| Author | Message | ||
     Crusty |
Gear Report I was reading a Gear Report that Screw Loose Dan put up on the XL Forum, and decided that I should do a gear report on what has worked for me. I mean, I traveled through 44 different States on my Roadster and I’ve put almost 40,000 miles on it since I got it last March. I pretty much lived on the road from May through October, and my gear was subjected to some pretty rough conditions. I’d call it Extreme conditions on a few occasions, so here goes. Saddlebags I used soft bags throughout the year. I had wanted a set of Eclipse Interstate bags, but they don’t make them any more. After looking at what was available, I bought a set of Roadgear Jumbo saddlebags. It turned out to be a really good decision. The only thing I had to do was to make some “Stiffeners” out of some corrugated plastic sign board that I bought from Home Depot. I cut the plastic to the shape of the inner (towards the wheel) side to keep the bag from possible getting past the supports and fouling the wheel and causing a disaster. The bags were subjected to overloading, hellacious thunderstorms, desert heat and sub freezing temperatures. They’ve gotten pretty filthy, but they’re still in great shape, and I think they could handle another year of the same conditions without any problem. They’re a great product and I recommend them. Tent When I started out, I was using an REI Half Dome tent that I bought back in 1999 It worked OK until the night it rained 4 inches in Indianapolis. After that, it was about as waterproof as toilet paper. I decided to get a Surplus USMC two man tent from Arvada Army Navy Surplus in (where else?) Arvada, Colorado. I decided I was going to get it, but my brother David bought it for me as a Birthday present. I figured that it would be durable; the Military is not known for using delicate gear. It’s without a doubt the best tent I’ve ever owned. As a backpacking tent, it would be heavy, but it’s ideal for motorcycle camping. It was also very reasonable priced. Sleeping Bag Back in the early ‘90s, I got a Marlboro Zero Bag. I had all my friends who smoked Marlboros save their empty packs, and I sent the “Points” thingies in and got a nice warm bag for free. The problem was that the zipper would frequently snag, and it was a pain in the butt to get it unjammed. Sue in Colorado gave me a sleeping bag that was both warm and had a zipper that didn’t snag. I don’t know who made it, but it’s a good one. The only thing I can say is it’s better to have a bag that’s too warm than one that isn’t warm enough. On hot nights, I can leave the bag open; and there were a few times I had to do that. But even when the temps fell to the freezing mark in the Georgia mountains, the bag kept me warm. Sleeping Pad I’ve been using a Thermarest pad for a while now. When I went to the Moto Guzzi National Rally in Virginia, I started doubling up on the pads. I was still pretty delicate from my heart surgery, and I needed to be pretty gentle to my chest. I got used to the extra thickness, so I decided to get a 3 1/2” thick Self Inflating pad from REI. It helps quite a bit. It also has been subjected to a hard life, yet it still performs well. Other stuff I don’t cook in camp, but I really like my morning coffee. I bought an Etekcity gas stove from Amazon that screws onto a can of Primus Power Gas. Folded up in its plastic case, the stove is about half the size of a pack of cigarettes. I also bought a Stanley camping pot. it holds almost a quart of liquid and comes with a lid and two nesting cups that fit inside. The stove fits inside the top cup, and the lid keeps it all together. It’s compact and lets me make a cup of coffee in the morning. I Prefer Folger’s Instant over Taster’s Choice, and I use the little squeeze bottle of Coffee Mate 2 go as creamer. it ain’t Starbucks, but it’s not that bad. Riding Gear I wore either my Aerostich Darien jacket or my Firstgear mesh jacket the whole time I was on the road. The Red Darien has faded to a shade of greyish pink, but it still works well. I had a pair of Elkskin Gauntlets that I loved, until I lost them on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I guess I’ll just have to get another pair. (I got them from Aerostich, as well). That’s about it. I really should give a shout out to Dusty Boots and all the other helpful people over at MotoCampers.com for all their encouragement and great advice. They camp because they love doing it, and they have a lot of experience to back up their suggestions. They were and are a great help to me. Now, if only those damned saddlebags would arrive... | ||
| Crusty |
THEY'RE HERE!!! | ||
| 1313 |
THEY'RE HERE!!!  | ||
| Damnut |
Crusty, for boots I HIGHLY recommend these Bilt ProTourer boots. I bought them about a month ago and LOVE them!! They are very comfortable and waterproof. I got stuck the other say riding from Lowell to Dighton in a downpour and my feet were the only thing that was dry when I got home. They are also super comfortable. When I ride to work I don't have to switch out shoes as I can wear them all day without issue. They are also on sale at Cycle Gear for $70 right now down from $160. http://www.cyclegear.com/BILT-Pro-Tourer-Waterproo f-Motorcycle-Boots | ||
| Crusty |
Brankin; you nailed it. When I went to bed last night, as far as I could tell, the bags were still in Frankfort. This morning, they were delivered to my door. They're on the bike, now. As soon as this rain stops, I'll go over to the Welder's and see when he wants to work on the mounts. I assume that you speak German. what does this mean? Seriöser Käufer, prompte Bezahlung, geschätzter Kunde, vorbehaltlos zu empfehlen That's what Moto Discount left me for feedback on FleaBay. I'm thinking it's something good, but I don't know. It's all coming together! | ||
| Froggy |
I can't believe they called you a kunde! I sent it through Bing Translator: "Serious buyer, prompt payment, to unreservedly recommend valued customer" | ||
| Pwnzor |
Yeah... that's some thorough tracking right there:  | ||
| Wolfridgerider |
Pics or they are not "Here"  | ||
| Crusty |
Oh, they're here all right. I'll take pictures after the Welder finishes with the mounts. I'll say one thing; the 40 Liter Juniors are WIDE. I'll be able to take all kinds of stuff with me, if I so desire. | ||
| Ourdee |
Bags, All right! | ||
| Pwnzor |
I can't wait to see those babies mounted up. You'll be riding in Cadillac style, taking it all with you! Will there be a marble counter top with that kitchen sink, sir? | ||
| Crusty |
I talked with the Welder this morning; he's busy until probably Monday. In the meantime, here's a side view. It's painfully obvious that the mounts need to be modified.  Here's a look at the back of the bike. These flippin' bags are WIDE!  | ||
| Pwnzor |
Those are ENORMOUS!  | ||
| 86129squids |
Ummm, note to Crusticle- NO lane splitting! DANG that's a Wide Sport now! | ||
| 86129squids |
Just eyeballing it, if your welder can do it, you might lose 6-12", but not quite 12" gone narrow, if you're lucky. Still, looks pretty F-in kewl!  | ||
| Greg_e |
Looks like plenty of room to pull the fronts in, but I can't see how the frames are attached at the top in these or the previous pictures. The chrome is going to be wrecked if welding is really needed. I think you need the matching top case now. (Message edited by Greg_E on April 27, 2016) | ||
| Crusty |
I think that I'm going to keep an eye out for a pair of 30 liter bags after I get back from my Great Circle Ride. The 40s make more sense on a long ride, but the 30s look a lot nicer. Once the mounts are modified, the bags will look a lot better with either size mounted. The front of the bags won't get much closer to the frame as the shocks are just inboard of the bags. It may not look that way in the photo, but It's close. They actually look pretty good in person; or will once the mounts have the bags properly angled. You'll see. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Strip the chrome, powder coat it black. There, solved that. | ||
| Crusty |
That's my plan. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Great minds think alike! | ||
| Tootal |
I think the slightly upward angle of the bags is a good thing, The wind will hit the bottom of the bags and cause pressure upon the tail of the bag which will in essence try and tilt the bag forward which will help keep you from a huge wheelie at speed!! Safety first!  | ||
| 86129squids |
I was a little worried about the aerodynamics, but once he's rolling with the 'stitch, shouldn't be a prob. Actually, the Aerostitch folks would surely have a good time knowing the Roadcrust! | ||
| Crusty |
Waiting, Waiting, Waiting… So the Welder can’t get to my bag mounts until Monday, at the soonest. I want them done NOW dammit! I’ve heard it said that if you pray for Patience, God doesn’t just give it to you; He gives you situations that make you develop patience. I don’t remember asking for patience, but I guess He thinks I need to develop more in my character. Did you ever see that Poster back in the 70s with two buzzards sitting in a dead tree? It said, “Patience, hell! I’m going to go out and kill something!” I know the feeling. The trouble is that I don’t know how to weld. So I guess I’ll just have to practice being patient. All the trees here have leaves starting to appear. The buds have opened and it’s starting to look like spring. Daytime temperatures are up in the 60s and it’s light until almost 8:00 in the evening. Also, the sun is coming up earlier; it was light at 5:30 this morning. Summer’s coming! In less than a month, I’ll be on the road again. There are things I need to do in that month, but they shouldn’t be a problem. I bought a new stuff sack for my tent, yesterday. The bag that the tent came in was big enough for two of my size tents The new bag fits the tent a lot better. Now, I just need to find a decent Footprint (Ground Cloth) for the tent. I’ve been using one of those blue plastic tarps, but it’s developed a couple of holes, and it’s bulky. I was looking at footprints in Cabella’s yesterday. Decent ones are pricey, but they take up a lot less room. I think that’s the way I’m going to go. I think I’ll surf the net and see if I can find a decent one that will fit under my tent floor. The tent is 84” long by 50” wide; that shouldn’t be too hard a size to find. I hope. Well, that’s it for now. | ||
| Pwnzor |
I found some tent footprints on Amazon for decent prices, but hard to tell from the pictures how small they get when you roll them up... Would you want it to be larger than the tent? I'm looking at THIS one... Or THIS one... or THIS one. All these have free shipping with my Prime membership, so let me know if one of these suits your purpose and it can be to your door in 2 days. | ||
| Hootowl |
I don't think you want it larger than the tent. Rain water would get between it and the tent. | ||
| Crusty |
I Think I’ll Get A Haircut I post these Snippets on three motorcycle related forums and I send them out to an e-mail circle of friends who want to receive them. So anyway, After yesterday’s Snippet went out in my e Mail, I got a response from Scotty saying to bring it by the shop (my old workplace, not GP ) and they could do the welding for me. We set it up that I’d be at the back door at noon when they broke for lunch. However, once Scotty and Scott (the welder) looked at what needs to be done and we all discussed it a bit, we decided it would be better if I just wait for Monday and just have the Fabricator do the job. It wasn’t that they couldn’t do the job, skill wise, it was that they had a new boss who was somewhat of a d***head, and he’d cause problems. The job was a bit more involved than they thought from what they’d read in my Snippets. Oh well. I’ll just have to wait until Monday. I think I’m going to take a welding course next winter, if I don’t go to Australia again. It’s a skill I don’t have and have always wanted to learn. Back in the old days, people who built Choppers took a lot of pride in the fact that they did the job themselves. Sometimes, it was painfully obvious that ,while they had good ideas, they didn’t have the skills necessary. (Like the kid who couldn’t figure out how to do a lace paint job, so he just glued lace to his gas tank). I know what needs to be done; I just don’t have the skills to do it. But I can learn. In the meantime, I’m just going to kick around for a few days. I’ll probably do a dry run on packing the bags. I’ll have to change things around a bit from the way I was packing the soft bags, and I’ll probably change things around more when I’m back on the road, but it’ll be a start. Meanwhile, the trees outside my window are getting greener. The daytime highs are forecast to be around 60 º (about average for his time of year) Spring is finally here and Summer’s coming! I’m going to go out and get some breakfast. I got some coupons from Blubber King, and I can get 2 Croissan’wiches, a small tater tits and a small coffee for four bucks. Then I’ll go get my hair cut. (Message edited by Crusty on April 29, 2016) | ||
| Pwnzor |
smart tater tits I wasn't aware Burger King had those on the menu! I think I'll go get some breakfast too... | ||
| Crusty |
Spell correct can be a pain in the ass, sometimes. I corrected it in my post. | ||
| Pwnzor |
small tater tits Smart... small... Smart AND small... It's all tits to me! | ||
| Etennuly |
small tater tits Now I haven't super sized anything at any of the fast food places in several years, but I might consider it over this item!  |
