For the past ten years we rode over 220,000 miles - sometimes being on the road up to 6 months at a time... Ocassionally would ship things home - was like Xmas everytime we got back... Each of us has well over 100 T's, only have from places we rode through and/or visited...

We rode over 165,000 miles, two-up on a Sportster; another 32,000+ miles on our Softail and since Jan, '09, over 25,000+ miles on our TriGlide...

Like Palm Beach Gardens, Florida to Fairbanks, Alaska via Bellingham, Washington - Crisscrossed the US and Canada numerous times - rode the perimeter of the US - took a short trip into Mexico, etc, etc...

Packed clothing/gear for the both of us along with a lap top - usually would layer my T's; always wore our helmets and leathers; jackets hung when it was really hot - rode through all kinds of weather... Rain jackets doubled as great wind breakers...

Who in their right mind would want to stay home...?

Stories and many pictures on our website... Enjoy your rides... We did...

 

The above posts were great. I went on a trip with my wife and we divided space evenly. I had one side bag and she had the other. If it didn't fit in your bag it's not going in mine.

 

Ride naked and pack rain coats- stay as long as ya want.

• no shipping
• no postage
• no laundry
• no timetables
• no bail

 

Regarding Sturgis: I have friends that stay at one of the family campgrounds. They ship their camping gear and extras ahead of time. The Campground even provides shipping services to get the gear back home. Might be worthwhile checking into a few places to see if they provide shipping services on-site.

 

Cabella's or Gander Mountain stores sell compression sacks. I got 9 days worth of Tees, u-wear and socks in 1 midsized bag. Momma got all her stuff into 1 bag also. Both compression sacks fit into the t-bag. Foul weather gear always goes on top, don't want to be standing in the rain diggin in you bags.

 

wear it till u can't stand it ; find a value village buy another change of clothes for less then u can wash the one u are wearing. toss the old ones. Save the space for the T shirts u buy. Spend your money on good leathers and make sure they are well waterproof and not with that s@*t in the spray can.. and stay dry.

 

Saddle bags ... are you planning to permanently mount of do the throw over type. Big difference on what I'd pack in each. The perm mount will give you more stability and the chance to strap stuff to the saddlebags themselves. If you don't want HD bags then consider Chilhowee . Chil's 795's are good bolt-on bags for around $360, but you'll have to buy a mounting system. I ran these bags on a bike in the past with the Easy Brackets. My son also has a set using Easy Brackets on his ride, and it makes it nice to be able to take the bags off (they lock in place with a key).

Sissy Bar Bag ... I use a Nelson-Riggs CTB900 that I purchased from Pro1Powersports (a forum sponsor). The CTB900 runs about $180 and has lots of storage, though it will be cramped for 2 people for that long of a trip. It is semi-rigid, has a barrell bag, and mounts easily to the sissy bar. That is very important since you don't want to lose the bag while riding. It also has 4 side pockets that can store small things like cell phone, glasses, etc., and is easily accessible.

I had a T-Bags Universal Bag before, but I gave it to one of my sons when I got the new NR bag. If were going to buy a new one I'd probably get the Universal Expandable again. It's a lot like the NR, but maybe a little better construction. The price is about $50 more as well, and I'll leave it up to others to debate whether it's worth the extra $$. The two bags are close enough to me in function and fit that I'm not sure I'd pay the extra money.

Tank Bags -- I recently added a tank bag as well. I've never used one before, but was given a small magnetic unit for my birthday.

Windshield bag -- A must have for things like cell phones, pocket camera, etc.

Personally, I've travelled cross-country many times on everything from Honda 600 Shadows to Gold Wings, Harley Heritage, and Harley Ultra. It's all in how you pack and how much you think you "must" bring.

One of my best trips was Coast to Coast on my Heritage. I used the saddle bags for tools, rain gear, athletic shoes and extra boots. I then used the T-Bag Expandable for my daily gear. I strapped a small (solo) tent on the left saddle bag and a folding camp chair on the right saddle bag. I put the T-Bag in front of the sissay bar and used it as a backrest. I then strapped my laptop, camera, and misc electronic equipment in a nice LowePro backpack and put it on the luggage rack.

I tend to wear jeans 2 days before I wash them. I was every 3 to 4 days, depending on the stops.That means 3 pair will last a week if I need them to, but usually I'm doing laundry enough to not worry about it. Usually 6 pairs of undies and sox will do the job. I bring 5 ot 6 t-shirts (long sleeve, usually) for riding and then a couple extra for when I'm off the bike. As I noted, I bring athletic shoes for the walk-around tourist stops and an extra pair of boots because I hate starting the day with cold, wet boots. I NEVER shave on the road, so I don't bring the equipment. I bring toilet paper (you never know), tooth brush, and paste and usually use hotel shampoo or soap for the rest.

 

Something a friend of mine does when he rides with his ol' lady to a rally is wear leather pants , they don't need washed very often and he brings shorts for at the hotel/motel/camp ground, (shorts pack 3 pair to one pair of jeans) he also brings three t-shirts and buys extras if he needs them. by using the leather pants, he does not have to pack his chaps either, saving more room. just a thought...

 

we use the space saver bags, put your stuff in them, suck the air out, pressto half the size, we use the ones you just roll them up to get the air out dont need a vac to suck it out, make putting the bag in the saddlebag a lot easyer

 

Im gonna agree with the trailer idea. I have a bagger and Momma just cant seem to pack light no matter what. I bought a hitch from eBay and a Harbor Freight trailer. Problem solved and still room to pick up stuff on the road. Hitches are available for almost any bike out there. Now the bags and tour pack are reserved for leathers, rain gear, tools and stuff we'll get into often on the road.