One thing we love most about motorcycles or motorbikes is that they allow us to experience a ride directly, instead of from within a glass cage and steel. That’s the reason camping and motorcycles are a great match.
Nevertheless, why spend a day with the wind blowing in your face only to stay in a motel with annoying plumbing at night? “Moto-camping” takes loads of forethought and preparation, and the results of not having the proper skills or gear are worse than those of selecting the wrong motel.
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I# What to Pack
1. Sleeping Bags
Just like a ride on a motorcycle, a moto-camping trip is just as good as the gear you will be bringing along with you. And one of the most crucial pieces of camping equipment is the sleeping bag. You can take much on such a trip— bad weather, bad food, bad roads—provided that you get enough sleep.
The majority of bags are rated by their makers based on the amount of insulation that are tucked in them. Insulation rating will provide you with a rough notion of the lowest temperature the sleeping bag is appropriate More isn’t essentially better in terms of selecting the right-weight sleeping bag.
Goose down is a more enhanced insulator than synthetic materials. But it is more costly and loses its loft (the ability to hold heat and fluff up) when wet. On the other hand, synthetics are inexpensive and work well for the circumstances wherein most moto-camping will be carried out.
A few are water-resistant, and many are sufficiently durable and can withstand constant wetting.
2. Tents
There are a number of motorcycle campers who do not utilize tents at all and simply drape a tarp on top of their campsite, affixed to the motorcycle on one side with a tree or a picnic table on the other. A better version of that is the bivvy bag, which is a canopy that covers the sleeping bag.
If all you’re looking for is an area to stay the night before leaving the next day, it is light, small and easy to set up. The majority of campers fancy the privacy and security of tents. The range of styles, sizes, and designs of camping tents is astounding, but some general guidelines apply to all.
Ensure that the tent you pick is simple to set up. If you are not certain about this, just try to set it up in the store. And self-supporting tents— dome-shaped are the most familiar—can be lifted up and transported, and even held above your head or shaken for cleaning the inside.
The best tents are constructed from ripstop nylon - easy to patch and very difficult to tear. Once you have chosen your area and are in the process securing the tent, then metal stakes will be necessary. Do not forget to bring a tool you can use to plunge them into the ground. (Your bike tools may not be enough, and you cannot always rely on rocks.)
3. Ground Cloth
The tent may have a water-resistant bathtub floor, but a ground cloth underneath it would be even better. A simple PVC-coated nylon tarp or water-resistant plastic will do. It won’t just add another layer of insulation from both moisture and cold, but it will also protect the floor of your tent from rough ground and rocks, making it usable for a long time.
4. Cooking Gear
If you want to cook at the campsite, then a stove would be essential. The smaller the item is; the better. But the design should depend on the type of food you’d like to prepare. To prepare frozen or dried food in plastic bags, your stove must be capable of heating water to its boiling point.
More elaborate meals will require a more elaborate camp stove, or, in a few instances, two separate ones. And depending on the stove’s design, it can run on propane, butane, kerosene, white gas, alcohol, or the unleaded gasoline found in your motorcycle’s tank.
The fuels can be bought in light, compact canisters. Also, they can be bought in bulk and carried in readily available flasks. A crucial factor to note is that water, food, fuel and all other essential stuff can be refilled without trouble.
So unless you are going to the farthest and most remote area of the wilderness, it is not necessary to bring more than one liter of fuel or water and a number of days’ worth of food simultaneously.
5. Other Stuff
Other than whatever essential stuff you need to pack if you were going to the motel, add a first-aid kit, a hatchet or a knife, a flashlight and batteries, insect repellent, snacks for meals, a water container, water-resistant matches, shoelaces, rope, toilet paper and trash bags.
The more skilled a camper you are, the more things you will add to this list. For motorcycle maintenance, we recommend you bring the best Honda dirt bike parts. These parts are proven and tested to meet the challenges of any motorcycle camping trip.
Check out this video on different motorcycle camping gear:
II# Preparing for The Ride
1. Packing
Now that you’re aware of what to bring along in your motorcycle adventure, you need to fit them all on the bike. Weighty things must be placed as low as possible and facing the back axle. Light items can be placed higher and far from the rear.
The idea here is to keep the center of gravity of the loaded bike in approximately the same position as it’d be if the bike were unloaded. You can save space by utilizing compression bags to squeeze your tent and sleeping bag, but keep in mind that while this equipment makes them smaller, it does not really make them much lighter.
2. Campsite
Moto-camping needs a lot of pre-planning and determining beforehand where you have to stay every night of the journey. Reservations are constantly a great idea. I’d personally advice starters to choose complete camps or other similar facilities where they have showers, toilets, and running water.
And as you gain more experience, you may want try a "rough" camping, with no campsite whistles and bells. A good choice of site is important as well. Your tent’s location must be as smooth and level as possible and it must be free of any twigs and stones along the floor area of the tent.
Camping near the shower is never an excellent idea; you’d be surprised at how many folks walk around to take the shower during night time.
Conclusion
It frequently takes one or two camping trip experience to figure out a decent packing procedure for your particular motorbike and which personal items you are comfortable bringing in the outdoors. However, this guide will help get you started.
And with the items listed here, you may extend your motorcycle escapades to those distant places that many of us want to go to.
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