Making Plans - Vacation Trip Ahead

[JustPassinThru_imp]

Okay, seriously - this is the first time I've considered a long trip on a naked bike since 1986, when I was a lot younger and a new rider.

Come September, I will hit the road again - maybe for the last time, who knows?

I've done the cross-country thingy with my Burgman 650. Been dere; done dat. It was good and it was reliable; but the twisties...the Burgman CHASSIS is fully up to it; but the riding position, not so much. Like putting your Barcalounger up on a motorcycle frame. May LOOK comfy; but you're not one with the machine - in fact you feel kinda like you might slide off.

So. CB1100...vibration issues muted with padded grips...and two weeks on the road. Aiming for Colorado because I have some slight business there; but that could change. Just a road trip and change of pace.

Camping will probably not be part of the plan. At this point I prefer to camp at various lodging establishments with mattresses and running water. That, too, could change.

Gear I have: Full-face helmet and a waterproof riding coat/pants. Been out in deluges and all-day rains - they hold the water out.

Now. Question I have for the high-milers: WHAT GEAR do I need? Is a windshield advisable?

Saddlebags have been covered - partly. The ones that fit, seem small. I expect to pack five days' worth of clothes - about three shirts, two pairs jeans. Other needs I'll buy. Plus a CPAP machine and supplies for it; plus shaving kit/medicines.

It can mostly fit in a military dufflebag.

What I'm thinking - since I have a luggage rack on already - is, hopefully panniers that go on easily and with unobtrusive side mountings; that would help support a crosswise military duffle tied on the top with straps. I don't much like trunks/top-boxes, because they're limiting. I have a tailbag but it doesn't fit on the CB - or won't until I move turn signals.

Suggestions?

[the Ferret]

I've done trips both ways with a shield and without. If a lot of freeway work is involved a shield is nice. I find the limit for me without a shield to ride comfortably is about 70 miles per hour. Below that no shield no problem, above that it's nice to have something to break the wind up on my chest. That doesn't require a big shield and even a dart screen does a pretty decent job I am told. A shield with a top edge 10" or less above the ign. The other alternative is a really big shield, like a plexifairing at least 20" above the ign. In between you get buffeting and flag flapping noise. At least that seems to be the common consensus.

I use a set of small saddlebags, tank bag and tail pack that will hold 5 days worth of stuff for me, but maybe not for someone else. It depends on how much extraneous stuff you want to take. The CPAP you are taking would require a tail pack or saddlebag by itself.

A good rain suit, a change of clothes, a toothbrush and some deodorant, my medicine, some maps and a credit card is basically all that's essential, but I usually carry a more than that.

Here is my intended packing list for the upcoming rally a 6 day trip for me

PACKING LIST FOR CB1100 RALLY


WEAR
Helmet
Light balaclava (if needed otherwise in jacket pocket)
Prescription glasses
Leather jacket or Tourmaster jacket
Hi Viz riding vest
Medium weight gloves (deerskin)
riding pants
Silvermax shirt
Socks
boots
Camera on lanyard

Wallet
Drivers License
AAA card
health ins cards
2 credit cards
$ 200 cash
Insurance and registration info
Emergency contact and allergy info
Pic of family
Spare ignition key

TANK BAG
Sunglasses (in hard case)
Small first Aid kit
Chapstick
Bottle of water
Bottle of Aleve
Side stand plate w/string (left pocket)
Mini camera tripod
Trip Log book
Tea bags/sugar
Ball cap…. (Lichtenstein)
Cable lock for bike/helmet
Small flashlight
1 microfiber cloth
Spray bottle of water for face shield

RIGHT SADDLEBAG (in plastic bags)
Spare prescription glasses in hard case
Medicine bag with BP/Chol/asst OTC meds,
Tooth paste, tooth brush, shaver, razor
Phone charger
Camera charger
Ipad charger
Power stick
Black Jeans
Light shoes

LEFT SADDLEBAG
C9 sleep wear (in plastic bag)
2 pr of washable socks (in plastic bag)
2 t-shirts (in plastic bag)
1 turtle neck long sleeve shirt (in plastic bag)
1 Jeans (in plastic bag)

TAIL PACK
Sweatshirt
Medium gloves (deer skin gauntlet)
Rain suit
Maps and motel registration info
Spare rox straps
Towel for drying seat in morning
*Motorcycle jumper cables
*Siphon
Tire repair kit
3 oz of motor oil in bottle rolled up in a rag
Thermos

UNDER SEAT
Factory tool kit ( supplemented)
Chain lube

*(I don't normally carry the siphon or jumper cables unless on a trip with a group)

[Cormanus]

Check out [url=http://cb1100forum.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=5611]this thread.

[Chapomis_imp]

I've done trips both ways with a shield and without. If a lot of freeway work is involved a shield is nice. I find the limit for me without a shield to ride comfortably is about 70 miles per hour. Below that no shield no problem, above that it's nice to have something to break the wind up on my chest. That doesn't require a big shield and even a dart screen does a pretty decent job I am told. A shield with a top edge 10" or less above the ign. The other alternative is a really big shield, like a plexifairing at least 20" above the ign. In between you get buffeting and flag flapping noise. At least that seems to be the common consensus.

I use a set of small saddlebags, tank bag and tail pack that will hold 5 days worth of stuff for me, but maybe not for someone else. It depends on how much extraneous stuff you want to take. The CPAP you are taking would require a tail pack or saddlebag by itself.

A good rain suit, a change of clothes, a toothbrush and some deodorant, my medicine, some maps and a credit card is basically all that's essential, but I usually carry a more than that.

Here is my intended packing list for the upcoming rally a 6 day trip for me

PACKING LIST FOR CB1100 RALLY


WEAR
Helmet
Light balaclava (if needed otherwise in jacket pocket)
Prescription glasses
Leather jacket or Tourmaster jacket
Hi Viz riding vest
Medium weight gloves (deerskin)
riding pants
Silvermax shirt
Socks
boots
Camera on lanyard

Wallet
Drivers License
AAA card
health ins cards
2 credit cards
$ 200 cash
Insurance and registration info
Emergency contact and allergy info
Pic of family
Spare ignition key

TANK BAG
Sunglasses (in hard case)
Small first Aid kit
Chapstick
Bottle of water
Bottle of Aleve
Side stand plate w/string (left pocket)
Mini camera tripod
Trip Log book
Tea bags/sugar
Ball cap…. (Lichtenstein)
Cable lock for bike/helmet
Small flashlight
1 microfiber cloth
Spray bottle of water for face shield

RIGHT SADDLEBAG (in plastic bags)
Spare prescription glasses in hard case
Medicine bag with BP/Chol/asst OTC meds,
Tooth paste, tooth brush, shaver, razor
Phone charger
Camera charger
Ipad charger
Power stick
Black Jeans
Light shoes

LEFT SADDLEBAG
C9 sleep wear (in plastic bag)
2 pr of washable socks (in plastic bag)
2 t-shirts (in plastic bag)
1 turtle neck long sleeve shirt (in plastic bag)
1 Jeans (in plastic bag)

TAIL PACK
Sweatshirt
Medium gloves (deer skin gauntlet)
Rain suit
Maps and motel registration info
Spare rox straps
Towel for drying seat in morning
*Motorcycle jumper cables
*Siphon
Tire repair kit
3 oz of motor oil in bottle rolled up in a rag
Thermos

UNDER SEAT
Factory tool kit ( supplemented)
Chain lube

*(I don't normally carry the siphon or jumper cables unless on a trip with a group)

I just added the Puig Plus shield to mine and it made a nice difference. It sits 12" above the ign and takes less than 5 minutes to put on or take off. I think it looks okay on the bike, but prefer nothing as far as looks go.

[Django]

This is my traveller's bike:



Windshield

A good windshield really helps not to get fatigued too much on longer trips. There are 2 important points to consider:
[li]form should be somehow aerodynamic,[/li] [li]mount angle not too steep.
[/li]
If your windshield is just flat and too steep mounted, it will cause buffeting and wind noise and does not really help. It took me a couple of times, to find the right position of my windshield.


Btw. I know the difference of riding with and without windshield and I wouldn't go out for a journey without a windshield.

And forget about these small flyscreens. They are more or less cosmetic.

Tank Bag

In the tank bag I carry things, which should be easily at hand during the ride: some drink, camera, gadgets, sunglasses, warm shirt...

I ride a Held tank bag, which is mounted with a belt in front and a velcro fastener, coming out between seat and tank. The bag is very easy to dismount for fueling and very gentle to the tank painting. I don't like magnetic tank bags, which definitely lead to scratches in some way.

Drybag

I use this yellow, 35 liter drybag from sw motech. It comes with belts for a very easy mounting to the rear seat, prolonged by my Fehling rear rack.

It's completely dry inside, carries my luggage for the whole week, is very fast to mount and unmount and comfortably to carry by hand, when walking from the bike to the hotel.

When at home or in the hotel room, it is very comfortable to pack from top like a normal travellers bag or sport bag, large opening.

Raining Gear

At the rear rack, below the yellow drybag, you may notice a small black drybag. This is a small 5 liter drybag, seperately mounted to the rack. It carries my raining gear. So if it starts to rain, I easily can pull out my gear to protect myself against the rain, which comes quite often in Germany.

I have a 2 piece raining gear, jacket and trousers, which I can pull over my leather easily. I don't like the one piece raining gear, as it's too acrobatic to me, to get into this.

Well, that's all for me.

When I go out for a day trip, I only use the tank bag and my raining gear at the rack like this:



The bag with the raining gear is at the bike more or less all the time.

Navigation

Last not least, for me navigation has become an important assistant, to guide me a whole day along hundreds of kilometer of twisted back country roads.

I ride a ZUMO 660 at my handlebar:



Basically I plan my routes using the software basecamp and a lot of maps on my pc at home or even in the hotel room. Then I send my desired route to my ZUMO which then is just used as a guide on my ride thru the country. It does not really calculate any route, as you would use it in a car. I plan the route, not my device.

However, sometimes I just press the `bring me home' button.

Big comfort during a ride is also the feature `where's the next gas station'.

[JustPassinThru_imp]

These are all useful suggestions - just what I wanted!

Ferret...your organization astounds me. I should be so put-together. I used to have a list for packing, but nothing that well thought-out.
To the windshield advocates:

Does THIS look like a good choice?


http://www.nationalcycle.com/n8332-01.html
Or THIS?


http://www.nationalcycle.com/n8613-01.html

[ChipBeck_imp]

Rich,

For 3 years I used a CPAP machine. Travelling with it was a PITA and sleeping with it was worse. Camping and backpacking were out of the question. A buddy told me to try a $25 dollar plastic mouthpiece from puresleep.com and it was a miracle. It moves your lower jaw slightly forward when you bite into it and keeps your airway open better than air pressure. You can put it into your pocket, no batteries, no hoses, no need for electricity, and when you go to bed at night you don't look like a deep sea diver. I sleep better and can roll over without getting a hose wrapped around my neck.

Try it and it will change your life bro.

Chip

[JustPassinThru_imp]

Rich,

For 3 years I used a CPAP machine. Travelling with it was a PITA and sleeping with it was worse. Camping and backpacking were out of the question. A buddy told me to try a $25 dollar plastic mouthpiece from puresleep.com and it was a miracle. It moves your lower jaw slightly forward when you bite into it and keeps your airway open better than air pressure. You can put it into your pocket, no batteries, no hoses, no need for electricity, and when you go to bed at night you don't look like a deep sea diver. I sleep better and can roll over without getting a hose wrapped around my neck.

Try it and it will change your life bro.

Chip

Thanks for the input.

However, I've just - three months ago - been through the Sleep Study and gotten the machine. Really, truly...the difference has been phenomenal for me. It's way off-topic, but it's been a subtle change. To use a computer analogy, it's like getting a virus cleaned off your machine's OS.

So..with this improvement...I want to just let things rest before I start fooling around more. Sure, it's a PITA. More so when - as we discussed privately - I have to travel for work, town to town running freight trains.

I'll live with it. The change has been just

[the Ferret]

These are all useful suggestions - just what I wanted!

Ferret...your organization astounds me. I should be so put-together. I used to have a list for packing, but nothing that well thought-out.
To the windshield advocates:

Does THIS look like a good choice?


http://www.nationalcycle.com/n8332-01.html
Or THIS?


http://www.nationalcycle.com/n8613-01.html

My understanding is the top one will work on our bikes, but the longer legs on the bottom one hit the turn signals on our bikes.

CA200, Flynrider and CIP all have the top one I believe.

[DJS_imp]

I've done trips both ways with a shield and without. If a lot of freeway work is involved a shield is nice. I find the limit for me without a shield to ride comfortably is about 70 miles per hour. Below that no shield no problem, above that it's nice to have something to break the wind up on my chest. That doesn't require a big shield and even a dart screen does a pretty decent job I am told. A shield with a top edge 10" or less above the ign. The other alternative is a really big shield, like a plexifairing at least 20" above the ign. In between you get buffeting and flag flapping noise. At least that seems to be the common consensus.

I use a set of small saddlebags, tank bag and tail pack that will hold 5 days worth of stuff for me, but maybe not for someone else. It depends on how much extraneous stuff you want to take. The CPAP you are taking would require a tail pack or saddlebag by itself.

A good rain suit, a change of clothes, a toothbrush and some deodorant, my medicine, some maps and a credit card is basically all that's essential, but I usually carry a more than that.

Here is my intended packing list for the upcoming rally a 6 day trip for me

PACKING LIST FOR CB1100 RALLY


WEAR
Helmet
Light balaclava (if needed otherwise in jacket pocket)
Prescription glasses
Leather jacket or Tourmaster jacket
Hi Viz riding vest
Medium weight gloves (deerskin)
riding pants
Silvermax shirt
Socks
boots
Camera on lanyard

Wallet
Drivers License
AAA card
health ins cards
2 credit cards
$ 200 cash
Insurance and registration info
Emergency contact and allergy info
Pic of family
Spare ignition key

TANK BAG
Sunglasses (in hard case)
Small first Aid kit
Chapstick
Bottle of water
Bottle of Aleve
Side stand plate w/string (left pocket)
Mini camera tripod
Trip Log book
Tea bags/sugar
Ball cap…. (Lichtenstein)
Cable lock for bike/helmet
Small flashlight
1 microfiber cloth
Spray bottle of water for face shield

RIGHT SADDLEBAG (in plastic bags)
Spare prescription glasses in hard case
Medicine bag with BP/Chol/asst OTC meds,
Tooth paste, tooth brush, shaver, razor
Phone charger
Camera charger
Ipad charger
Power stick
Black Jeans
Light shoes

LEFT SADDLEBAG
C9 sleep wear (in plastic bag)
2 pr of washable socks (in plastic bag)
2 t-shirts (in plastic bag)
1 turtle neck long sleeve shirt (in plastic bag)
1 Jeans (in plastic bag)

TAIL PACK
Sweatshirt
Medium gloves (deer skin gauntlet)
Rain suit
Maps and motel registration info
Spare rox straps
Towel for drying seat in morning
*Motorcycle jumper cables
*Siphon
Tire repair kit
3 oz of motor oil in bottle rolled up in a rag
Thermos

UNDER SEAT
Factory tool kit ( supplemented)
Chain lube

*(I don't normally carry the siphon or jumper cables unless on a trip with a group)

I just added the Puig Plus shield to mine and it made a nice difference. It sits 12" above the ign and takes less than 5 minutes to put on or take off. I think it looks okay on the bike, but prefer nothing as far as looks go.

I just added the Puig Plus shield to mine and it made a nice difference. It sits 12" above the ign and takes less than 5 minutes to put on or take off. I think it looks okay on the bike, but prefer nothing as far as looks go. [url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/djs_151/media/cb1100/IMG_20150430_093944_zpsa5mqlnj2.jpg.html]
[url=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/djs_151/media/cb1100/IMG_20150430_094005_zpsiifxttsc.jpg.html]
this is the height of the shield i put on this weekend.
it is 14.5 inches height measured from ignition.
i also prefer no shield, but figured i'd try it out.
haven't had it at highway speeds yet, but around town not too bad with regards to rough air behind it.
its on/off with the two bolts on the side of the headlight.