I've Been Reworking Some of My Touring Gear

I picked up a New Ultra Touring Bag from Kuryakyn about a week ago. Found it in the Beaver's Den Motorcycle Leather shop on a ride up Highway 34 west of Loveland...

*My New Kuryakyn Ultra Tour Bag*

There's been a bit of evolution over the years... for how I pack my gear.

*How I packed my gear on my Alaskan ride*

*Another evolution from a ride a couple years back*

*My current packing and gear arrangement*

I used to carry the tent up on the bars. Not a bad way... but there was some interference with the ignition key... so I'm trying out some new packing of that.

Also, I abandoned my old mummy bag. I just can't tolerate the confines of that thing... and I'm now carrying a cheapie walmart rectangular bag that seems to keep me as warm and a hell of a lot more spacious. But it is a bit more bulky. 

The Kuryakyn tour bag so far is proving out well. I took it on a "Test ride" up a twisting mountain canyon and into Rocky Mountain National park the other day. I thought it a good idea to test it and the way I've got everything packed now on a real world hundred mile ride... before I take off on a weeklong trip hopefully later this week... and it all rode without a hitch.

The bag is something I'm becoming real happy with. It carries actually more clothes than I took to Alaska... and does it without having to stuff and punch to get it in. The quality of the bag seems top notch...

This is what I put in it... and still have a bit of space if I DID feel like stuffing... Likely I don't need that much... you just stop at a laundry a bit more often. :)

 ... and this pic doesn't include the drinking water bladder I'm testing out in the top road side pocket... a convenient place for drinking water on the road (one of the bigger mistakes people make on long hot tours... they fail to drink enough water) Make it convenient to get a drink... It should improve that... which makes you a safer rider. (dehydration is going to slow down your thinking/reaction time)

Likely one of the biggest improvements for me is that it attaches rock solid. I've tried to cheap out for a while, (not a good choice really) using "other" gear and not bags designed explicitly for bikes. That left me always having to conjure up ways of strapping it on secure.

This bag locks onto my seat with two built in straps from the bottom front and a wide, velcro strap that wraps around the back rest.

Combined with two straps from D-rings on top of the tour bag that I use as anchor points to secure the tent...which is also secured to the sleeping bag below it... which is secured to the luggage rack... it is a rock solid load.

It does come with a heavy duty rain cover... but with all my other gear, that doesn't look like it's going to fit. The bag itself seems like it should be pretty water resistant... but I'm scouting for a rain cover that will cover the whole load... thinking maybe a light nylon tarp sized right and a lil' bigger net to secure it... always some sort of gear to fiddle with...

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

Itchty and Antsy... I'm Ready For The Road...

Wednesday morning I'll swing a leg, twist the throttle and put it in the wind.

Yesterday Sonja got her fresh oil to ready her for the road. I hope she appreciates it. At better than $10 a quart and needing better than five quarts (more than my old 390 cubic inch V8 Hot rod from years ago!!)...

... Oil changes are a pricy bit of maintenance!

Especially when you move away from Dino oil and go full synthetic... This is my first full syn run... buuut it's supposed to be better on your machine. Since I seem to be a lil' hard on 'em... I finally decided I should go with some of the more modern technology.

That's not an easy task with a Raider neither!

That bike has THREE drain plugs! and of course, they're set right where the jack needs to be to lift the bike high enough off the ground so you can swing a wrench... since two of 'em are on the side tucked in between the crankcase and the frame...

So... you have a bit of a balancing act to get the bike up straight... and just high enough to clear for the drain pan and wrench access... which puts it kinda far back...

It be a bit spooky workin' under near 800 lbs as it teeters and wiggles balanced up on that jack. :) Her tires are barely touching the ground. Only lift a couple inches... But I got her done with no great excitement so she's ready to roll!

Finished up checking and rechecking my gear... almost couldn't stop just swinging a leg and leaving early!!!

*Sonja be like; "Le's go dude!"

Though I'm only rolling for a week... That load is actually sufficient for a run to Alaska! ;) I've distilled it again after all these years... I carried too damn much clothes to the Yukon... Three/Four days of changes is plenty... you just hit a laundry a lil oftener. ;)

Oh yeah... I found a bit of special gear that is, so far, pretty cool.

I was watching a movie just last week; "Lone Survivor"... The tale of Marcus Lutrell and what I think is a pretty awesome movie. One lil' thing caught my eye... which has nothing to do with that story...

All of those guys, Warriors in the Finest Sense of the word, were all wearing Mechanix  brand gloves. I did a lil snooping and discovered they have a style that they call "Tactical"... that has good finger and knuckle protection for soldiers/sportsmen etc.

Then being textile, they should be a lot more comfortable in summer weather. You can find 'em in cammo prints too, not just black.

I've seen MECHANIX gloves many times before... made for mechanics... but those were bright blue and such... never gave 'em a thought...

But these... they call the M-pact style.

Fit like a "Glove" :) are comfortable and even have a vibration absorbing pad material on the palms...

The two pads are a "Poron" material under the synthetic "leather" that are supposed to soak up vibration and impact...

... and it don't hurt that they look Bad Ass ;) and are priced at Sportsman's Warehouse at just $25 bucks.

Even us poor boys can afford that!

... So now it's watch the clock... watch the calendar... and get ready to put my knees in the wind again.

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

New Gear and Making Ready for a Circle

A few guys from a forum I frequent are having a "mini" rally down in Flagstaff. It's one of those "Brand" sort of rallys. I sorta wanted to go... buuuuut... really, when I look in my wallet... there ain't much in there but space... still...

Then one of the fellas wrote and sorta pestered me to meet up with 'em... so I said... What the hell... and so I'm goin'. Don't know how... maybe a liquor store or two ;) ... but come the 18th I'll be hangin' it in the wind for a 1500 mile circle to Flagstaff and back. 

That said... my road outfit has gotten a bit scattered so I have to whip it into shape and quick.

One of the things needed has been a new tail rack.

I been meaning to put that on ever since I swapped out the back rest... near two years ago now. It just never seemed to make it to the top of the list...

But, lashing a camp on a bike without one is fairly difficult... so I found the dinero and got it ordered in.

You know... Yamaha is a lot like HD when it comes to parts. HD might mean "hundred doller"... but I'm thinkin' "Yamaha" must mean "Lots of cash" in Japanese...

anyhoo... with the saddlebag repairs and paint done, the pipes refinished, the signal lights and plate carrier and the charging block all finished up...

The old scooter is lookin' pretty good to me. :) She's ready for a ride...

Another part of my outfit that's been needing attention is my bedroll... thinking about that I thought of making part of this a motel run... if I could get one or two nights at cheap Motel 6's along the way...

You know... $36 bucks and all that? Wellll... I checked up on one in Moab... Which would be 'bout the halfway mark and a decent near 400 mile ride that first day... "The cheapest of any chain"??? well... how does $160 bucks for ONE NIGHT in Moab sound? Pretty reasonable huh? Bwahahahahahhahahahahaha!!!

Well... I know this pretty lil' meadow just west of Durango... just before you get to Mesa Verde that'll make a nice lil' FREE camp half way to Flag... Sorry Motel 6 but 160 bucks for ONE night is NOT any sort of a reasonable rate! ;)

So... my circle will be made under canvas! Buuuuut... that's a problem too... cuz my last circle I discovered that my old mummy bag is no longer tolerable. I just can't stand the confinement... but... sleeping bags are costly!!

Then... I was walking through good Ol' Walmart... getting some lil' bit of something or other and happened to notice their sleeping bags... polyester just like the big high $$$ backpacking brands. Same weight of fill...

... and $32 bucks compared to a hundred and better for the big names... So I got to thinking about bags.

You know they've always been sort of a problem... summer weight or winter weight. You're too warm or too cold... And with their cost... who can afford all sorts of different bags?

 Well... I got this "idea" for a relatively low cost experiment... with seeing Wally worlds price... I got to thinking... IF... they were decent quality... a guy could carry a couple of the lighter ones... and layer them just like we do our clothes! My imagined "problem" would be solved.

They've got like three weights... warm, cool and cold... and ALL below $40 bucks!... so... even if a guy goes with two... he'd have a bag a lot warmer than the "big" brands... at less than half the price when you look at the cold weather grades.

...so I grabbed a cool weather for $32... and it's rectangular so I eliminate that confinement issue I built up with the damned old mummy bag.

Gave it a "soft" test last night. The weather here went pretty chilly and wet last night. I left the windows and roof vents open and checked that bag for comfort and warmth.

That cheap $32 cool weather bag was almost too warm :) and more... though one night don't measure it for sure... I can't see a fault in the quality of materials. it's the Coleman brand, which has always served me well... how much variation can there really be in polyester these days?

I've got a couple of poncho liners I can pin in or around it to add a few degrees if necessary... and After the "real test" of this circle... I believe I'll add that second Walmart discount sleeping bag... for the earlier spring rides and late into the fall.

I saw one really light thing. Only like a pound of fill... THAT would make an excellent liner.

So... Nigh on to ready to roll

Grab Your Handles and Ride.
Brian

Stacking Up A Biker's Wish List Faster Than I Can Check 'em Off

A fella with my finances has plenty of time to drool over gear catalogs, and build lists. He's got lil' fear of emptying the list faster than he can add to it! But I can hope!

I've got motorcycle wish lists that run from bikes themselves to Riding and Motorcycle Camp gear to a bucket list of Long Rides in the Wind I'd like to get done before I get too old and feeble to keep the scooter upright.

My Motorcycle Wish List; I'd really like to be able to add two scooters to my bike garage before I'm too decrepit to ride 'em;

*The first is a step out of the comfort zone; I'd like to build a mix of a mechanically correct military matt finish - sand colored? chromeless, metric, back roadable, bobbed, semi knobbied, bagger, rat ride, dual purpose, 650+- give 'er hell and let-the-chips-fall scooter with an attitude!

Starting from maybe a Yamaha Seca core? ;) ... yup... twist the imagination a touch.

I've just found a representative pic that gives a flavor of the vision I have in me warped brain... ;)

...just shave the teeth and such. ;) make the bags bigger 20mm. cans use a 650-750 for enough juice to get deeper into trouble a lil' quicker ;) ...THIS just looks like a fun ass hoot of a project to me!

*The second would be a normal KLR sort of good and proper dual purpose back roader that I could explore with while NOT getting so many stares of What-the-hell-izzat?" from folks. :)

Then there's the Motorcycle Gear Wish List;

Lux Lite cot; This has been recommended to me by several riders as the cat's meow for aging bones that still admire to sleep under canvas motorcycle camping on their touring rides... I want one!

Bohn Armor;

I've wanted a full set of this gear for a while. It'd be nice to allow a lil' less weighty and cumbersome motorcycle safety gear on those 90 degree summer runs...

Being able to wear full impact and skid protection under my jeans and shirt would be a nice change I believe.







Yamaha Parts;

First, the Yamaha Tail rack in the black powder coated version. It's my intention to add this to my existing Yamaha back rest in the very near future. I lost the rack when I swapped out my back rest last year. I truly need to find the dinero to complete that change!

and second, the Yamaha Tank Bag designed specifically for my Roadstar Raider...

Having a convenient place for cameras, maps, and all the miscellaneous bits and pieces you want quick access to on the road is a big improvement on those long rides.



Gear Dry Bag;

 I like the look of this bag from Wolfman luggage by way of Revzilla.

There's nothing worse at the end of a long wet day in the saddle and you pull gear out of your bag, hoping to change into something dry... only the waterproof tail bag wasn't... and you have no dry socks to put on. arrrggggghhhh.

A true DRY BAG is a change I'm gonna make and forget the failed but flashy cruiser bags and covered duffles I've used and seen in the past.

If they keep a rafters gear dry on a river... they should keep a bikers gear dry on the asphalt.

LED Camp Lantern;

Reading at night in the tent on the road is problematical for motorcycle touring. But now-a-days with the rapid improvements in LED technology... the problem's been solved!

...and they've got 'em at my favorite motorcycle camping gear provider; REI. They sell the lux lite cots too!



A better camp chair;

 While this isn't really on my list any more... 'cause I already got one! ;) I thought I'd include it here 'cause it is a big improvement in a small saddle bag suitable package... for more comfortable camp sitting.

It beats the old, flat, sit on the ground stadium seat I've been using ... by a pretty wide margin.


Semi Rectangular Sleeping bag

I've changed a mite in the past few years and the mummy bag I've used for a long, long time is now just way too tight for comfort. I just can't stand being that snugly wrapped any more.

I want to change out to a lil' roomier sort of bag that can still compact as needed for packing on the bike.


Somewhere soon I need to replace my stolen motorcycle helmet cam... I'm leaning toward the Drift Ghost video camera

 My HD 170 predecessor was one of the camera's that got stolen.

I liked the way it fit far more compactly and aerodynamically than the Go Pro arrangement... against my helmet or bike... buuut the new Go Pro's still look pretty good too! ;)

Then of course, there is the seemingly unending search for Truly Waterproof, comfortable and functional Touring Gloves... since I can't say I've found anything that's really impressed me... I'm still looking for them...

... as well as a few ideas I have for a custom, removable, fuel bottle rack mounted under the yamaha tail rack using Quick fist clamps to hold fuel bottles for my Auxiliary fuel... and the fuel bottles to go on it...

 I'm leaning hard there toward replacing the thin walled, backpacking MSR bottles I've been using with something like these from Tour Tank.

I've got a "Design" rattling around in my head of a poly plate with those quick fist clamps mounted to it that could be strongly zip tied under the tail rack; for those trips in places where the distance between fuel stations are stretched out to make a rider like me a lil' nervous.

Yup... I just keep adding wishes to my list faster than my anemic earning ability can add 'em to the bike! :)

Keep tuned in... the next bit of my wish list is the Motorcycle Touring Bucket list of Rides...

Grab Your Handles and Ride.
Brian