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Transcript
00:00Howdy, this is Lemmy with RevZilla, and I'm Spurge here with the newest episode of RevZilla's
00:17Redline.
00:18That's right, the camping episode.
00:19Now, Spurge and I are gearing up to take a weekend trip.
00:21In fact, that's the type of trip that we take most often, whether we're together or we're
00:25apart from each other.
00:26And the reason for that is pretty simple.
00:27A weekend trip doesn't really involve much investment, either time or money.
00:31Just about any rider on any bike on any budget can get away for a quick weekend.
00:36Now, before we get too deep into the video, one quick caveat.
00:39We can't show you how to camp in 20 minutes.
00:41That's just not possible.
00:42So, we're going to assume you have some basic camping knowledge, and we're going to help
00:45you augment that with some moto-specific tips that make living off of a motorcycle just
00:49a little bit easier.
00:50Because, I mean, the thing is, camping is pretty much the same once you get to the campsite.
00:54It's how you get there that makes it a different experience.
00:57When you're in a car, man, you can throw pretty much anything in the trunk.
00:59The cooler, the kitchen sink, and just go.
01:02But when you're on a motorcycle, you have to be much more cognizant about what you're
01:05taking with you.
01:06And this actually has more in common with something like a backpacking style of camping,
01:10because it's really all about the size and the weight of what you're taking and how you're
01:13packing it on the bike.
01:15Now, if you look at the two bikes we have here, these are pretty different motorcycles.
01:18I've got a very large ABV bike, and Spurge is kicking around in a little teeny tiny dual
01:22sport there.
01:23But it does pay to remember that in their stock form, neither of these bikes was particularly
01:26well-suited to taking a long trip.
01:29But with some quick additions that you can pick and choose from, these things are a little
01:31bit more comfortable for life on the road.
01:33For Lem's Africa Twin, he went with hard luggage down low, and then he added the mounting plate
01:38up top so he could lash down some dry bags to it.
01:41For my bike, I took a completely different approach.
01:42I went with soft bags because it was easier to get that on this particular motorcycle.
01:47But remember, regardless of which method you're going to go with, there's some pros and some
01:51cons with each of these.
01:52For example, if you're taking a look at these hard bags that Lem has on here, these are
01:55awesome in the fact that they're secure, he can lock them on there, in most cases waterproof,
02:00and there's dual functionality.
02:01When we get to the campsite, he can pull those off, he can use them as a camp seat around
02:05the fire, or even a table when we're preparing dinner.
02:08Now there's some negatives here as well.
02:10These are going to be expensive, and I think their cost is going to be prohibitive for
02:13a lot of folks, especially because you need specific mounting hardware to get it on the
02:16bike.
02:17You're also going to add a lot of width as well as a lot of weight to these bikes.
02:21Now for me, I went with soft luggage, and the beauty about soft luggage is it's going
02:24to be rather inexpensive, it doesn't add a lot of extra weight, and I can simply throw
02:28it over.
02:29I don't need any specific mounting hardware to get this onto my motorcycle.
02:33The downside is I have no security.
02:35Anybody can walk up and cut this with a knife and take my stuff, and in a lot of cases,
02:40I'm going to need to actually add extra waterproof covers to this to make sure my gear doesn't
02:44get wet.
02:45As far as that dual functionality goes, I'm going to have to rely on a Lemlem here to
02:48be nice enough to let me sit on one of his boxes when we're around the campfire.
02:52Now Spurge has covered, I think, the thing that everybody thinks of first when they're
02:54talking luggage, and that's panniers.
02:56However, there's lots of other ways to put stuff onto a motorcycle, and especially if
03:00you're riding a bike that's not traditionally a touring-style motorcycle, there's some other
03:04areas you can use in order to maximize the packability on your motorcycle.
03:08Now Spurge has done just that.
03:09If you look over at his bike, you'll notice he utilized a spot that I think is absolutely
03:12critical on bikes that don't have lots of packing space, and that's the area on the
03:15fuel tank.
03:16He threw a tank bag onto this bike.
03:18It gives him a little bit of additional packing room, and it's especially good for stuff that
03:21you want to keep close at hand when you're actually out there on the road.
03:24Check out, too, another area he didn't use but is still a great spot to pack is the handlebars.
03:28Handlebars can be an awesome place to pack things if you don't have a fairing in front
03:31of them.
03:32You can actually put a longer piece on them and lash down.
03:34I'm thinking specifically of tents.
03:35There have been plenty of trips I've taken where I've thrown my tent onto the handlebars.
03:39There's a lot of different ways, though, that you can get stuff onto your bike.
03:42Just remember if you're using any of those lashing methods, you want to put your items
03:44inside of something waterproof because they're going to be out in the elements.
03:47Now once you figure out what luggage you're going to use to carry items with you on your
03:50motorcycle, the time has come for you to pack it up.
03:53Lem has made a great point earlier about weight distribution.
03:56You don't want a bike that's packed too top-heavy, so any heavier items you have, like maybe
04:00a cooking stove or some extra canned food or even some tools, will want to go lower
04:05in the luggage.
04:06Keep that extra weight down low.
04:08The other thing to consider is you don't want all the weight on one side, so make sure you're
04:11evenly distributing the weight from side to side.
04:13That way, when you're rolling down the highway, the bike maintains its handling characteristics.
04:18Once you're done packing up your motorcycle, step back for a second and start thinking
04:22about safety.
04:23Take a walk around it to familiarize yourself with exactly how big that motorcycle has grown.
04:28While you're taking that walk around, I want you to check something, too, that a lot of
04:31riders miss, and it's a really big safety consideration, and that's your lighting.
04:35All too often, I see people lash things to the bike, and they obscure their lighting.
04:38You need your tail light, brake light, and turn signals visible.
04:41It's going to keep you safe, and it's also going to keep other motorists on the road
04:44safe.
04:45Make sure you don't obscure your lighting.
04:47Now, another thing, too, that should be top of mind for you is the cargo carrying capacity
04:51of your bike.
04:52Now, if you're a larger guy like Spurgeon, or me, or definitely like Spurgeon, it can
04:56be really easy to overload a motorcycle, so pay careful attention to this.
04:59Some bikes have very small cargo carrying capacities.
05:02Yes, I'm on a smaller bike, and I do have it packed to the nine, which actually brings
05:06us to our final tip, and that tip is that maybe the best place to pack something on
05:10your bike isn't on your bike at all, but rather a buddy's motorcycle.
05:14So if you're traveling with a few different riders, maybe they can help you out with a
05:16few items that you want to take with you.
05:18Now, you don't want to be that rider, asking everybody to carry a little bit of your stuff.
05:21However, if you have a good relationship with somebody, and you know they have an empty
05:24saddlebag, it can always help to try and claim some of that room for your own.
05:28All that being said, you ready to rock and roll, big boy?
05:30I thought you would never ask.
05:32Let's get the hell out of here.
05:44All right, Spurgy, how's it handling for you?
06:09So it's handling about as good as I would expect this bike to handle.
06:14The luggage just really seems to be kind of holding the back end down a little bit
06:16more.
06:17Softer spring in the rear just, you know, it kind of wanders a little bit, but for the
06:20most part, like, it's doing just great.
06:23I'm used to riding a small bike long distances, and this thing's been pretty adequate, and
06:27I did check the load rating on this thing.
06:28It's rated for about 350 pounds, and I really can't imagine that myself plus my gear is
06:32over 350 pounds.
06:33Oh, you really can't imagine that, huh?
06:35I'm not that fat.
06:37Well, I'm kind of in the same exact scenario.
06:40I mean, this thing's obviously wider, it's heavier, but I'm actually kind of used to
06:44this method of riding.
06:45I'm usually loaded with all this same amount of gear, plus I usually have Mrs. Lim on the
06:48back, but I'm on a much heavier bike, so that additional gear represents a smaller portion
06:53of the total package weight.
06:54It's probably a little bit more noticeable on your ride.
06:56Well, absolutely.
06:57I mean, you're also on a bigger bike, which is a little bit more stable on the highway,
07:00so you're not getting the, you know, kicked out of you the way I am, which makes me wonder
07:05how much farther we have to go.
07:06We've already got about 200 miles in.
07:07Where is this campsite that you've picked out for us?
07:10Oh, it's just up the road just a little bit here.
07:18Now, viewers, this is something you might actually want to pay attention to, especially
07:22if you're new to camping.
07:23You want to have your campsite locked down beforehand, unless you're a really experienced
07:27stealth camper.
07:28And the reason I say this is in the nice months, campsites tend to fill up really fast, especially
07:31around holiday weekends, and it's a lot easier to find out that your preferred campsite is
07:36full from your office chair on a Monday morning than it is when you're actually at the gate
07:40and it's locked and you find out that they have no more room.
07:42Yeah, yeah, yeah.
07:43A few more miles down the road doesn't tell me how far.
07:45I need gas.
07:47So I need to know how much farther we're going down the road.
07:49So that's a bit of a role reversal too, I guess, because I've got the Barca lounger
07:52here.
07:53I have nearly three times the tank capacity that you do.
07:56Usually it's me on some chopper with a ridiculous tank begging you for fuel.
07:59Well, it's interesting because, I mean, you and I have taken so many trips together that
08:03we know how the other person likes to ride, and that's something that you should all be
08:06aware of.
08:07When you're going out motor camping for the first time, if you're going with some folks
08:09you've never ridden with before, have that discussion ahead of time.
08:12Know when the other people in your group like to stop.
08:15Do you want to go 50 miles in between stops or 150 miles?
08:18Otherwise, you might end up getting pretty irritated out on the road, kind of like I
08:22am right now.
08:23I need gas, and I'm actually really hungry.
08:26We haven't stopped all day.
08:28Of course you're really hungry.
08:29Hey, Spurge, enjoy the ride.
08:31Oh, God.
08:32Dude, where the hell are we now?
08:56I thought we were getting gas.
08:57Oh, we're in Pennsylvania, Spurge.
08:58Yeah, I know we're in Pennsylvania.
09:00Why will you not tell me where we're going?
09:02You're going to like it.
09:03I'm telling you, dude, you can't judge a book by its cover.
09:07Come on.
09:08Check this out.
09:09Tell me this ain't great.
09:11That's pretty cool.
09:12There's a lot of cool bikes here, man.
09:14Hey, Spurge, check this thing out.
09:16This is cool.
09:17You ever see one of these?
09:18It's a Harley Davidson dirt bike.
09:19Look at that thing.
09:21Not just the Harleys.
09:22It's like you got Beamers, you got some Goozies.
09:23I was going to say, check this chopper out.
09:25Man.
09:26It's looking sweet, baby.
09:27Knucklehead, knucklehead, and then you got two flatheads.
09:30What's the difference?
09:31This one is bigger.
09:32I can tell because there's a sign, and it says 80 cubic inch.
09:36Dude, check this out.
09:37Harley Davidson made snowmobiles.
09:39Yeah, they made fishing boats, too.
09:42That's so cool.
09:43This place is huge.
09:44You can get lost.
09:45But we got a boogie, so let's hurry up and check out the rest of it.
09:48And this is the coolest thing in this museum.
09:50Yeah, until Pop-Up falls and he impales himself on those spikes.
09:54Do you know what this is?
09:58It's a twingle, also known as a split single.
10:00Wow, there's like a whole village over here.
10:02Mm-hmm.
10:03You got the fishing store, you got a barber shop.
10:07There's also a whole bunch of motorcycles, too, buddy.
10:09So much more than just an old bike barn.
10:13Let's go.
10:16All right, let's go fill your tank and fill your belly.
10:26You still have not told me where we're camping yet.
10:28At the campground.
10:56I actually want to thank you for serenading me in the last two hours on the way up here
11:15with country songs and show tunes.
11:17You know far more show tunes than I do.
11:19Oklahoma, where the winds go, dancing down the plains.
11:25I win.
11:26Race over.
11:27Don't you need a rain fly?
11:30Oh, I almost won.
11:31Got it.
11:32I think I may have made a mistake.
11:33What did you do?
11:34What's going wrong with this tent?
11:35Dude, I have this cool little thing to hold a screen.
11:36I can put a tablet in here and watch TV at night.
11:37You're camping.
11:38Well, I don't have a tablet either, so.
11:39Oh, I see what I did.
11:52Now, when I roll into camp, I really have two things top of mind.
11:56The first is going to be setting up the tent.
11:57Now, for most moto campers, that's the most technical task you're actually going to have
12:00to accomplish.
12:01It's a little bit easier when you're doing it during daylight.
12:04However, if you're rolling to camp late and it's dark out, don't forget, your motorcycle
12:07has a headlight on it.
12:08Simply illuminate the area you want to set your tent up in and then kill your headlight
12:12when you're done getting set up so you don't bother other campers.
12:15The second thing I like to do, too, is also slip into something a little bit more comfortable.
12:19Note that I'm wearing a set of flip flops here.
12:21I like my feet to start drying out, as well as my boots.
12:23Now, for those of you who are doing any type of mileage, you're probably going to be in
12:26a set of touring-specific boots, which are almost always waterproof.
12:29Those can kind of hold your perspiration in, so by switching out to flip flops, your feet
12:33get a chance to dry out, and so do your boots.
12:35A little soggy feet over here is absolutely correct about all of those things, but one
12:39of those considerations we want to talk a little bit more about is selecting your tent
12:42because it's important to select a tent that's going to be nice and compact.
12:46Remember we talked about earlier with that car, you have all that room?
12:48Well, in a motorcycle, a tent, a sleeping bag, those larger items are going to take
12:51up valuable real estate.
12:53Now, luckily for us, modern tents pack up smaller than ever, and for this event, Lem
12:58and I actually brought a two-person tent.
13:00That's because when you're selecting the size tent you want, a good rule of thumb is to
13:04bump up one person in size more than you actually need.
13:08For this trip, a two-person tent worked perfectly for us.
13:10It fits ourself, as well as any gear that we want to stow out of the elements.
13:15If you're camping with two people, good rule of thumb there is to bump up to a three-person
13:19option.
13:20Now, I like to think I'm a little bit more open-minded than my freakishly tall colleague
13:23here.
13:24I'm not quite so slavish to the idea of a tent.
13:26There's plenty of other options.
13:28You can do that whole tarp lean-to thing, or of course, you can always do one of my
13:32favorite setups, which is simply the bivy.
13:34A bivy is sort of like a waterproof sleeping bag for your sleeping bag.
13:37You can just tuck your fart sack right in there, and they pack down exceedingly small.
13:41The downside to these, though, is that they're not always very comfortable in wet weather.
13:45Choosing one can be a bit of a gamble.
13:46Now, speaking of your fart sack, you should probably know that much like tents, these
13:50things are rated really strangely.
13:52The temperature on the sleeping bag itself isn't really the you'll-be-comfortable temperature.
13:56That's the you-probably-won't-die temperature.
13:59If you actually want to be comfortable in your bag, you want to select one that's probably
14:02going to be about 20 degrees colder than the area you plan on camping in.
14:06Now, another way to maintain warmth in your camping is to add a layer between yourself
14:11and the cold, heat-sucking earth.
14:13That layer is going to be some type of a sleeping pad.
14:15Now, for me personally, I like to go with a self-inflating air pad.
14:19The reason I like to do this is it packs down nice and tight.
14:22When you get to where you're going, you can unroll it.
14:24You open up the nozzle at the end.
14:25It inflates itself.
14:26Sometimes, it does need a little help, but for the most part, this is a really easy way
14:30to maintain a layer between you and the ground.
14:34The side benefit here is it adds comfort.
14:36The ground is hard.
14:37There's rocks down there.
14:38This is going to give you a better night's sleep.
14:41Again, that self-inflating pad, because it packs down so small, works great regardless
14:45of what size motorcycle you're on.
14:48Not all of us are on giant adventure barges.
14:51Not all of us on giant adventure barges are soft men.
14:54I don't use a sleeping pad.
14:55However, I would say, especially if you're on a small motorcycle, if you're looking at
14:58a sleeping pad, skip the inflatable one and instead look for a foam one.
15:01The reason I say that is those things can be cut down.
15:04You can instantly trim about a third of the length off of one of those.
15:07The reason I suggest doing that is that your body doesn't really necessarily need an entire
15:11full-length sleeping pad.
15:13You really only need from about your shoulder to mid-thigh covered for both comfort as well
15:17as warmth.
15:18Your legs really just don't care.
15:20My final piece of camping advice is for the good times, crew.
15:24Toss one of these in your tent as soon as you're done putting it up.
15:26Morning you will thank you.
15:28Well, I know I'm hungry, so I can only imagine that you're starving.
15:31Let's say we go eat some dinner.
15:37Now, when it comes to grubbing down, you've got a couple of different options.
15:56The easy one is simply eat out.
15:58Grab some grub before you roll into camp.
16:01That's especially good for those of you on small bikes who don't have a lot of packing
16:03room.
16:04One of the other easy options you've got as well is to order in.
16:07It's kind of surprising how many pizza places will deliver late-night pies to a campground.
16:12Those only work, unfortunately, if you're in a civilized area.
16:15If you're heading for the backcountry, you're going to have to cook for yourself and pack
16:17some food in.
16:19Those first two options can get rather pricey too.
16:21Remember, one of the reasons we're going moto camping is to save some coins.
16:25When you're thinking about bringing food with you, plan on any non-perishable items.
16:29It's cured meats, nuts, or just some cans of chili or maybe some stew.
16:34This makes a really easy meal.
16:35Now, I used to just pop this open, stick it in the fire, and eat it warm right out of
16:39the can, but one of our common tread readers let me know that these cans are now lined
16:43with plastic.
16:44So, that's no longer an option for me.
16:46What I do is I just bring a little pot with me that folds down, put the chili right in
16:50here, and cook it over the open fire.
16:51Easy meal in a can.
16:52If you're not as fancy as this guy, there's no rule that says you can't just eat it cold
16:57out of the can.
16:58He's an animal.
17:00Cowboy style, buddy.
17:30Lem, lem, coffee.
17:44What's going on, sunshine?
17:48Eh, not too much.
17:50How did you sleep?
17:51Thanks, on my back.
17:52Yes.
17:53I like this.
18:00So, our weekend motorcycle getaway is coming to an end, and it's important to remember
18:13that as you begin to break camp to take the time to repack the gear as good, if not better,
18:19than when you did it originally.
18:20You don't have the room of a car to just throw everything in there.
18:22So you really need to be diligent about how you're repacking everything before you move
18:26on down the road.
18:28Agree completely.
18:29One of the things I try and do is keep my dry and clean items separate from dirty and
18:32wet items.
18:33This is especially important if you're going to be camping for multiple days out of this
18:36same gear.
18:37A wet sleeping bag's really not that much fun.
18:40Now, one of the ways I sort of make this happen, too, is sometimes I'll lollygag around camp,
18:44wait for the sun to come out, and let it drive off some of the dew and moisture that can
18:48accumulate on your tent and your gear.
18:50Now, if you don't have the time to do that, another tip that I've used along the way is
18:53to take my towel and just wipe down the tent, wipe down your drop cloth before packing it
18:57up.
18:58And then you can take that wet towel and any other wet items you might have and just strap
19:01it down to the top of your pack.
19:03Those items will naturally dry as you're rolling down the road.
19:06Now, one thing we're both going to do when we head home is unpack.
19:08It can be super tempting after a long, hard ride to simply leave your bike packed in the
19:13garage or the driveway.
19:14Don't do it.
19:15All of that dirt and moisture tends to eat up gear.
19:17I know plenty of people who've had to 86 a tent after it got all mildewy sitting for
19:21a couple of days.
19:22But like I said, our trip has pretty much come to an end.
19:25We've done everything except for clean up the campsite.
19:27And that's the final thing you want to always make sure you do is to leave the campsite
19:31as clean as you found it.
19:33And I believe we've got some empty beer cans that we need to pick up.
19:36As clean as you found it or better?
19:37Ah, damn it.
19:39Exactly.
19:40That's about it for us.
19:41If you have any questions about anything you've seen here, make sure you drop us a comment.
19:44Also, subscribe to us so you can catch future episodes of The Redline at RevZilla.
19:49I'm Len.
19:50I'm Spurge.
19:51Enjoy the ride.
19:52I'm out of here.
20:14I'm out of here.
20:15I'm out of here.
20:16I'm out of here.