May 2004

How to Pack Your Motorcycle

If you do much touring on your bike, you'll need to get organized. Here are a few tips on packing your bike for a trip.

1. Create a packing list of everything you want to take and where it will be placed on the bike. Always work from a printed packing list that you can take with you.
2. Start planning what to take and do a trial run to pack your bike a week before you leave. That way you'll know what you can and cannot take.
3. When packing your bags, remember to equalize the weight. Weigh the bags on a scale.
4. Try to pack one bag with all the things you'll need to carry into the motel. The other bag will have items required later on.
5. Be sure to pack things for both warm and cold weather. You never know when the weather may get cold and you'll need winter gloves and turtleneck shirts.
6. If you're packing for a trip of a week or more, pack for only three days. Clothes should be tightly rolled up to assume the smallest space.
7. On the third day, plan to do laundry at the motel. Put on swim trunks or a bathing suit and put all your clothes into the washer while you hangout at the pool. Then you're set for three more days.
8. Be sure to pack clothes that don't require special handling so everything can be washed in one load. Don't forget to bring lots of quarters.
9. Don't forget that UPS, Mail Boxes, Etc. and the US Postal Service exist. You can have additional clothes sent ahead or even dirty laundry sent home. Also, you don't need to pack everything you buy along the way. Have them mailed home.
10. If your saddlebags are not waterproof, pack all items in plastic Ziploc bags. T-shirts can be rolled up and placed in bags to save space. Pack your socks inside your sneakers. Think small for toiletries. Buy small bottles of shampoo, deodorant, powder, toothpaste, etc. Take very few cosmetics. Take a small hair dryer with a metal round brush that can act as a curling iron.
11. Remember to bring things such as maps, cameras, cell phone, and money. Check the list at least three times.
12. Take an empty bag to bring home dirty laundry. It also makes a great backrest for the ride back home.
13. When you bungee items to your bike, remember this rule: Make sure your rain gear is on top. You don't want to have to unpack when it starts to rain.
14. Place the packing list in your jacket or other readily available spot.
15. Have a great trip!

Tips:

1. Use removable bags in your saddlebags to be able to easily move the contents from your bike to a motel or campsite.
2. Always place items you don't want to get wet in plastic Ziploc bags.
3. Try to keep items you need on the road in a place where they can be easily accessed.
4. Keep several different sizes of bungee cords as well as cargo nets.
5. Drive your bike around before you go out on a main road to make sure nothing it going to fall off.
6. Periodically check your load.
7. Always look ahead to the rider in front of you and check their load for position and movement.
8. Do not overload your bike; check your manual for maximum load values.

Donna Leigh Bliss Chapter Director

Cruising with Donna

In the last issue of The Capitol Cruiser, I talked about an accident that occurred during our March ride and the need to be more safety consciousness when out on group rides. I asked each member to send me at least one guideline we can use for a pre-ride safety briefing. I asked that these be sent to me by April 30. I repeated this request at our monthly meeting on April 13. While I hoped that everyone would respond given the importance of the topic, I wasn’t expecting that to happen. I knew that some would forget or some would not be sure what to write or some might not care since they don’t do group riding. By April 28 I had not received any responses and was quite discouraged, as I couldn’t imagine that no one would take the time to send me a safety guideline.

Mary and Gaby stepped in at the nick of time. Each sent me a safety guideline. While I appreciate their effort, I know there are more than two members of the Capitol Cruisers. So how about the rest of you? Safety has to be more than something we pay lip service to.

I have done my part along with Mary and Gaby. Safe Group Riding Guideline #1: Riding the Stagger Formation is shown below. Mary and Gaby’s will be in the next newsletter. Now it’s time for you to step up and send me your guideline.

If you don’t, who will?

Riding the Stagger Formation

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation’s Guide to Motorcycling Excellence: Skills, Knowledge, and Strategies for Riding Right (1995) talks about the popularity of the stagger formation for group rides.

The leader starts off in the left side of the lane while the second rider is in the right side of the lane one second behind the leader. The third rider is in the left side of the lane, two seconds behind the leader and one second behind the second rider. And so on.

Maintaining this spacing and distance helps to keep the group close while allowing a safe distance between riders. This space cushion should be increased during inclement weather to avoid road spray and “rooster tails.”

The diagram below shows the stagger formation.

You can keep a mental check on your spacing by mentally counting “one-one thousand, two-one thousand when the rider in front of you passes a marker such as a telephone pole.

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