain gear, warm gear (riding in the mountains you have to be prepared for BIGGGG swings in temperatures at the higher elevations), Gerbings, small first-aid kit, extra gloves, Honda Cleaner/wax, extra bungee cords, and a few rags; and my 32G USB plugged in for music.
• Right saddlebag (easy access and try not to overload): Dual USB charging port with power at all times (can charge things when stopped for break or lunch as needed, couple of rags/cleaner, tennis or walking shoes, a few healthy snack bars (low sugar and fat), sunblock spray, USB power pack for charging anything USB such as Sena stuff and phone (if power pack needed; I could leave this behind very easily), pretty large Leatherman tool, tire gauge, extra jacket as needed/desired, long-sleeve shirt, paper maps, backbrace when not wearing it, ballcap, reading glasses, extra USB cords, and my digital SLR camera if I plan to take pictures with it. Quite a few of the items are in a zippered bag to keep them compact and in-place.
• Bag strapped to the rear seat (I ride solo; might be a larger bag or a smaller one, depending upon if the trip is 3-days or a longer trip): One pair jeans, tee-shirts, socks, toiletry items and medications in a mesh bag that fits into a solid nylon bag, charging cables, powered drink mixes to add to water in my Butler Cup on the handlebars, couple more snack bars,couple of ziplock bags (gallon, quart, and snack size), tall kitchen bag for dirty clothes, sandals, and usually a few other things.
• Left cubby in fairing: Midland 75-822 CB wired to aux power and CB antenna (installed in place of radio stub antenna), Sena SR10 for controlling CB push-to-talk and convert to Bluetooth to allow use of CB with my Sena 20S EVO in the helmet.
• Center glovebox: Garagedoor opener, lip balm, the small helmet cable, footstand for the sidestand (in case on soft dirt), sunblock (cream), hand sanitizer, extra sunglass lenses (clear, yellow, and another dark set), bike registration and insurance cards, small notebook and pen, earplugs, small knife, extra sunglass lenses (yellow, clear, and dark), eyedrops, and coughdrops.
• Handlebars: Butler cup and Zumo 395LM GPS.
• On me: Riding pants, riding jacket, gloves, helmet, riding boots, and sunglasses with interchangeable lenses.

So, I can easily do any length trip. If more than one week, I just wash clothes at the end of each week.