Trip advice

Monica A

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HI Ladies,

I am taking my first extended trip with my husband. He'll be on his VFR and I'll be on FZ6. We are looking at a 850 mile trip over 3 or 4 days. I have 2 Givi (smallish) saddlebags. My questions are...due to my limited luggage capacity...

What must I bring?
What will I not miss?
What will I really need/want when we get to the hotel after a long day of riding?
Any other advice?

Big Daddy (my hubbie) will have a first aid kit, emergency tire repair kit, tools, etc.) in his Givi trunk with his clothes etc.

We have completed a couple of over night trips but never this long.

Your experience and advice will be greatly appreciated. We leave July 4th in the early am. We are leaving kids at home to care for animals and house. :cheer: Yippee!!!
 

FIZZER6

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1. GPS (smart phone maps don't work if you have no service and getting lost long from home is no fun if you like to explore routes)

2. Wet rag in a ziplock. Comes in super handy for wiping bugs & dirt off your face shield on long trips! I'm sure you don't have many bugs out west though.

3. Duct tape (don't leave home without it!)

4. Bottled water: stay hydrated!

5. Twine (you never know what you may have to secure to your bike!)

6. Extra Ear plugs

7. Often overlooked: Extra ignition key for your bike! It's actually pretty easy to lose a motorcycle key, having one hidden in your luggage could save your trip!

8. Advil, Aleve or some other anti inflammatory pain killer!
 
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Cloggy

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Plastic bags (if your saddle bags aren't waterproof) I prefer having bags on the inside instead of a cover that can easily come off.

Large safety pins, I once had a saddlebag rip when I was on a pushbike trip, since then I Always carry them.

Are you camping or going to a motel/hotel?

I realise this is a thread for girls but hopefully someone else can fill in the specifics on that one :thumbup:


Have fun :thumbup:
 

Tailgate

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small chain lube squirt bottle/spray can
tire pressure gauge
hard copy map of area
non-expired road service card?
plastic bag(s)
bungee cord
small tube of auto hand cleaner

Have fun!
 

tosh23

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Plastic bags for your boots when it rains, A spare pair of gloves when it rains,
but most of all, get a good nights sleep, keep drinking and the one thing you must carry that is free......a smile, Have a safe trip, its not a race...good luck...tosh
 

Verharen

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HI Ladies,

I am taking my first extended trip with my husband. He'll be on his VFR and I'll be on FZ6. We are looking at a 850 mile trip over 3 or 4 days. I have 2 Givi (smallish) saddlebags.

We leave July 4th in the early am. We are leaving kids at home to care for animals and house. :cheer: Yippee!!!

If you will be riding in warm weather, I just bought the Rev'It cool under layer leggings and top to wear under my mesh/textile riding gear (click to Revzilla links). I wore the leggings last Saturday and they worked GREAT. Add a little container of detergent and you can sink-wash them when you get in for the night and they'll be dry by morning. :D

Awesome post! I'm also hoping to take an extended ride later this summer and am interested in the advice you receive. Be sure to post some follow up after your trip to say what worked! I really wanted to thank you for your questions :thumbup: You already have some great feedback that I will be using in my future!
 

FIZZER6

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to wear under my mesh/textile riding gear (click to Revzilla links). I wore the leggings last Saturday and they worked GREAT. Add a little container of detergent and you can sink-wash them when you get in for the night and they'll be dry by morning. :D

Clearly you have never ridden on the east coast! hahaha. :BLAA:
 

nthdegreeburns

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Hope it's OK to post in the girls threads, but be mindful if you DO use your phone for navigation in a map protector on a tank bag. An iPhone will go into temperature protection mode in about 10 minutes in the sun. It will take up to 20 minutes for it to cool off sans assistance (e.g. An ice pack).

Nthdegreeburns
 

yamihoe

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All excellent suggestions!!!
I would like to change the twine to 550 cord (paracord) I have held a buddys clutch lever on for a full day in the mountains with it....bring a good knife and a lighter.

I have my spare key tied to my boots....not on the top, but down in the very middle where if you shoe comes untied it wont be lost.

a pair of vice grips (can be used as a makeshift brake, clutch lever or gear shift)

all your license and registration, insurance card, health insurance card in a ziplock bag under the seat with $20 just in case you lose your wallet and NEED gas or food.
bring a wet (as mentioned) and a dry rag/bandana.

make sure your bikes are in tip top shape and CHECK YOUR TIRES!

BE SAFE and happy riding!

edit (i know its a girls thread but guys and girls need to be safe and sound)
 
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lytehouse

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Sounds like your husband will be carrying the "essentials" so.....

*Under Armor t shirts (or an equivelant of) they wash up nicely in a hotel sink and are dry by morning

*tennis shoes, unless your riding boots are that comfy

*wet wipes or a travel package of tissues, why_not_Zoidberg is right, you never know! Been there, done that!

*Compression bags, they save space: Pack-Itâ„¢ Compression Sac - Medium - Compression Bags | Official Eagle Creek Website,
You might find them at REI??

*if you wear cosmetics, I try to collect samples where I can.

*a few tie wraps

*rain gear (if you're riding at elevation, rain can get quite cold)

*and a ball cap....helmet hair can be, at least in my case, quite frightening!

Where are you guys headed to? Can't wait to read your trip report...be safe, have fun, take lots of pictures!!
 
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Raptorman53

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1. Rain gear. The worst time I have had on a motorcycle was being wet and could not stay dry.

2. Chargers and cables for all of your devices. It's not fun spending time on your moto vacation shopping for such things.

3. Source of navigation. I travel with paper maps, iPhone, and GPS. My favorite of them all is my Garmin Nuvi. I also prefer it over my Tom Tom
View attachment 48818

4. Way to clean your visor. Some times you just can't stay away from those critters:)

5. Pain reliever

6. Extra bungee cords.

7. Tire plugger
View attachment 48819

8. I tend to keep the majority of my cloths and items I want to keep dry in my 30L dry bag. It's great because you can roll it up as small as you need to. I also find that it keeps the exhaust smell completely off of my cloths. I can't say the same for my saddle bags.
View attachment 48823

9. I take a small tripod for my camera. It comes in handy some times and the way I pack my bike it's not in the way.

10. I also take and extra key for the bike.

11.you might want to consider a small tank bag. To keep you documents in. This is where I keep my phone, wallet,flashlight,hat,aspirin, and tire pressure gauge.

Hope you have fun on your trip. Take lots of pics for us. :)



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Monica A

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Thanks for all the great advice. You've all mentioned a few things I hadn't thought of yet.

We are headed North from Reno, NV, making our way to Lake Almanor then West across Highway 36 to Red Bluff, CA. Then we are taking Highway 36 to the West Coast. This is rumored to be the Dragon of the West Coast. We will see. On another website someone posted a pic of a street sign that shows a squiggly line (curvy road) and the statement "next 160 miles". Yippee!! We'll stay the first night in Eureka, CA. Then we will head South on Highway 101, cutting over to Highway 1 as soon as we can. We plan to stop in Fort Bragg, CA - the lure of fresh seafood is great for us Nevadans- for lunch. We will stay in Ukiah, CA the second night. We aren't sure which way we are headed home from there yet. We do know we are going to try very hard to not take I-80 on the way home. The two directions are either Highway 20 across CA and pick up I-80 almost to Reno. That's the beautiful Tahoe Forest part of I-80. Or we might head to Yuba City on Highway 20 and then head North to Oroville and take our favorite road (Oroville-Quincy highway) and head for home. That direction is 2 hours longer but might be worth it.

Keep the great advice coming
 

Monica A

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Trip update. We decided to modify the second day to include the Lost Coast of California. It goes out of Ferndale and comes out in the Redwood State Park on Highway 101. Suppose to be beautiful and some crazy twisties according to google maps. Looking forward to it.

Got a new rear tire. The wear bares weren't showing yet but it was close. With the high temps being in the 100's we decided it wasn't worth chancing a blowout. The shop didn't have a new front. Hubby ordered it online. It will be here before we go to MotoGP at Laguna Seca in 3 weeks. Yippee!!! We also drained coolant and cleaned coolant reservoir - some crud in the bottom of reservoir and coolant was greenish-brown not green anymore. Again, considering the first day highs should be in the 100's we decided it would be better. Yes guys, I helped. OK, so I handed the hubby tools and cleaned up the coolant he spilled on the garage floor. I look really good sitting in lawn chair while he wrenches on the bikes. I helped him remove the back tire. The shop doesn't charge mounting fee if you bring in tire/rim off the bike. I helped him remove the rear tire from my son's SV650s last year. It was a pain. My FZ6 tire was easy to remove. Undue bolt, remove axle, brake caliper, and chain, and the tire just slips out. On his SV, we had to loosen chain tensioners, remove other bolts, chain, brake caliper, and it seemed like other things and finally the axle came out and the tire slipped off. It took several adjustments to get the tire mounted straight and the chain tension right. On my FZ - tire mounted straight away and tension has minimal adjustment. Hubby said he would check a few more times. We are going to gas up this afternoon (hopefully before the thunderstorms roll in) and he'll check it again when we get back. Love my FZ6.
 

Monica A

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All excellent suggestions!!!
I would like to change the twine to 550 cord (paracord) I have held a buddys clutch lever on for a full day in the mountains with it....bring a good knife and a lighter.

Right after we bought my FZ6 Big Daddy bought an extra clutch lever and front brake lever for my bike. They're stored under the seat with registration and insurance card. I guess he's expecting me to lay it down and the levers breaking. lol He also bought me frame sliders.... I haven't laid it down or dropped it, yet....:Flash:
 

Monica A

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Just found this article 10 Things You Need To Take On Any Motorcycle Trip | RideApart. It looks like the forum feedback was great as usual.

We made it back! Great trip!! We decided it was "fun and tiring". :rockon:

Thanks for this article. I checked it out today when we got back. The only thing I would add would be snacks. We sometimes we would not be near a town when it was meal time. My husband needs to eat regularly. The protein bar and apple we brought wasn't enough food to keep him going. We each brought two bottle of water along. That was enough water for us to have between getting water when stopping for meals and gas.

I'll make a complete report soon with pictures.
 

FinalImpact

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Glad you had a Safe Trip! ^^
Eye drops/rinse. Nothing like a good bug to the eye....
Ear plugs

Bike - if you're not running dual headlights, either change out the bulb or carry a spare. Not a show stopper but it happens.

EDIT:
Too funny - just read this; http://rideapart.com/2013/06/10-essentials-for-any-motorcycle-trip/ << ^^ those are on the list ^^
 
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