If you’re on a multi-day motorcycle trip, there are a few essentials one needs to carry. I’ve often been asked the question — what’s in that bag? Be it a three-day trip or something as long as 10 days, I know I’m sorted when it comes to me and my motorcycle. So what are they?
Motorcycle trip must-carry: Personal essentials
Let’s start with personal care. I’m a light traveller and strongly encourage people to be so, especially on a motorcycle. Larger and heavier tailbags or luggage rob you of performance, fuel efficiency, and adds a lot of unnecessary weight to the motorcycle. All this can be avoided.
If it’s a week-long trip, say seven days, I carry a fresh T-shirt for all the days, and just the needed clothing and nothing else. If my trip involves me staying at a place for over two nights, the number of clothes I carry also reduces because I can wash them and reuse them.
Apart from my regular clothes, it’s my toiletries, a pair of normal shoes, socks, a jacket to keep me warm in case I’m travelling to a cold place, and that’s pretty much it. And a couple of pairs of jeans.
Motorcycle trip must-carry: Motorcycle essentials
I am wearing most of the stuff, my riding gear so that obviously does not go in the bag. I will carry rain gear for me and the tail bag – raining or not – because it hardly takes up space and weighs just a few grams. I also carry my weatherproof motorcycle cover, again, something light and does not take up a lot of space.
In my tail bag is also a spare visor in case I need to switch between my tinted one and a clear one, along with a spare pair of gloves, because you never know when you want a spare (rather me).
One section of my tail bag is dedicated to some maintenance materials. I carry a portable inflator, basic tools, a can of chain lube and a cleaner. The chain cleaner is something that I use only when travelling and not regularly, as diesel does a much better job. It’s just not safe to carry around.
I don’t usually carry a puncture kit as there are many puncture shops on highways and I’ve never felt the need, but I think I should be adding one soon. I don’t usually carry any sort of spares because motorcycles have become more reliable over the years.
And remember, all these go into one tail bag and that’s the only one I carry apart from a hydro back. If I need to travel with my laptop, it goes into my larger hydration bag that manages to squeeze my laptop comfortably.
