Still not a backrest Jayne on Emily's bike Jayne shall eat now in Alwinton, EnglandGlacier National Park 2010 Jayne is not quite ATGATT

Coyotebroad's Advice for Women Motorcycle Travelers
(especially those who camp):

Packing
disclaimer

Whether you are packing for a one week trip or for a six month trip on a motorcycle, you pretty much pack the same things! 

What you pack on your motorcycle has a lot to do with whether or not you will be tent camping, staying in yurts and primitive cabins, etc.,  as opposed to staying in motels and hotels. The former is cheaper, but you have to take more stuff (like your sleeping bag).

What you pack also has a lot to do with how often you will be eating food someone else prepares (eating in restaurants and roadside stands once a day? twice a day? every meal?) versus what you are going to prepare yourself at your campsite. The more you are going to eat at restaurants or convenience stores, the less you have to take.

In the vast majority of places you go, even most developing countries, you can buy what you absolutely need if you forgot to bring it. In the USA, a convenience store in really remote areas may, in fact, have a dusty old tent on a back shelf amid newer items.

I have a reason for every item I've listed below. When I try to do without one of these items on a trip, I end up regretting it. I reconsider this list only immediately after a trip, NEVER while packing.

Some general packing tips:

 
Luggage / Where things will go

All space in your luggage and on your person (in your pockets, in a purse, etc.) is at a premium when traveling by motorcycle. You need to budget space and plan for where you will put each item EVERY time (this will help you find stuff).

In addition to packing things in the panniers or saddle bags, you may also have a bag that lays on the back of your back seat, secured to your panniers  (where a passenger could sit on other occasions) and you may also have a top box. Some people also have a tank bag.

Some take a backpack and wear it while on the motorcycle, but I really caution you against that - you want to be super comfortable on your motorcycle. Instead, pack a small backpack or purse you can pack in your panniers or attach very securely to your luggage outside (and in that case, it needs to be waterproof), and remove that and carry it around when you need to carry things while shopping, touring a site as a pedestrian, hiking, etc. 

How we do it when we were two-up on one motorcycle: one pannier on my husband's bike was filled with all of my personal items (clothes, toiletries), as well as our medicines. The other pannier was for all of his clothes and personal items. All food related items went on one long bag strapped to the back of a bike, all sleeping items and the tent (and the stools, if we bring them) and a jug of water went in ANOTHER long bag strapped to the first one. His top box was for bike maintenance tools and our rain gear. Water bottles were on either side of the gas tank, strapped to the crash bars. I also had my purse with items we needed easy access too (snacks, drinks, field glasses, etc.). He carried a camera on his handlebar bag. Here is what it all looked like packed when we are two-up on his bike, and unpacked when we camped:

End of Northern France tour by motorcycle Camping Smok in Krakow, Poland

Now that we both ride our own motorcycles, we distribute everything much more. We really don't take much more than we did previously. We both have panniers, top boxes, tank bags and handlebar bags. And we still carry our water bottles as we did before (on his bike). Below are photos of me, first on my Honda Night Hawk with cloth panniers and a bag strapped on the seat, and now on my KLR with aluminum panniers.

Jayne enters Idaho 2012 KLR & Jayne at John Day Jayne & Mt. Adams

The list below is based on what I pack for a two-week or more trip on my own motorcycle. 

What I pack or wear on a motorcycle trip where I will tent camp:

Motorcycle gear

  Clothes and cloth for personal use (as opposed to use by anyone else traveling with me)

Optional:

 
Sleeping:

Toiletries for just myself

Practical items I will share with those I'm traveling with
(meaning these are taken, but may be on someone else's bike, or I may pack enough for more than just me)

Other essential items

I've decided to put my packing list for food/meals, cooking, snacking and cleanup while on a motorcycle camping trip on a separate page.

Optional And, of course, for the motorcycle itself:
See my husband's pack list and gear review, which has much more about essentials related to motorcycle maintenance.

Below is a pack list from Eric and Gail Laws, legendary motorcycle travelers who lived in Westfir, Oregon. Eric and Gail road two-up on their motorcycles on every continent, including across Russia in 1992, which earned them a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first people to cross Russia by motorcycle, a 6,998 mile trip from Magadan to Moscow. Talk to enough motorcycle world travelers and, eventually, you meet people who knew Eric and Gail - including Stefan, who met them in a small town near the Meteora Monasteries in Greece in 2006. Many of those motorcycle travelers eventually found themselves at Eric and Gail's hidden homestead in Oregon to stay a night or two on their way from Canada to Mexico, or midway through a grand tour of the USA. In addition, every summer, Eric and Gail opened their  river-side estate to international motorcyclists and those interested in such, for a small, low-key gathering, more camping soirée than rally... except for the burning of the motorcyclist effigy. They called it Burning Moto Man, and no other motorcycle event has been as good, IMO - it was warm, friendly and fun, without all the posing and macho crap of other rallies. Eric passed away on May 4, 2013 due to cancer. Eric and Gail started a web site to help adventure motorcycle travelers, named for their beloved, and now deceased, dog, Tynda. It was a hot mess in terms of design... and it's long gone from the Interwebs. But in writing an article about them, I pulled off this sage advice:

IF YOU THOUGHT RIDING YOUR MOTORCYCLE IN SOME OF THE COUNTRIES MENTIONED HEREIN  IS DANGEROUS, WAIT UNTIL YOU GET OFF.

Yeah, that's Eric - loved his sense of humor. Here are Eric's recommendations regarding some items to take on long trips:

#1 Snap lock for keys.
Ever get on your motorcycle and realize that your keys were still in your pocket. Especially, under the rain gear. How many times does it take. Use a snap lock and snap them to your jacket zipper. Keeps you from feeling foolish..

#2 Small knife.
Place it on your key chain and snap lock.

#3 Ear Plugs.
If you don't know why you should use ear plugs, it is too late. But often in foreign countries they play loud music all night in the campgrounds or there may be a bar/disco close by.

#4 Small Flashlight
In your pocket or on your key chain for emergency or tent use.

#5 Surgical gloves
Even if the foreign doctor has them, they come in handy for those dirty jobs you do, such as when sewing up wounds.

#6 Face mask & mud flaps
Some riders have complained to us of the dust in South America, Russia and other countries. Helpful if dust bothers you while riding alone or behind others.

#7 Candle
Helpful to take moisture out of tents or for those hotels that have limited electrical hours. Scented candles help in the unventilated rooms.

#8 Bungle cords
The very small kind have many uses, especially to strap on items at the last minute.

#9 needles (syringes)
The doctor may not have fresh ones and may want to reuse old ones.

#10 Business cards
Convey info quickly on that rainy, windy road when you meet a traveller coming from the other way. Use email and have it on your card. This is the year 2000, after all.

A little larger items are:

#1 Photo album
Can't speak the language, even so, it shows where you live and your family, pets, etc.

#2 Motorcycle cover
Hides your motorcycle, and can be used as your ground cover, raincover, etc.

#3 Small dictionary
After you use it give it away as a gift. English/Spanish or whatever.

#4 Hand soap & handiwipes
You are not as clean as you think and do you think they have soap in that toilet or kitchen.

#5 Sheep skin
Can be used on your seat for those long journeys and if big enough underneath your sleeping bag. Remove the sheep before using, unless going to a cold climate.

#6 Water pump
Water is the liquid of germs. Beer and bottled water are not always available.

#7 Siphon Hose
Has many uses especially when you run out of gas.

A good twitter account to follow on the subject of packing for travel abroad: DepartSmartOrg.

And now a word from my husband:

Adventure Motorcycle Luggage & Accessories
www.coyotetrips.com

Aluminum Panniers and Top Cases,
Top Case Adapter Plates,
Tough Motorcycle Fuel Containers, & More

Designed or Curated by an experienced adventure motorcycle world traveler
Based in Oregon
You won't find these exact products anywhere else;
these are available only from Coyotetrips

(my husband) 

Disclaimer
Any activity incurs risk. The author assumes no responsibility for the use of information contained within this document.
 
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