Transcontinental moto camping gear
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- Опубліковано 17 сер 2022
- Paul Zig shares how he packed for two transcontinental motorcycle camping roundtrips on his 2020 V-Strom 650. Paul also describes some of the equipment that he uses. Paul Zig has over 20 years motorcycling experience riding in the 48 contiguous United States.
Great video of your kit. Thanks from Seattle
Glad to hear Mike. Thanks! Paul
This is a very helpful video, Paul!
Glad to hear! Thanks
Love watching loyal VStrom 650 riders. That bear vault is on my list. Had a white ''17 base model 650, put 30k trouble free miles on it. Always wanted an XT, so I bought one of the last '22 Adventure 650's. Hated to see the 1st one go and hoped #2 would be as good. It is. These bikes are really satisfying and dependable as a hammer. Proud to ride one. Great video and I'll make use of your info.
Frank. Great to hear from a fellow V-Strom rider. Thanks for the positive comments. I hope you enjoy your new XT! Your hammer analogy is spot on. Regards Paul
Thanks Paul, very informative video. Hopefully one day I will have this set up and head out myself.
Thanks Barry! Regards Paul
Paul,
You do a great job with you videos on your very long trips. I am just amazed at your ability to ride on extended trips, camp and produce such scenic videos. You have made motorcycle travel an art and a science. As I said you are living my dream.
Hopefully you will not mind if I tell you more of my minor motorcycle experiences. When I start riding in the spring I will 76. I usually ride 1 or 2 times a week for about 2 hours each time. In the past I have taken my bikes along on vacations in northern Michigan, transporting them on my small utility trailer. Last fall we rented a house in the northern Lower Peninsula, and I was able to ride twice a day in between hikes with our dog. The area is full of vacation homes on the lakes and very few people in the off season, so the scenic roads are almost car free. Where we lived last the county roads were mostly paved and where we live now are mostly dirt, so I normally ride more than 50% dirt roads now. I am a very cautious motorcycle rider, so I ride the back country roads to avoid traffic. In my first few months of riding the V-Strom I took a dump on a dirt road at a very slow speed on an almost 1-lane turn in mud on the shoulder, so I purchased Dunlop Trailmax Mission50/50 tires and with more dirt road experience I hope to avoid another crash. No damage to bike but only to my pride. Freshly graded roads around here are a death trap for a V-Strom, the road will be mush.
As you probably know the 2019 XT Touring comes standard with crash bars, center stand, hand guards, plastic side cases, wire wheels and lower engine cowling. The previous owner installed the same Givi windscreen that you have installed. I have installed several accessories: SW-MOTECH side stand foot, for safety visibility I installed low cost yellow (Amazon) driving lights inboard of the crash bars (can be wired white or yellow/white for brighter light) that also shine from the side with a handle bar switch, loud Wolo air horn wired to horn switch to get a drivers attention, Suzuki gas tank protection film, Knight Riderz auxiliary brake light sequential LED light bar that is 7” long with 12 LED’s flashing in sequence one at a time left to right back and forth, then when brakes are applied they all flash at once and after some seconds they turn to solid red. The light bar is mounted on aluminum flat stock attached to the lower holes of the license plate, Adventure Tech foot peg lowing kit and shift lever relocation to fit my Alpinestars endure boots and radiator guard from Amazon. Like you I also have an Arai helmet, the Signet-X (High Viz) for oval heads that I started wearing after purchasing the V-Storm since my AGV helmet was 9-years old. This year I started wearing the Helite Turtle 2 air bag vest (High Viz) with a tether to the frame. I wear a lot of armor and with the vest I cut back on the armor. I took a Returning Rider M/C safety course last summer. Do you have near accidents with cars?
Maybe you have watched some of the UA-cam channels that I have. John at Ozark Backroads has a Suzuki like mine; he has great maintenance and installation videos. I may install the front fork emulators per his video. Then there is Noraly at Itchy Boots that I have watched for a couple of years, even my wife was asking when her next episode was available. I found you on UA-cam a few months ago. Sounds like you do a good job with maintenance, even on the road since you accumulated many miles. Sterling on Motorcycle Travel Channel does a good job too. The 72+ year old motorcyclist on My Senior Moments was in a motorcycle accident in Mexico; his Thanksgiving video was emotional since he broke an arm and leg. He just posted a short update on his injuries. There are too many motorcycling videos on UA-cam to watch them all.
In the last video of yours that I watched you evidently have TPMS on you wheels with the PSI reading on your phone. What brand and model did you purchase and do they work well? How do you determine the rear tire air pressure for the load you carry? You said for security you use a motorcycle cover; how did you prevent theft of your gear when you visited the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland? What model GPS and Cell Phone holder do you use? What power outlets do you use for GPS and phone? It seemed that your cigarette plug had a lock on it, I have to use a band clamp and cable ties to keep mine in. What helmet speaker/microphone do you use? What GPS and satellite communicator do you use? What brand heated grips? Heated vest?
Sorry for so many questions.
Robert S - Thanks for your kind comments! I am in awe of your riding in your 70's especially given that 50% is on dirt! This is very inspirational. Thanks also for sharing your information. I need to look into the safety vest you wear.
I too have an auxiliary LED brake bar below my top case mount. The SHAD top case also has a brake light and all of my brake lights are wired into a "back-off" system similar to yours.
I have had a few close encounters with autos but the only slow speed "get off" occurred during the 2022 Canadian Tour with a bus in New Hampshire which I describe a little in the episode.
My TPMS system is a FOBO Bike 2 and it works very well so far. I leave the app open on my phone while riding as seen in my travel videos.
At the Rock and Roll museum I left my bike in a motel garage. The locked cover will not stop a determined thief but should hopefully attract some attention when the cover is being cut away. Probably more importantly is that I think it makes the bike less inviting a target.
The Garmin Zumo 396 and Quadlock charger mount are sent through a relay using the license plate light wiring as the trigger for the relay. I have a lot of confidence in the Quadlock system after many thousands of miles.
There is no lock on the dash outlet though I do use a USB plug which is perhaps what you are seeing.
The Sena bluetooth intercom I actually use very little. I do have a mic inside my helmet wired to my GoPro to record my voice which is covered by a "deadcat". The deadcat which works fine unless the wind is very strong.
The GPS satellite communicator carried on my shoulder is a Garmin inReach SE+ which keeps me in contact with loved ones when outside cell coverage and also has an SOS button. My loved ones can also track me whenever they want to.
The heated grips are from BikeMaster. They provide plenty of heat and I discontinued wearing heated gloves as a result.
The heated jacket is by FirstGear and also works well.
I hope this answers your questions. I also hope you have a great and safe 2023 riding season!
Regards
Paul
Hi Paul; I like how you have everything in it's place. I watched this video from a like you provided in one of my comments. Short and to the point, my favorite way to do things. We are kindred spirts! lol! Now, I need to binge you trip video's. Spring is in the air here in Sunny Northern Ontario Canada. Seen a few brave souls out on their bikes, to early for me though. I am still snowmobiling. lol!
Hey Shawn. Great to hear from you. It is in the 70's here today and expected into the 80's later this week. Today was the first day I rode without heated gear! Furthest north I made it into northern Ontario was Georgian Bay - by boat. If you are around that latitude, I can only imagine the winters! Regards Paul
Your camping gear video was very informative, I would like to hear about any modifications to your V-Strom, what gear you wear and any other helpful information. Mine is a 2019 V-Strom 650 XT Touring in red.
Hi Robert.
The red bike sounds very nice! I probably would not have chosen my grey but it was a left over model so I got a good deal. The color has grown on me a bit.
I might do a video in the spring when things warm up to go over my mods and provide a list of specific vendors. I added electronics using a relay off the ignition for my GPS and phone charger. As well, I added back-off lights when adding the top case brake lighting. I dropped my foot pegs an inch to help when standing and added inexpensive metal pedals for better grip. I also added under seat wiring for my heated gear and to allow me to use a tire inflator. The adjustable windscreen is a Givi Airflow. I added crash bars and a bash plate along with a center stand. The center stand is indispensable when dressing the chain which I do every two or three days (at 600 mile intervals) when traveling. I am also adding auxiliary front lights when it warms up a bit since I lost my main headlight during the Canadian excursion and want additional back-up lighting. In Canada I used the bright headlamp as a back-up but if that failed I would be forced to do a field repair. Doable but not ideal. I am already on my third main bulb and have considered installing an LED but have not done so.
My riding gear is very old (>10 years) and was made by Fieldsheer (they apparently no longer make non-heated gear). The pants pocket zip finally gave out in Canada and I am thinking about springing for a new jacket and pants this spring with CE2 armor. I just need to convince my wife!!
I generally do my own maintenance though sometimes seek a mechanic if I am traveling. I try to do my own oil changes on the road but have to find an auto parts store or fueling station willing to let me do so in their parking lot so I can properly dispose of the oil and filter. Aside from oil changes, I replaced the front and rear sprockets and chain due to wear. I also replaced the front and rear brake pads. I tested the valve clearance and and re-shimmed where appropriate. As part of the valve clearance check I also changed the radiator fluid. I plan to lubricate the front and rear bearings this spring.
I hope this gives some food for thought! Thanks for watching. Paul
@@paulzig4323 Thank you for the detailed response. I purchased mine used about Sept. 1st. 2021 with 855 miles. I had found the bike new at a dealer in March 2021 but decided not to purchase at that time. I like the yellow model with gold wheels the best. My previous bike was a 2008 Kawasaki KLR 650 silver and red that I returned to riding on as a learning experience.
Howdy Paul. Mark T. from Texas here. Just got a 21 Strom last week and begining to fit it out. Looked under my seat and back under the tail section is a plasic box that has two hoses attached to it. I see yours does't have that. Any idea what that small box might be?
Hi Mark. Is the box a junction box and tubing wiring conduit for the turn and tail lights? That is the only thing I can think of that far in the tail section. My wiring is not in conduit. You might check Partzilla to see if they have a parts diagram for that part of the 2021 bike. Regards Paul
Hi Paul , What brand name of tent do you have ? Would you recommend it ? Thank you
Hi Stew. It is a two person Clostnature from Amazon. I bought an excellent condition returned one at a discount for only $52 including tax and shipping. It is somewhat difficult to recommend though it was a great value and I have lived in it for nearly 5 months total. On my first trip a grommet failed which the seller did refund $13 for a replacement grommet kit. On my next trip a couple of the tent poles failed which required field repairs. The seller did not cover the poles under their "lifetime" warranty so I had to buy replacement poles for $32. I now carry several spare poles and have not had any more problems. The tent does an excellent job in rain protection and I have never had a condensation issue. The tent is perfect size for my bedding and gear that I bring into the tent. The double entrance is handy and the vestibule protects my moto boots which I leave outside the tent from the rain. The zippers also work well. I did seam seal the tent after a couple months of use. Hard to complain about living 5 months in a $52 tent but the broken poles were a real issue in the middle of a trip. Thanks for watching and please let me know if you have any more questions. Safe riding!