Moto camping setup

[fjmartin]

Here is a link to the eBay handguards: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Colorful-Bru...id%3D100102%26

Here is a link to the photo's of them on the bike. Each picture has a description of any mods I made: http://s1042.photobucket.com/user/jo...p%20Handguards

[fjmartin]

Thanks Azule! Like the other Joe from CSC, I like bikes and guns! I just received as a present from a friend an M1 Carbine. Did a full tear down and clean/lube and shined up the stock and put on a scope mount and scope. It's pretty darn cool!

[jbfla]

Originally Posted by fjmartin

Here is a link to the eBay handguards: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Colorful-Bru...id%3D100102%26

Here is a link to the photo's of them on the bike. Each picture has a description of any mods I made: http://s1042.photobucket.com/user/jo...p%20Handguards

Nice looking hand guards. Too bad they didn't go on more easily.

I had similar problems with mine.

jb

[AdventureDad]

Ditto with my handguards ....in the end it all worked out well, and I'm happy with them.

[rjmorel]

"Since I've never done any moto camping I wanted to get the opinion and suggestions of the group on this type of setup. "

FJ, Here's some thoughts from an ol geezer that has used his RX3 for 12000 miles of pleasurable camping trips. You have quite a nice ,thorough camping list but it hurts my back just reading it. All good stuff, but maybe not always needed on every trip. I'm guilty when traveling ,of preparing for the worse and end up using 1/3 of what I bring.
I've loaded my bike down so much that it's manuverability was like driving the Beverly Hillbillies buggy around. Not fun.
I like to pack light and wear Hi-Viz stuff so people can see me coming before they can smell me coming. Gives them a chance to flee. And I get more uses out of my undies that way. forward , backward, inside ,and outside.

I'm amazed that you can fit all that stuff on your bike. A feat to be proud of.

Some helpful (or not) comments on your list.
Unless you crash a lot you won't need a lot of the spares like
Spare chain, (do bring a few masterlinks that you've already fitted to your chain so you know they are the correct ones !!!! to fix chain)
2 x Spare inner-tubes (Front and Rear) (a patch kit takes less room)
Spare levers- don't crash
Spare Pedals- " "
Spare Cables- bring Universal Motorcycle Emergency Cable Repair Kit from Ebay $4 and takes less room
Spare fasteners good ,I bring a plastic jar full of ,nuts, bolts, screws, fuses etc helpful for other travelers that loose a bolt too.
Spark plug, with the modern RX3 you shouldn't need it. Mines still on original.
injector cleaner, oil ,filter , change kit, change oil before leaving and leave change kit at home. You can always buy inj cleaner ,oil while out on road.
Rain cover good for rain and security, Don't put on bike till it's cooled off. Don't ask.
I've never needed other security like locks and alarms. Bike is usually close to tent.
Epoxy for patching a hole in engine case saved my trip once and allowed me to continue on.
1 first aid kit unless your a parametic and really know how to use all of it. Chances are you won't need it but good to have for others that may need help. Don't crash
Food and water can be bought along the way. I usually just carry 1 bottle of water and buy another if needed when gassing up.
Don't carry food with you if there are bears around. Better to eat at McDonalds then to be eaten I always say. Also cooking equip takes up room. and I'm lazy so there.
I have a problem when riding with my nose getting dried out so I have a bottle of nose saline spray to keep it moist, other wise dry nose can lead to infection a week or two later.
Clothing takes up a lot of room so I only take riding pants, riding jacket, riding boots, 1 pr tennis shoes, heated liner if cool out and a cooling vest for hot weather which can also be used as a layer if cold. Thin waterproof wind breaker to go over jacket if it gets really cold. Clothes for wearing around camp I don't bring a lot of cause I can always wash them at laundromat. or I just stink.
Definitely a stocking hat for around camp and to sleep in. I'm balding, makes all the world of difference keeping the head warm.
In cold weather I do have a neck thingy that I can snap on my helmet that keeps the cold off my neck. So my neck muscles don't tense up and get stiff.
A lot of the other clothing you mention would be good in cold circumstances, but takes a lot of room. A motel with hot shower may be a better idea then packing for the artic. I'm lazy and older so there.
Knee guards ,braces ,etc good if your going to crash. Don't crash and leave them at home.
I find every time I go on a trip I either bring stuff I don't need or leave behind stuff I do need. Kinda a multiple choice pass/fail test of life I guess.
I hope to in 2017 Lord willing to ride my RX3 thru Baja with the CSC gang in March, then middle of June to middle of July ride 7000 miles thru Alaska, Yukon, Glacier national Park on my NC700x if work and life allow.
Have fun and be safe out there FJ, its worth every minute of it, rj

[AdventureDad]

Good points...not just for fjrmartin, but for all of us. I've been camping my whole life, and now, at 46, still manage to overpack, on the bike too. My wife and I still (thankfully---that she has remained my wife, and our-read my- screwups) have been converted from physical discomfort to laughter from our first motorcycle camping trip.

I am thankful for replies like RJ have given. Over on the ADV forum, people posting less than "perfect" setups, or questions have been blasted, belittled and made to feel stupid. Instead of getting helpful tips, tricks and do/not do's, often times are moto-shamed (I coined a new term) into just backing out of their original posting, and the thing goes on and on between "experts". I've been there and it's not a fun feeling. I don't really care, my wife, kids and dogs/cats love me.

My wife and I are planning another moto camping trip come Spring. Not sure if we'll take the RX3 2 up, or her little xt225 as well. She needs more practice, and then roadways, highways take more consideration verses taking a bigger and faster bike, which I no longer have. Also, weight of the gear factors in on a small bike, 2 up, even more so. Threads like this are always helpful to me.

Taking food is always an issue. It takes room, and can quickly double your gear. I've found that as you need gas, oftentimes there is a Subway close by. I've just bought a footlong or 2, packed it away for night, and carry snacks, so not much cooking to do. I do bring a small stove, I can heat cans of food, soup, stew, this saves a lot of space. I also bring camping soap. I bathe with it, wash my shirts, socks in it, let it dry overnight, or just throw hygiene out the window if solo. Baby wipes help.

Tools, I just bring the basics, whatever will get me going from a mishap. Tape, cable ties, 2 allen wrenches (a 4, and 5 mm) sockets, spare wire, a fuse, tire changing tools and 2 tubes, patch kit, and small pump. In 30 years of car and bike ownership, I've only had 1 spark plug go bad, for example. I have never brought oil with me either. Just keep an eye on it and stop if needed. You can empty out a little lawn mower 2 stroke oil container and add your own to top it off. Our bikes aren't oil burners. No chains, oil change kits, etc...unless you are going to Alaska. Wal-mart, or Auto-Zone will let you change your oil there, and dispose of your waste oil. Bring filters if so. Oh, also the fast curing JB weld. Boy will that stuff save your bacon. They also make it for plastic too. (Quik-Steel is also good, it's more of a putty, but I don't prefer it as well.)

First aid, I'm an acute care RN (as is my wife), so I know how to do it, and being accident prone (I currently have stitches in my thumb just from bringing my wife flowers to her at work) I am prepared in this area. Basically, stuff to stop bleeding, and ibuprofen, cold medicine, bandaids, steri-strips. I badly broke my leg on my DR650 last March on a trip. Had to extricate my bike from the mud-water hole, then ride 2 hours home, shifting with my heel. It was horrible, but do-able. It cured me of riding big heavy bikes off road solo. Have the xrays and titanium plates to remember this by.

Clothing...bike jackets take up a buttload of space, I rarely ride in my mesh jacket on a trip. I take a well vented one, and deal with temp extremes, and bring 1 warm underlayer compression type shirt, and WOOL socks. Never use cotton if you can help it. When it's wet, it stays wet. Better to have something that dries fast.

I'm sure i've forgotten a ton of stuff...but that's what the other guys are here for

Keep the good posts coming!

[fjmartin]

Fantastic suggestions all around. Yeah, my list is the comprehensive ride around the world one and will pair down to what's needed for the trip. Alaska is on my list and for that I'll probably have more than less. For example, I won't take my oil but will take the quick change kit and filter so at the 2000 mile mark of the trip I can change it out. In the kit that has my glues I do have JB Weld, JB Weld Putty and the JB Weld that works under liquids for patching a radiator or fuel tank. My 2 x first aid kits are setup with #1 being store bought with all the normal stuff you get and #2 contains a few items for more critical care like clotting powder, a rolled up moldable cast and vet wrap for broken arms/legs. Now that I have the full wrap handguards on the bike I will probably leave the levers at home but since I ride mostly offroad and as you've seen from my videos, some of it is pretty gnarly and the pedals may be needed! I know you say...don't crash, but on trips like the BDRs, those thing WILL happen. I'll look over the emergency cable kits cause as you say, carrying a spare throttle and clutch cable with housing is big and heavy. Didn't even know about this option! As far as food, my cooking kit is tiny and light. The jetboil, fuel can fits inside the cooking pot along with a double sided spork and weights about 1/2 pound. I don't want to carry items for "cooking" but want to bring along the freeze dried mountain house foods. They are compact and only weigh about 6 oz each. Sealed the way they are bears won't smell them and the trash generated is minimal and I only have to clean the spork after heating up the water and eating. The only water I'll have is in my Camelbak but that gives me up to 100oz for the day for drinking and the 12oz needed to heat for each mountain house meal. On the clothing front, yes, clothing is very bulky. Most likely I'll have my heated jacket liner, glove liners, a few pairs of gloves (ski, mid, summer), riding jacket, riding pants, rain shell and rain pants, neck gaiter, boot covers as I don't have waterproof boots. Which jacket and pants will be based on the season. All of my under gear is synthetics or wools all the way down to my exofficio underwear. I'm an outdoorsman so very familiar with the NO-COTTON rule. Also, I believe I said in one of my other posts but most of my camping trips will include others so things like tools will be paired down so we each carry a bit of the load and don't duplicate everything.

I completely agree with you adventuredad that this is such a supportive group. I've been part of many other groups and you are correct that other groups would just belittle and puff and pound their "expert" chests but everyone here have been super helpful. My bike wouldn't be setup as nicely if it weren't for all the folks here.

RJ, I'll see you in Baja in March as I've told Joe B to put me on the list when he first put out the word. He said he'll start publishing info on the blog after the first of the year. I know you are also from Washington. I'm going to drive my motorhome down and trailer my bike. Not sure what your trip down plan is but if you want, we could hook up if you want to stay in my motorhome for each night of the trip down.

[Jay In Milpitas]

Regarding the cables, a common thing we did was to route a replacement cable alongside the ones in use ties together with strips of rubber cut from an old inner tube. We didn't have zip ties & such back then. Cover the ends with a bit of rubber hose and tape to keep the crud out of the sheath and you're ready for (component) failure.

The logic for this is that since the cable is already routed under the tank and through anything else in the way, you only need to swap out the ends and adjust the slack to resume riding.

Clipping replacement master links on a cable or hose up by the handlebar keeps them handy instead of rummaging through spares.

Spare chain? If you're going on a very long trip, replace a questionable chain before departing and save the used one for backup at home. If you do damage the chain on a trip, it's not likely the entire chain is bad, just a short section. About 6-12 inches should provide all you ever need. Even worn chain is fine because you only need to get to civilization to do a proper repair.

Inner Tubes (plural). This is a case by case situation. In some cases a 19" can be used in an 18" tire, and an 18" can be used in a 17". The deciding factor here is tire width. Our stock RX3 rear tire is quite wide compared to the stock front, so this may be a moot point. Depending on the difference between your two tubes, you may be able to do it. Carrying one tube reduces weight and space occupied.

I pack a butane lighter in an empty prescription bottle along with some waterproofed matches. The bottle prevents the lever on the lighter getting depressed and letting the fuel out. Why both lighter and matches? Why not?

Just be grateful we no longer have to pack carbide to fuel our headlights.
Jay.

[pyoungbl]

fj, I admire your drive to do motorcycle camping. My trips have been mostly motel and restaurant based. Please give us an update after you have spent a few weeks on the road...the good, bad, and ugly. We all have opinions but real world experience trumps all.

Peter Y.

[AdventureDad]

Ditto what Peter said!

My wife also grew up in Virginia, and is no stranger to hunting and fishing. (good to have her along in the wilds) Also...she has mentioned something about camping out enough while in the Army... she's a damn good sport about going places with the likes of me. It's probably just to witness the myriad of my horrible screw-ups that end up with me explaining to an amazed and slightly bewildered ER doctor why I thought what I was doing seemed like a: good idea/safe/sane/prudent/possible/within the laws of physics at the time.

Luckily, these moments are peppered with glimpses of sheer manliness, brilliance and seem to be endearing. Boy did I luck out.

Let us know your plans, how you fare, how the bike fares, and have a blast!

[rjmorel]

The spare cables routed along side the original ones are probably best idea especially if going on a really long trip. Install spares once and Bob's your uncle.
The repair kit on Ebay is what I just bought so I can use it on any of my bikes or other's broke down bikes. Small enough to keep in my tank bag that I swap from bike to bike for any trip .
Or as I experienced this summer and what got me looking around for an emergency cable fix kit was up in Canada at the Horizons Unlimited rally in Nakusp there was a lad there that broke his clutch cable while there and he was several days from home. No one at the rally had a cable to fit his bike. So in desperation he found a bicycle shop and bought some inner cable and end pieces (officially called knarps I think). He left original outer cable installed and pulled out damage inner cable from motor end. Then fed emergency cable up thru outer cable and install a knarp end to connect it to clutch lever. Cut off excess cable or just wrap it around H bars and zip tie it. Easy peezy and very adventure bike ish.

"RJ, I'll see you in Baja in March as I've told Joe B to put me on the list when he first put out the word. He said he'll start publishing info on the blog after the first of the year. I know you are also from Washington. I'm going to drive my motorhome down and trailer my bike. Not sure what your trip down plan is but if you want, we could hook up if you want to stay in my motorhome for each night of the trip down. "

FJ, my not finalized plan if I do indeed make the Baja ride was to put it on my Ford Ranger and drive to CSC, do Ride , then maybe stop at the USS Midway aircraft carrier in San Diego and then Brea Tar pits and scratch them from the old bucket list.
Thanks for the hook up invite FJ. It would be fun to have company along the way. Lets see how the new year starts , my work load goes and maybe we can become fox hole buddies yet rj