Pack your Motorcycle for a Camping Trip

When you belief, you know what to bring for a motorcycle camping trip, you have to fit it all on the motorcycle. Most motorcyclists going camping not take the packing serious enough. Heavy items should be positioned as low as possible and in front of the rear axle. Lighter things can go up higher and farther to the rear. The idea is to keep the loaded bike’s center of gravity in about the same place, as it would be if the bike were unloaded.

You can save some space by using compression bags to compress your sleeping bag and tent, but remember that while this makes them smaller, it doesn’t make them lighter.

What you do, though, don’t strap your tent or sleeping bag onto the handlebar or front fork like you’ve seen in classic bike movies, it is Hollywood vs reality. The weight will affect your motorcycle’s handling, and that’s the last place you want heavy items in an emergency where you might have to steer yourself out of trouble. On the fork it also blocks cooling air from reaching your engine. Pack so the items you’ll need first when you check into your campsite are the easiest to get to.

Your tent and ground cloth are the first things you’ll set up, so they should be the last things you pack. Savvy motorcycle-campers also designate “wet” and “dry” saddlebags or duffels. The wet bag is for your soggy, just-unpitched tent and ground cloth, for example, while the dry bag is for your clean clothes and sleeping bag.

By now you realize you aren’t going to just bungee all your camping gear on the back of the bike and hit the road. Even if your bike has saddlebags, they won’t be big enough to carry everything. Unless you’re traveling two-up, however, you’re should be able to get most of your gear on the bike without making it look like a cargo train.

Put heavy items in a pair of throw-over saddlebags, and store heavy of bulky items in a duffel bag or seat bag on the passenger seat. If your bike has a sissy bar, consider something like the T-bag, but don’t put heavy items in it unless you absolutely have to, and even then place them only in the bottom of the bag. Put small items that you, and light items, that you want to get at quickly – sunscreen, sunglasses, maps, eyeglass… repair kits – in a tank bag…