Black & White

With the final 6 months till Scandinavia under way I got a few requests for a packing list, to give you some idea of a luggage layout on the road. What follows now is a list based on the one I used this summer, and it's quite a big one, but I suppose some of it could be useful as a guideline.

Bear in mind that the layout of the panniers can be influenced by weight-balance; if it happens that one pannier is heavier than the other, stuff can be moved to reach an even weight. So always weigh your sidecases before setting off!

Here goes:

Black Pannier (35L)

Food (20x Travellunch)
2L of water
Brakefluid
0.5L of coolant
Kettle + cooking pot
Toiletpaper
Unmentionabottle
First-aid kit, incl Norit
Clothing detergent
and a spork

White Pannier (41L)

Clothing (3 sets that consist of pants, T-shirt, underpants and socks*)
2L of petrol
1L of oil**
Can stove
1L Cooking fuel (99% ethanol)
Air mattress
Sleeping bag
2x ICE flares

* = I advise against polyester undergarment & socks, since the friction may cause blisters and/or saddlesore. For shirts and trousers polyester's fine as it's easy to wash and dry.
** = it depends on the climate which grade of oil. For traveling to hotter climates it's wise to bring a thicker grade than usual.

Tankbag

2x 0.5L of water
2x ICE flares
Maps of non-current area
Rachetstraps
Tire pressure gauge
Tie-rips, duct tape, fuses
String + Velcro straps
Camera suction mount
Camera tripod
Flags
Compass

Topcase

Map of current area
Motorbike lock
Any on-the-road provisions
Baseball cap
Backpack with:
 Haynes manual
 spare project stickers
 spare marker
 camera batteries
 the black book (travel diary with ICE data***)


*** = for the Greece trip I put essentials like bloodgroup and phonenumber of the homefront also on my helmet. One could decide to put this on the bike too.

On person

Passport
Vehicle Registration, incl Green Card
Wallet
Phone****
SPOT GPS tracker & ICE beacon (left sleeve)
2L of water (Camelbak)
Pen + Marker
Tire thread gauge
and Péus


**** = make sure that the phonenumber of the peeps back home starts with 'ICE' - it'll make it easier for emergency services to do their work. And before you ask: ICE stands for 'In Case of Emergency'

Tooltube

Small sockets:
7, 8, 9, 10, 11mm

Small ratchet + enlongator

1/2 inch sockets:
10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 24mm

1/2 inch ratchet + enlongator

Hexkeys 5 + 6mm

Wrenches 17, 14, 12 and 10mm

Further additions include a screwdriver + enlongator and various bits, Blue Loctite 243 along with a pair of snips and plyers.

The tube consists of two parts; the tube itself and its cap. The main tube holds the toolroll, whereas the cap holds a small bag which contains 7 different sockets. 

When in use I tend to use the cap to keep track of the loose screws. 

The tube weighs in at 2kg.

I can pull apart most of the bike with the tools in here - it always pays off to do most of the standard maintenance prior to a trip, and put the used tools aside to make a toolkit like this.

All in all it seems quite a list, but packing for a motorbike trip is still a thing of making sacrifices. Everything is about weight and space, as both are limited... and I often still feel I'm bringing along too much.

What I recommend is to keep it simple, as overcomplicating things may cause you to lose oversight on what has gone where and subsequently will make it easier for you to lose stuff on the way. And do a test ride fully-packed too, as the extra weight is sure to affect the handling.

Anyways, happy packing!