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handyrandy
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 06:15 pm | 1st Post |
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I always do unless it is raining. I am heading to upstate new york next week for a few days solo. The better half has to stay home and work the business. We are self employed so we have a lot of freedom. Problem is most of our business happens on the weekends so I am more free through the week. Opposite most other people who like to camp and ride. So I go alone a lot.
Here we are in Tennessee last fall.
Attachment: 07-Motocycle-trip_0065.JPG (Downloaded 163 times)
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81' GL 1100 Standard with Vetter 5 fairing with lowers, radio pod and Hondaline suitcase bags and trunk.
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handyrandy
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 06:16 pm | 2nd Post |
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We have some good equipment, like down filled air mattresses which are very warm and comfortable and pack to the size of a 3 lb coffee can. And north face synthetic bags. And a good quality mountaineering tent. It all packs on the 1100 quite well. The duffle's tied to the top of each saddlebag carry our clothes.
In case you are wondering I carry a tripod with me to take our own photos.
Attachment: 07-Motocycle-trip_0034c.jpg (Downloaded 163 times) Last edited on Fri Aug 8th, 2008 06:20 pm by handyrandy
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81' GL 1100 Standard with Vetter 5 fairing with lowers, radio pod and Hondaline suitcase bags and trunk.
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Rick S
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 06:23 pm | 3rd Post |
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Who doesn't like to camp while riding?
Nice setup you got. Might recommend a back packer stove? I've got one that folds down, and with the butane stacked on top, it's still shorter that a standard propane bottle. An extra can of butane on top makes it slightly taller.
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handyrandy
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 06:32 pm | 4th Post |
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Hello Rick, there are a lot of people that wont/cant camp like older folks. Until I found the mattresses I had almost given it up. The thermarest self inflating types where OK when I was younger, but they quit working for me. I would need one so big now it would take up half the bike.
I hear you on the stove. Butane is Superior. I have backpacker ones, but the dam thing is just so convenient to get fuel on the road. Down side of propane is it is not very hot. Everybody carries propane though.
Thanks for the nice comment!
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81' GL 1100 Standard with Vetter 5 fairing with lowers, radio pod and Hondaline suitcase bags and trunk.
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w5blt
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 06:36 pm | 5th Post |
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| I do a combination of both motel and camping. It just depends on the situation and where I'm at. For instance, I'm planning on a trip from CA to Ft. Worth soon. When the temperature rises above 100 degrees, I'll be seeking shelter with an a/c. Same is true when the temp drops below freezing. That being said, on a recent trip to Colorado, I did do some camping when it reached 28 degrees at night.
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Bob
It's not the destination in life that matters.
It's the journey and the friends that you make along the way.
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GLester
Senior Guru
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 06:58 pm | 6th Post |
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I've done it a lot over the years. Usually my trailer that I pull behind the bike stays packed with the tent and other gear. I'll be camping in Georgia in September, but for the event in Eureka Springs, I'll be sharing a room.
Gene
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Gene Lester
Present Bikes: 1993 Goldwing 1500A
1981 GL1100
"Loud pipes don't save lives, they just annoy everyone"
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wda-83wing
Senior Guru
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 07:15 pm | 7th Post |
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| in my younger days--yeah i done a lot of camping instead of moteling . but as old age is starting to get a good hold on me a hot shower and a real bed sure do feel good now. i used to hit the ROA`s alot then. some were even friendly . but this was back when cycling was not as big as it is now. belive it or not . i hear that they are friendly now towards bikers / campers . times do change---dont they ? ?
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1979 gl1000 dressed --back to naked
1980 gl1100 interstate --side lined
1983 gl1100 interstate the fastest color--RED
retiered trucker---going to see it again ----on 2 wheels---love it--love it--- love it
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Cousin Jack
Senior Member
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 07:34 pm | 8th Post |
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Always have done it.... don't like motels, me..... dirty, smoky, and crawly beds and sheets! I always know who has been in my tent and in my sleeping bag, and what's been done there! Not so the Norman Bates Motel, Inc.........
Here's my lovely wife Red, sewing a button on the reinforced kevlar jeans she bought for the trip, two or three days later, the paramedics cut them off her! There's our cherished and experienced Eureka tent, which has sheltered us from more storms than we know.....still have it; and my cherished 1500, which two or three days later smacked a deer broadside and got totalled out.... and no, I don't have it anymore! 
But we camp, always have and always will!
Attachment: Short trip 2008 017.jpg (Downloaded 150 times)
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"In my opinion, there's nuthin' in the world,
beats a '52 Vincent and a red-headed girl....."
Richard Thompson
Vincent Black Lightning 1952
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Popeye
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 07:52 pm | 9th Post |
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I've camped with my bikes most of my life. Most of the time my stuff was ridiculous minimal.
It used to be common to pull into some cornfield & catch a few winks. Bathe at a stream, wash clothes & hang 'em in the sun. Sometimes I think about getting camping gear, but it's just too hot, now that I live down here in Kansas.
Got married....Wife doesn't like to camp...so, that's about the end of that story.
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'97 1500SE Black/Chr
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redbaron
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 09:29 pm | 10th Post |
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When my wife and I, like a few more in here, were younger, we would pack the kids off to my mother for a week or two, only after we had spent a week camping out with them....And we would get that old Suzuki loaded down and take of into the sun set or sun rise...North or South ....Depending on what our fancy was....
Its hard to believe that we have woke up in the mornings and not hear a noise what so ever , except the birds singing, and the wind blowing through the tall trees around us....To roll out of our "pup" tent and into a clear cold morning with frost on the ground as far as the eyes could see.....Get a fire started in our fire pit and break out the coffee pot, the smell of the eggs, and bacon frying over that small fire, made it feel and smell like heaven.....We have bathed in rivers, streams and at truck stops when we couldn't find a camping area with water, either a lake or running water....
Then after dropping our trash off in a trash container, putting out out fire and burying the ashes, we would pack the bike and roll on to another place.....Taking nothing but pictures and leaving nothing but foot steps......
We camped in State parks, National Parks, National Forests And an occasional KOA camp or similar camp grounds. Packing for us was very simple, we rolled up our sleeping bags, put them in trash bags to keep them dry and put them with bungee cords on the tops of the saddle bags. The tour box was all of our clothing, also wrapped in trash bags, Bates tour boxes and saddle bags would leak in water....
I had a Bates light bar around the bags and rear this is where I would bungee cord a small 12 pack ice chest, and behind it an old stove rack, to cook on....The saddle bags we had our ground cloths and swimming pool air floats,to put under our sleeping bags..Also in this side was our rain gear, and jackets if we needed them.....The other side was the tent and tools....A place for everything....With some room left over for a few canned goods....And a can or two of sterno fuel for nights it was too wet to have a fire.....
I added things as we saw we needed them, for example I had a first aid kit but no snake bite kit, until, I went to roll out one morning at our camp site and not thee foot away from the front of the tent was a very big Western Diamond Back rattler....We waited him out, packed in a hurry,left him to his area, and ate breakfast at a Mc Donalds.....
Even the worse nights we spent in our little tent were far better than our best nights in a motel....Do it again???? I will at least give it a try.....Then if we can't do it no more we will motel it.....
Claude.....
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1982 GL-1100 Goldwing Interstate
http://www.RudysBackyard.com
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jimsjinx
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 09:33 pm | 11th Post |
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| I have always wanted to, but never have. Never had any stuff, you know,gear.If I aquire a trailer to haul the "stuff" in, we may well do it someday soon. Jim
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redbaron
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 09:45 pm | 12th Post |
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You won't regret it Jim.....Camping gear can be very expensive or very cheap, we bought ours for the most part from Wally World.....I still have lanterns, stoves, tables,etc, and a couple of tents that we used later on camping out using our van....Visit your local Wally World make a list of what you want and see if it will fit in your trailer, then go camping......
I was in the Boy Scouts as a child and as an adult for over 26 years...A lot of what I taught my boys, they are now teaching it to their sons....There is nothing like setting around a camp fire with your two adult sons and your two grandsons to make you feel like you have passed on something of you to them, a love of camping out under the stars......its a wonderful feeling........except my youngest grandsons snoring!!!!! and he kicks too!!!!!
Claude....
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1982 GL-1100 Goldwing Interstate
http://www.RudysBackyard.com
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marvo75
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 10:09 pm | 13th Post |
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We are mostly motel dwellers, i'm sportin a broken hip and air mattresses just hurt it,and i cant even tell you what i would be like if i slept on the ground! We camp about 3 times a year at the lake here and usually rent the cabins. back before i broke some bones i used to camp all the time. My body isn't built for it no more
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Just doin what i can with what i got.
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rider 76
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 10:25 pm | 14th Post |
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handyrandy wrote: I always do unless it is raining. I am heading to upstate new york next week for a few days solo. The better half has to stay home and work the business. We are self employed so we have a lot of freedom. Problem is most of our business happens on the weekends so I am more free through the week. Opposite most other people who like to camp and ride. So I go alone a lot.
Here we are in Tennessee last fall.
Good Man, camping is where it's at!!
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Did you know!?
A KIKI bird is a little foul that runs around Canada in the winter screaming KIKIKIrist it's cold!!! But those little *!!#*! don't scare me from riding!!!
73 cb 350 '84 Venture Royal 1200
75 Norton 850 76 gl 1000 LTD
83 silverwing
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marvo75
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 10:45 pm | 15th Post |
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| Camping is fun yes,but so is sittin poolside taking in the scenery
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Just doin what i can with what i got.
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Motosickle
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 10:58 pm | 16th Post |
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i camped out on the return from out west. it was a bit too cold on the way out.
i plan on having better equipment next year. especially since i have more space now.
RobinAttachment: arizona268 copy.jpg (Downloaded 117 times)
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5700 miles in one trip this year.....how many miles on next year's trip?
13 Honda
6 Yamaha
5 Harley-Davidson
5 Triumph
4 Kawasaki
4 Suzuki
2 BMW
1 BSA
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Motosickle
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 11:01 pm | 17th Post |
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of course this is a nice alternative. camping/hotel all in one. and it wasn't that much more than a campsite.
RobinAttachment: louisiana300 copy.jpg (Downloaded 115 times)
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5700 miles in one trip this year.....how many miles on next year's trip?
13 Honda
6 Yamaha
5 Harley-Davidson
5 Triumph
4 Kawasaki
4 Suzuki
2 BMW
1 BSA
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handyrandy
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 11:30 pm | 18th Post |
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You know the big thing about camping is experience doing it. We are like clockwork setting up and tearing down. We carry no more than what we actually need. Although we always draw onlookers at the campgrounds taking bets on whether we will get all the stuff back on the bike or not.
If you want to start motorcycle camping I suggest going with really experienced campers a few times. Experienced campers know how to get in and get out with the least possible effort and have some fun in the process. Borrow some equipment also. If you find out it is fun, take that money you would have spent on a bunch of cheap worthless camping equipment and put it toward some real equipment.
And you get what you pay for equipment wise. period. A tent with out a full coverage fly will eventually leak on you if it rains. Maybe sooner than later. Our tent from a dedicated backpacking store, Eastern Moutain Sports is going on 12 years of service being used every summer since purchase.
The thing about packing it on the bike is smallness. Small size + Quality = $$$ If you want small and the absolute best, you ought to go to a dedicated backpacking store, although bigger sporting goods stores specializing in hunting fishing like the Cabelas have some decent stuff. If you are pulling a trailer you can get away with bigger less costly stuff. If it doesn't bother you to pack up in the middle of the night and drive to a motel soaking wet though, buy a cheap tent. If you live in the drought ridden south, you might not need a tent or a sleeping bag. Just a bug screen and a mattress. If you live in the north east, it is going to rain and that is the way it is.
Which brings up another point. Ventilation. The best tents are the ones that will ventilate good in the hot humid weather with the fly on. If you know that it will not rain leave the fly off and sleep in the screen house inner part of the tent and look at the stars. Really nice as long as it does not start raining in the middle of the night. My latest tent has a door on both sides. I can put the fly on and open both sides to let the breeze through in the hot humid nights, and if it starts raining I just shut the doors. A lot of tents just have one door and they really really suck with the fly on in the summer.
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81' GL 1100 Standard with Vetter 5 fairing with lowers, radio pod and Hondaline suitcase bags and trunk.
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Motosickle
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Posted: Fri Aug 8th, 2008 11:55 pm | 19th Post |
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HAndyrandy, what do you use for a bottom pad? i need to upgrade my pad under the bag.
robin
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5700 miles in one trip this year.....how many miles on next year's trip?
13 Honda
6 Yamaha
5 Harley-Davidson
5 Triumph
4 Kawasaki
4 Suzuki
2 BMW
1 BSA
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handyrandy
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Posted: Sat Aug 9th, 2008 12:14 am | 20th Post |
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I know these are expensive, But they are the absolutely the best money I have ever spent on camping equipment. Pack up to the size of a coffee can and I have the deluxe size. They will add 10-20 degrees to your sleeping bag rating also. I was done with camping till I discovered these.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0031768516865a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=exped&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=exped&noImage=0
These are designed for backpacking so the stuff sack turns into a pump. These are filled with goose down so blowing them up with your mouth is a no no. What I did was buy a regular air mattress pump, you know 4 D batterys, and get a piece of clear tubing from lowes and make an adapter. The pump is a little large, but I haven't got around to down sizing it yet. REMEMBER to duck tape a piece of cardboard over the switch so it dosent come on in the pack. Dont ask how I know this.
I also have this exped pillow pump that is surprisingly comfortable for its size. And it folds up to the size of a can of soda and doubles as a pump also.
http://www.backcountrygear.com/catalog/accessdetail.cfm/EXP315
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81' GL 1100 Standard with Vetter 5 fairing with lowers, radio pod and Hondaline suitcase bags and trunk.
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