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Information for motorcycle riders by motorcycle riders and mechanics
A resource site about owning a motorcycle, buying a motorcycle, riding your motorcycle and fixing your motorcycle..
Motorcycle Camping !
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The thing about motorcycle camping is that you can't be hauling a ton of stuff with you, so you have to decide what you need and what to leave behind.
There are easy ways to get set for a short trip and carry only basic emergency gear and clothes for rain or shine. Eat in restaurants and carry no food other than a water bottle or and few small items. |
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Can you believe it? I went about 30 miles to a campground with my Kawasaki 440 and all of this gear! Actually it isn't heavy stuff and the two man tent is a lot more comfortable than the one man tent in the photo above right.
I miss that bike - 2 stroke engine putt-putts along.
Again take only what you need. Don't forget insect repellent! I like to use an extra tarp overhead to keep the sun off of the tent and as an extra rain barrier. It gives a nice shady area to sit. |
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Above here is a campsite in Canada. Ernie Dube had towed his trailer behind his Honda Goldwing 1100cc bike for a few thousand miles with no problem.
A trailer is very convenient for carrying the little extras that can make you a lot more comfortable. In this photo, you can see the cooler is also carried on a cooler carrier connected to the tongue of the trailer. |
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This is a beautiful campsite at Dolbeau-Misstasini in the province of Quebec in Canada. Just to the right is a river that has fantastic rapids and waterfalls. The campground owner was very helpful with local information.
Notice that we used half covers that are very lightweight and pack into a small bag that comes with them. These are a lot better than carrying a full size bike cover that is cumbersome and takes up too much room. |
On the right---->
Roger Chartier's Goldwing 1500 loaded for camping - in Canada
Click on the picture, for a larger more detailed view.
Normally the black bag on the top of the trunk is kept in the side saddlebag that is opened.
The trailer hitch cooler carrier is serving as an expandable duffle bag folder. If I buy something extra, it gives me a place to put it. The left handlebar has a drink holder.
A helmet is hiding the GPS and Satellite radio receiver. Also, there is a CB radio on this Goldwing for emergencies and to talk to my riding buddy as we go along.
The rear seat is holding a pack/bag that is made specifically for a touring motorcycle.
It is the best thing I have found to carry extra stuff that doesn't fit in the side bags or trunk. On a Goldwing the trunks lock for added security.
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Cooking at a campground
There is no need to rough it as you can see on this expedition Mrs. Chen has insisted on a table cloth and the 2 burner propane stove serves her well.
For around 3 dollars, you can get the stove top toaster as shown in the picture.
(Click it to enlarge). I like pea soup so here it is.
The small camping size kettle boils water for coffee etc. We use a cooler for soda, meat, eggs, milk etc. - it fits in the trailer
Here, you can see there is a new tent for more elbow room.
It makes for a nice large sleeping area and a living room of sorts.
Below the green tarp is added protection for the screened part of this tent.
In a downpour, the mesh alone does not keep the rain out.
Later we used a larger tarp and added a shaded area around the tent.
The blue tarp at the entrance near the picnic table serves as a doormat and helps
to keep the inside floor clean. (Mrs. Chen is fastidious.)
We added a tarp floor to the screened part of the 6 man/woman tent as the screened room does not come with a floor.
The lightweight cover for the motorcycle is great to keep off dew, rain and the hot sun.
You can see the blue trailer opened just behind the Goldwing. |
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| The 750 Suzuki above was loaded with a small amount of camping gear for a 3 day weekend trip into the mountains of New England. |
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Here is my one man tent above and my 1980 Goldwing is covered for the night.
The picture on the right shows how I was setting up a tarp to cover the picnic table and the tent creating mini rain shelter. It helped to keep the rain away from the sides of the tent.
I like the extra protection because tents are not always trustworthy. This time it was a good idea because it was raining cats and dogs later that night and it kept the rain from running in under the tent a bit..
One thing I learned was to avoid stopping my motorcycle in potholes.
The older Goldwings have no reverse and are about 800 lbs.
I got my front wheel into a pothole and couldn't get out as it was on a slight hill facing a large stone.
It took me 1/2 hour of putting gravel into the hole and rocking the bike until I could get out. My newer Goldwing has a reverse gear. |
This is a great thing to have for
extra cargo.
If you have a trailer hitch on your
bike, you can find a lot of different
kinds of carriers that will adapt to the hitch.
This one mounted on a 1980's Goldwing 1100 is called a cooler carrier and it is doing just that. |
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| It's not every day that you carry a spare starter around and then change it in a parking lot 500 miles from home. He suspected that it was going to fail, so he brought a spare starter in the trailer. |
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 Roger Chartier's Goldwing 1500 loaded for camping - www.MotorCycles123.com" |
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In our "living room" we have two folding canvas chairs and a collapsible aluminum table. The site here has electricity and WiFi. So we could go online with our laptop to surf the web, check email and even watch a movie from Netflix. Some campgrounds claim that they have WiFi, but it varies in strength. Some places are too weak to use, and others are great...
In St Nicolas, Quebec, just south of Quebec city, KOA we found that you could pay $6.00 per 24 hour period and have really fast web access.
They also have free WiFi, but it was a bit too slow for my liking. |
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Roger Chartier