LankyRider
Registered user
No, it's not "how do I get on the ferry" or "should I cuddle my panniers at night", I've read up on those already
I fancied trying some touring on my new GSA, never actually been touring on a bike before, so decided to try it for the first time with a group tour.
I'm booked up with Motorrad Tours for their trip to Berlin for the Pure&Crafted/Motorrad Days festivals.
I think I've pretty much got all the essentials sorted, thanks to some great lists on this site, I just had a couple of questions that I wanted to poll the collective wisdom about.
GPS-only or GPS plus route-notes/maps?
I'm not usually a tank bag guy, so my plan was to just load the routes into my Zumo XT and use only that for navigation. I'll have my printed route-notes in my panniers somewhere if I need them, but they won't be visible while riding. I bought a LoneRider handlebar bag to give me some small amount of storage up front, for cash, phone, sunglasses, etc.
Am I being an idiot for not having a tank bag with my route-notes/maps visible in the map pocket while riding? If that is the case then I would probably ditch the handlebar bag and get the smallest tank bag I could find with a map pocket. The BMW ones look massive, so I was thinking of the SW-Motech Pro Daypack with the Tablet drybag attached to the top.
Flip-up lid?
When I got back into biking last year I picked up a Shoei GT Air II, which has been pretty good, although I do get a pressure point right at the top of my noggin after about 60-90 minutes of riding, so I have to keep wiggling my helmet just to move it around and relieve the pressure a little. I'm usually ready for a coffee stop anyway after 90 minutes of riding so it hasn't bothered me too much, but I'm not sure what durations these tour groups ride for before stopping for a break. Also, after browsing their photo galleries from previous trips it seems like 95% of them are in flip-up lids and I'm wondering if I should start trying this flip-up malarky for myself. How useful are they when touring?
Any opinions appreciated.
Cheers,
Charlie
I fancied trying some touring on my new GSA, never actually been touring on a bike before, so decided to try it for the first time with a group tour.
I'm booked up with Motorrad Tours for their trip to Berlin for the Pure&Crafted/Motorrad Days festivals.
I think I've pretty much got all the essentials sorted, thanks to some great lists on this site, I just had a couple of questions that I wanted to poll the collective wisdom about.
GPS-only or GPS plus route-notes/maps?
I'm not usually a tank bag guy, so my plan was to just load the routes into my Zumo XT and use only that for navigation. I'll have my printed route-notes in my panniers somewhere if I need them, but they won't be visible while riding. I bought a LoneRider handlebar bag to give me some small amount of storage up front, for cash, phone, sunglasses, etc.
Am I being an idiot for not having a tank bag with my route-notes/maps visible in the map pocket while riding? If that is the case then I would probably ditch the handlebar bag and get the smallest tank bag I could find with a map pocket. The BMW ones look massive, so I was thinking of the SW-Motech Pro Daypack with the Tablet drybag attached to the top.
Flip-up lid?
When I got back into biking last year I picked up a Shoei GT Air II, which has been pretty good, although I do get a pressure point right at the top of my noggin after about 60-90 minutes of riding, so I have to keep wiggling my helmet just to move it around and relieve the pressure a little. I'm usually ready for a coffee stop anyway after 90 minutes of riding so it hasn't bothered me too much, but I'm not sure what durations these tour groups ride for before stopping for a break. Also, after browsing their photo galleries from previous trips it seems like 95% of them are in flip-up lids and I'm wondering if I should start trying this flip-up malarky for myself. How useful are they when touring?
Any opinions appreciated.
Cheers,
Charlie