Right-ho, it is Sunday, a day of peace and for doing good works.
It is your first tour, robjet. It matters not if it is a day or two in Jockland or ten weeks in the Kalahari; the same basic rules apply.
1. WHAT TO TAKE?
You will take too much stuff. Put everything out that you and your pillion intend to take, including your tent, chairs, frying pan and hair dryers. In short, the whole nine yards.
Will it, you and your pillion all fit on the bike? Answer yes, OK. Answer no, start discarding items.
Which items to discard? Impossible to answer, as nobody knows the items you wanted to take in the first place. Too many clothes / pairs of shoes and / or too many of the wrong sort is usually a good place to start looking.
Repeat as necessary until it all fits. This may take more than one go.
GOOD TIP: You are unlikely to be meeting royalty on your travels, do not pack as if you will be.
GOOD TIP TWO: Try to take clothes that double up. What does that mean? You are camping; it is easy to guess that you might need a fleece if it is chilly in the evening, perhaps? The same fleece can be used as a mid-layer on your ride. You do not need two fleeces.
GOOD TIP THREE: You will not need tons of tools and spares, particularly if you do not know how or why to use them. If you know (or can learn) how to use a puncture repair kit in the rain, take one. If not, call the AA just like normal.
GOOD TIP FOUR: You will still end up taking too much stuff. When you get back, have a look at the items you used and those that you did not touch. Remember the ones you used, you will probably need these next time you go. The items that you did not use? The chances are you will not use them next time, either. Never pack them again. Anything that you wish you had taken, but didn't? Make a note to take it for next time.... but remember, you may need to discard something else.
2. HOW TO PACK?
Neatly, is the answer and in some sort of sequence according to the order you are likely to need or use the items in.
Things WILL get wet if it rains. Put items in plastic bags, preferably inside one larger plastic bag. Motorcycling is one plastic bag after another. Not only will it keep everything dry it will also keep them together in some sort of order.
Try to put heavier items (these are probably your tent and the cooking gear) at the bottom. This brings the weight lower (which is of some advantage) but of much more importance, you may well not need them until you stop at the end of the day. So, you don't want to be unpacking them each time just to get at your camera or your pillion's handbag.
I use Pac-it cubes. Not cheap but they have lasted me years and do work well.
3. WHAT IF IT WON'T ALL FIT?
If you have already discarded everything you can, but your tent or camping chairs will not fit, you now have no choice but to start securing stuff elsewhere.
Is a two / three / four man tent too heavy? Assuming it is reasonably modern, no.
Where and how? The golden rule to remember is that you and your pillion are sitting on a two-wheeled vehicle, travelling maybe at up to 100 miles an hour.
You want to be reasonably comfortable. What does reasonably comfortable mean? Can you and the pillion get on - and sit on - the loaded bike? Can you lift the loaded bike off / onto its stands? Can you and your pillion sit on the bike for several hours on end, in the rain, without wishing you had never started? Yes. Good, nearly done. No, re-pack until you can.
But, comfort is only one part of a two part equation. Above all you want to be safe. What does safe, mean? You do not want stuff coming off as it gets lost, that is a gimme. What you really do not want is stuff coming off to get caught in the wheels, interfere with the steering or get burnt on the exhaust.
You will need to strap the items on. Depending on what you intend to carry and what sort of luggage you have, this is either easy or slightly more difficult but never impossible.
Most bikes and hard luggage (as opposed to some soft throw-over panniers) have enough fixing points to secure two persons' gear safely. Weight distribution helps, but is not the great curse that everyone thinks it is. Just be sensible and try to be symmetrical. An untidy looking bike is bike is a more often than not a badly packed one.
Look at the items that you need to strap on. Where can they go, to leave you with a reasonably tidy looking symmetrical bike, so that you can get at things and you and your pillion still enjoy the ride? Only you know what the items are, so try fitting it all on, is what you need to do.
4. WHAT STRAPS?
There are lots of proprietary brands, from cheap to expensive.
At the cheap end, conventional stretch bungees, in assorted lengths and designs. They work but inevitably ping off when you are in a hurry and are sometimes tricky to tension, 'just right'.
Rokstraps, are good but pricy. You may also need a couple of different lengths in order to get the best tension.
Somewhere in between are the longer 'strap type' straps (if you see what I mean) that come with a single friction based catch. These are useful if you have an odd shaped load, or require different lengths to fit in with assorted anchorage points. They come in assorted lengths off the shelf or you can try to blag some for free from a BUMW dealers, as they are used to strap new bikes into their delivery crates. The good thing is that if these type of straps can be cut to better lengths, if required. Simply cut and seal the frayed end with a flame.
At the top of the tree are the ratchet type straps, great for really big, awkward items and tying a bike down. You will not need them.
5. WHAT TO REMEMBER?
Motorcycles vibrate. If an item can work lose, it will. Mix in rain, which is a wet and a lubricant, it will speed the process. Put kit on reasonably tight, but not so tight as to break or bend something or that you cannot get it off without enducing a heart attack. When you stop for fuel or a coffee, have a quick 'ping' at the straps to make sure something is not lose. If it is, tighten it or maybe move it.
If (when you stop at then end of the day's ride you) find something is always lose, change its position tomorrow. Often there is little rhyme nor reason to it. I have a chair that sometimes loosens a bit, but sometimes doesn't.
That it's YOUR bike. Half of the fun of owning a bike is the sense of independence and self-reliance it is meant to bring. Be confident. Try things for yourself. You will make mistakes, everyone did and still does. But few are fatal or even that painful.
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http://www.rokstraps.com/
http://www.toolspot.co.uk/category/tie-downs
http://www.lazymotorbike.eu/tips/camping/
http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Straps.html
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/MCN/community/Forums/Categories/Topic/?topic-id=389135&start-page=0
), just ignore the willy-wavers, there'll always be plenty of people who are pleased to help a newbie out.
