NASBRR TRIP PACKING CHECKLIST

Always carry

Many states require these two items and not having them is guaranteed to ruin your sportbike riding if you are stopped for anything.

In the Tank bag

 Clear face shield (for night riding)

 Wee Willy (face shield cleaning system)

 Trip maps and motel guide

 Cold weather gloves (even in the hottest part of the summer--ya just never know)

 Sweat shirt and/or heated vest (same as above)

 Leatherman (or other multi-tool)

 Plenty of extra ear plugs

 Ditty bag (I use one of the tank bag side pockets for this)

 Couple of $$ in change (for emergency)

 Chain lube (in the other tank bag side pocket)

Air gauge

 Mini-Maglite

 Camera

 Bungee cords--one or more

 First aid kit

 Tire repair kit

 Tank bag rain cover

In the Tail Pack

 Jeans (2 pair)

 T-shirt (2)

 Under shorts (2 pair)

 Under shirt (2)

 Socks (2 pair)

 Plastic garbage bag & tie-wrap (to hold dirty clothes)

 Shorts (to double as swimsuit)

 Walking shoes

 Detergent (4 oz. for midweek laundry)

 Tail Pack rain cover

 Rain suit (2 pc)

 Rain "over-mitts"

 Rain "over-boots"

This trip-packing checklist is meant for the "sport rider" and is only a guide. This list allows me to pack the F650ST for week-long sportbike trips. FYI, my idea of a sportbike trip does NOT include CAMPING.

Tank bag--there are lots of fine tank bags on the market. I have had great luck with the Eclipse brand because ALL of the stuff listed above fits in the standard bag. Go back to the Tank bag list.

Tail pack--again, many excellent products to choose from. The Eclipse Fast Pack works well on the ST. The ST does not lend itself to the use of soft saddlebags. I think I'd use the Fast Pack tail pack even if the ST would accommodate saddlebags. Plenty of room in the main compartment for all clothing items. The Fast Pack side pouches each hold one piece of the 2-pc rain gear. Over-mitts store with the rain gear top, over-boots store with the rain gear bottoms. Go back to the Tail pack list.

When I do midweek laundry, I wear the shorts/swimsuit (and nothing else--yer right, its not a pretty sight!) so everything gets washed.

Advice for Sportriding Campers

Hotels and Motels are fine when visiting cities but my fiancée and I have been camping on our trips to some of Canada's national parks. Our Eureka tent sleeps four and actually compresses to a football sized wad that weighs less than 6 pounds. Our sleeping bags are extra light weight and are designed for warm weather nights (nothing below 0 degrees). We have a small stove and pot/pan set that cost us about 50 bucks total and we bring only The North Face clothing (no cotton), it rolls up nice and tight and weighs next to nothing! We even managed to find little saddle-like seats that fold up - great around the campfire and each under 2 pounds. In both our hiking backpacks we can fit enough stuff to last us a good week in the woods. If you know of others that might want to start sportbike-camping, let me know - we have a few great places to recommend and some good tips we've picked up along the way. Bye the way, I ride a '98 Ninja ZX9R (blue!) and my fiancée a ZX6 - he's just starting. And yes, those dirt roads are a killer on shiny new fairing but the fun is in coming home and washing them super clean for the next weekend. :) Jennifer

Jennifer recommends that you consider a North Face Mountain Light jacket. It costs about as much as a good riding jacket but is constructed from Gore-tex. A Coolmax lining wicks moisture away on super hot days. Also offers great protection on the cold days and it 100% waterproof. Jennifer says, Of course nothing is safer and smarter than leathers or Kevlar but they don't compress to "grapefruit size" either. I can actually keep the jacket under my passenger seat. . ."

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Last Updated on 12/07/07 by J R. Knutson (ytk@sportbikeroads.com)