MOTORCYCLE CAMPING ~ What to pack for the weekend

Motorcycle camping, Yes it’s a thing.

WTF is motocamping?

If you own a motorcycle and have somehow been living under a rock, motocamping is pretty much the best thing to happen to two-wheel enthusiasts. Second maybe to helmets. And brakes. Anywayyyyyyyy…

Usually only over a weekend and sometimes only overnight (I’ll take what I can get), a group of friends and I will ride our motorcycles into the great unknown. Bring on the nature shenanigans.

We pack a bag, load the bikes with camping essentials, and buy beer on the way out of town. If it doesn’t fit on or in your bike, don’t bring it. Camping simplicity at its best. Plus a motorcycle ride. Whats not to love?

What to pack for motocamping

I try to keep it fairly simple when packing for camping (unless I’m glamping which is a whole different monster) and especially motocamping.

There’s not a lot of room on a sportster and I like to go a bit over the speed limit. Don’t bog down your bike by bringing a lot of useless stuff.

Lets start will the absolutes:

• Baby wipes~ I don’t bring toilet paper because I hate toilet paper. Baby wipes or “personal wipes” do double duty by replacing your toilet paper and you can clean your nasty a** with them. If you’re camping where there are no showers this is a must have.
• Beer~ Duh, it’s camping. You could sub in micheladas or whiskey but if you try to bring Zima, you can’t camp with us.
• Water~ Buy a couple of gallons and split them up. Sharing is caring.
• Food~ Because some people can’t live off of beer for the weekend. Personally I’m a fan of dry goods like granola bars and chips, fruit, stuff for smores, canned beans, precooked hotdogs and cookies. I’ve been camping where we do a huge cookout and its great but I don’t want to carry a bunch of food and condiments and plates and utensils. It all takes up room. Besides, I cook everyday and I don’t want to cook while camping. I want to drink beer and look at nature and laugh at/with my friends.
• Tent and/or sleeping bag~ I like to bring both but you could totally make do without. I have seen motocampers with a tarp and a mexican blanket, and sometimes just a mexican blanket. Touche sir, you’re doing it right. But I hate mosquito bites and rain so I bring a small tent.
• Tool bag~ You should already have a tool bag put together if you own a motorcycle, but if not, do it now. Make it small and just bring the essentials for the bike that you have.
• Extra gas~ Get one of those mini gas cans or even a fuel bottle. I have also seen gas bags but I’m not sure how well they hold gas. Make sure to fill up at the last stop and fill your extra one too. No one wants to be stranded with no gas in the wilderness. It’s usually accompanied by no cell service.
• Flashlight~ You can use your phone. You can pack a mag light (doubles as a weapon). I bring a little keychain LED light that takes up no room.
• Fresh undies~ Always! I can wear the same outfit all weekend ( I don’t though) as long as I have clean fresh underwear. And socks.
• Firewood~ Stay warm, keep the bugs away, and cook your beans. It’s a must have.
• Sunscreen~ Always and forever!! I have a biltwell keychain sunscreen that clips to a bag so I can access it easy. It’s refillable too.
• Waterproof matches/lighter

Secondary packing items:

• Swimsuit
• More beer and whiskey
• Shorts
• Extra shirt or tank top
• Hat
• Insect repellent
• Cooler
• Ice~ Best to get this at the last stop
• Camera
• Deck of cards or game
• Hoodie and pajama pants~ I hate sleeping in jeans!! I can, but a pair of yoga pants takes up no room.
• A knife~ Most of my guy friends and my husband carry a pocket knife so I don’t usually pack one. I have however strapped a machete to my sissy bar for a motocampout in the desert. Whatever you’re comfortable with, do that haha.
• Paper  map~ Unless you know where you’re going because you’ve done it a dozen times, print out a map and put it in your pocket or tape it to your tank. GPS is unreliable in nature.

How the f*ck do you take all that on a sportster?

Like a boss.

No for real though. Packing and strapping all this takes a while to get the hang of. Have lots of bungees and don’t wait until the last minute strap up. Get everything packed up the night before and strap it to the bike. Take it for a test ride around the block.

Start by placing the biggest, bulkiest items on the bottom. This would be the cooler if you’re taking one, box of beer, or firewood. Then your sleeping bag topped with whatever bag or backpack you’re carrying the rest of the items in.

My sissybar is extremely tall so I strap all of my gear in this order going up the length of my sissy bar and attach it with bungees.

Make sure everything is tight and the bungees have no play in them. Wrap and rewrap until there is no way you can stick your fist under the bungee. Try to keep your tool bag, gas can and some water easily accessible on the bike.

I attach a small gas can to the top of the sissy bar with some bungees. I did just get a pretty sweet sissy bar bag that has tons of room in it but I have yet to pack it for camping. I’ll write a post on that after I use it.

Hopefully this will be helpful for some of you. let me know in the comments if theres something you would add to this list. If you ever want to meet up for camping, please email me!! Im so down.

Happy motocamping!