Getting prepped to do a little camping, FJR style

[terryfarnham]

I really like the "ice chest backrest."

this is how I camp as well. both side duffels are diver bags completely water proof mounted with straps to the handles of the side bags

 

[hppants]

Look what a little cajun birdie brought me yesterday??

A friend had an extra Givi top box for his bike (not an FJR) and he hooked me up - no charge!!! With my camping gear properly strapped (which it is not in this pic), I should be good to go.

Took the bike down the road with the top box and it feels rock solid. I prolly won't daytrip with this top box, but for long trips, it should fit the bill. Even got a RAM mount for doing a little video.

Only 1 thing left to do... go CAMPING!!!

 

[BostonFJR]

I did 10 days through Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island; that was a solo trip so there was plenty of room on the bike. I do also camp two-up, which is always a tighter squeeze. When camping with two, she gets one side bag and I get the other for clothes. Everything else squeezes into tank bag and in/on Givi V46. I have a two-burner propane stove, four-person REI half-dome (two adults and two small children MAYBE...), thermarest mattress, small set of pots and pans, collapsible cooler. I plan to get a waterproof duffle for solo camping, strapped to pillion. Two-up... hmmm, maybe trailer time!

 

[PanAmerican]

I prefere a cheap, clean motel with an overhang to pull the bike under. A bar is a bonus.

My choice as well.

 

[VTFJR13]

Well I have done motorcycle camping in various forms.

Here is my first camping trip

Then I bought some better camping equipment and I was able to put everything in the three factory bags even two up.

Then my wife wanted luxury camping so we bought this for camping trips.

and now I only do solo camping trips on the bike so my wife and I go camping together in this

I enjoy more primitive camping while my wife likes some of the luxuries of home. :lol:

 

[BLS]

Sesrious question.

I really enjoy this thread and the pics. However, I'm curious, why nothing mounted off the sides in FRONT of the rider?

There seems to be so much space available to mount equipment.

It is because of heat issues, or that no one has manufacturered a mounting system off the sides?

 

[wheatonFJR]

Sesrious question.

I really enjoy this thread and the pics. However, I'm curious, why nothing mounted off the sides in FRONT of the rider?

There seems to be so much space available to mount equipment.

It is because of heat issues, or that no one has manufacturered a mounting system off the sides?

Airflow around the engine and radiator is not where I wanna hang my camping duds.

 

[Pepperell]

Here's my new camping upgrades for this year. Eureka Equinox 6 tent, REI Stowaway Camp chairs, and (not shown) 4 new Kelty adjustable poles to replace the crappy cheap poles I had for the Kelty 16x16 tarp I got last year.

We'll be camping in VT for a few days prior to NERDS again this year. Last year;

In the old tent you could only stand in the exact middle. Also, the door and sides were at about a 45 degree angle such that when you unzipped the door you practically fell into the tent. In the new one you can stand up pretty much anywhere. Packs down to 10x10x28, 18 pounds. Floor is 10x11 feet.

I'll be moving the ice box to the trailer tongue to make packing easier.

 

[Burnspot]

Might as well jump in.

Here's my setup:

The sidebags have clothing, tools, camp pot/pans, and a single burner Coleman dual gas stove. The large Ortlieb dry duffel holds my tent (only when dry), air mattress, shoes/flip flops, fleece pullover, rain jacket, sleeping bag and anything else that isn't squeezed into the sidebags. The tank bag holds snacks, tire gauge, Plexus/rag, etc. The red bag at the back is my chair. I also carry a rolled up Wally World dry stuffsack as a backup bag/tent door mat (lashed to top of Ortlieb in this photo). I always forget to bring a collapsible cooler with me. The nice thing with the Ortlieb is that if it's not absolutely stuffed to the gills, you can loop the built-in cinch straps through the pillion grab bars to secure the bag to the seat. I tend to use Rok Straps as a backup as they usually hold more than just the bag down (drying clothes/shoes, etc).

It all springs forth to produce this:

The tent is a Eureka Apex 2xt Aluminum. I've had this tent for around 8 years now and it does great. The only problem it has is you have to reach far out to get to the rainfly zipper, which is at the lower front of the fly (only a single zipper per door on the fly itself). I think they've changed the design slightly in the years since. You have to do the balancing dance to get into it sometimes (usually late at night, after a few beers are circulating...). I have a larger 4 man Coleman, but it's kind of a leaky pain.

My Slumberjack down sleeping bag packs to football size. It works very well...usually too well here in the SE. I just use a standard Coleman air mattress, although I'm probably going to change that the next time I shop for camping gear. I had a Therm-a-rest pad, but it sprang constant leaks the first time I ever used it while camping on my ole FZ6.

 

[PanAmerican]

This is how I camp with my motorcycle*.

I pack this.

And camp here.

* After seeing my friend Kelby suffer for months with the Lyme disease she contracted during a camping trip. Camping? Me? No thank you.

-----

Hey AKA PanAmerican,

 

How are you? I'm sitting here on medical leave dreaming of riding. I see from your picture that you did the door county ride - one of my favorites, although I think my all time favorite is Elroy Sparta.

 

Did you get my email some months ago about Lyme disease? I didn't hear back so didn't know. I'm being aggressively treated with IV antibiotics as by the time it was figured out it had advanced to nervous system, brain, and pretty much taken over... I hope to finish the IV part by June and get back to work (have been on leave since Feb but started IV treatment end of Sept) but have been told not to put myself at risk for the next two summers and that overall healing will be 2-3 years... I SO miss the Wisconsin rides. I think the bite/sting/ whatever, I got in LaCrosse put me over the edge, although apparently, Lyme can be in one's body for awhile until something triggers it...

 

I'm telling you this so you can help create awareness and push the Deet and something else they recommend called something like promethemine. Wisconsin is totally blacked out on the lyme map for hugely prevalent (and the data is 2004-2007) so it's actually worse there. One of the nurses that I see weekly told me when she first visited in Sept I was her first patient ever with Lyme in 20 years and by Dec she had two more who both got it in Wisconsin. Not to be gloom and doom - just want people to have an awareness I didn't have -- I still think something other than a tick got me there as I remember it hurt like hell and the idea of lyme did not cross my mind at the time. It's better to prevent than need to be treated, although if one is treated right away it is really no big deal.

 

Anyway, all for now. I still hope the Belgium trip materializes - maybe not this summer but next!

 

Let me know how you and your family are - I miss riding with you and hope all is well.

 

Kelby

 

[HelzBelz]

La Fuma 45 degree sleeping bag, camping pillow, thermarest, kelty gunnison 2 tent and a 5x8 tarp.

I also have a stove that I am not allowed to share pics of yet (will be selling them soon), but it packs up to 6x8x2 inch pack that is in the orange waterproof stuff sack.

I feed the the cinch straps thru the rear grab handle then criss cross my rokstraps over them. I can fit a lot more on top too.

 

[Falko]

I don't have a pic with me, but I just finished up an 8 day trip. I used one of the Twisted Throttle dry bags with the strap down loops on top. Fits great across the rear seat with secure mounting straps. Then you can put your bigger items across the top of it and strap them down to the bag easily. Worked great.

 

[Bungie]

I'm heading out camping this weekend over top of Lake Superior. I'll be sure to snap some pics of my setup.

Basically, everything fits in a mid-size waterproof duffle I strap to my passenger seat. Leaving my saddlebags/top box free for still more ****. I've never actually tried to put it all on bike before. Seems to me that'd be a bit to much weight in the Givi. Better off on the passenger seat that's designed for more of a load.

Of course, that kinda leaves the passenger out of the equation. Bonus!

 

[Judd]

Late to the party but hey, other people might could use some pointers.

Way back when I first got the bike-

The green bag on the seat has a 4 person tent and ground cloth, a tarp and a queen sized airbed. Basically all my "shelter" oriented gear. I kept my sleeping bag in the top box to ensure it didn't get wet along with my clothes. The side bags kept food, cooking gear and whatnot. Also notice I had the bag pushed forward and I did that on purpose to use the bag as a backrest.

As I took more trip, I got better each at packing. Here it is a couple years later packed for a 3 week trip to Alaska-

Pretty much the same but I'm carrying a spare for what was a 9K mile trip. I camped a good bit during this trip and only about 4-5 days spent in a hotel.

Baja another a year of so later-

Also note the top box/trunk I have on the back. It's a JC Whitney that I bought on sale for something like 50$ or so. Bout my only grip in about 50K miles and 6-7 years is that the red plastic trim on the front slowly turned pink due to UV fading and I ended up painting it black. That includes plenty of rough dirt road mileage with stuff like that tire strapped to the top of it. Beats the hell out of of spending 150-200$ Givi or that 800$ option the original poster spoke of. It's well worth 50$ to have one more piece of lockable storage than can in seconds, be removed from the bike and taken anywhere as it were luggage.

I've gotten to the point where I pack alot smarter and alot less and I'm just as comfy but I still tend to pack the tent and all in a duffle and place it on the rear seat just so I have a back rest.

 

[LAF]

Leaving the 4th for CO, AZ, NM, UT, and many other points and camping along the way on some days.

Started gathering and thought I would share a Picture of what I found priority today to gather.