When you are traveling for a few months on a motorcycle, one of the challenges is packing. Last summer, we went on a 6 months trip around Europe, from Turkey to North Cape in Norway and it was even more challenging as we would need a wide variety of clothes for hot and cold weather. Going to Morocco was a bit easier, and we were lucky that even the end of October was very mild, with around 60 degrees in Paris.
Above you can see a picture from last year, this year we used the same 3 panniers but didn’t put anything on top of the rear topcase. Half of the bike’s storage was mine, and here is what I packed.
First, a small backpack, it is a 15 liters one I think, ideal to take on a day trip when you leave the rest of the stuff on the bike. Inside goes my laptop, ipod, cellphone, chargers and international adapter, and important papers like my passport.
All that fits inside plus a bottle of water, gum and light snacks.
Then there is a long bag that fits in the upper part of the bike’s pannier, I put my flip flops as a reference there so you can see that it isn’t huge either.
Inside I put my indispensable items, like said flip flops to shower in shared bathrooms, running pant, shirt and bra, a few t-shirt, underwear and clothes for 2-3 days. The idea is to take only that thing out and not the bigger bag on most nights, then rotate with fresh clothes after a few days.
The third and last bag is a bit bigger and fills the rest of the pannier. It is pretty cool that the bags are exactly the shape of the panniers so you don’t spend hours trying to pack something that won’t fit.
That bigger bag also has a small detachable pouch that fits a notebook, headphones, random small items like a nail clipper or extra soaps.
Inside the big bag I only keep more clothes, a second pair of jeans, one pair of shorts, some t-shirts, underwear, one pull-over for when it gets cold, a bathing suit, and a pareo that is used as scarf, head scarf, picnic table, towel, beach towel, bed linen, skirt and about a thousand other ways.
I took a picture of my running shoes, those were the only shoes I took with me safe for the flip flops so if we were riding the bike I was wearing them, otherwise I was walking around in flip flops.
Then there is my jacket, it contains my keys, a pouch for credit cards, driving license and bus pass, and a coin holder.
That’s it for my personal space. We also share a tankbag with BF where I mainly put my hygiene products, and there is a square pannier at the back of the bike where we keep a tent and two sleeping bags, as well as some food reserve, oil for the bike, etc.
I did a full service of the bike before we left so we didn’t take tools with us, which is a bit crazy but we weren’t planning on going to really remote places were we wouldn’t find a mechanic in the next 20 miles or so. Luckily, nothing happened.
We did laundry roughly every 10 days, I could have lasted longer but BF brought fewer clothes. You can find laundromats in Western Europe and in Morocco there are ladies that will wash and fold your clothes for a fee almost everywhere.
You can also read how I packed a single suitcase to spend a year in Guatemala.
Every tried to travel light? Did the airline luggage fees make you a more efficient packer?
This post was featured on the Festival of Frugality, thank you!
You are a champion! Luckily we travelled in hot countries/during summer mostly, which made life a lot easier on the packing front. I also got a bargain on a leather jacket in Iceland which was excellent timing.
I’ve always wondered how bikers pack for long trips. It looks like you have such little room! I haven’t been hit with any airline fees as far as weight of my luggage goes, but I’m sure some people have pared back what they bring, especially those with children who may be tempted to bring an extra bag to accommodate all their stuff.
The longest trip I have taken on my bike was for a week to US 129 in North Carolina. I only back a tank bag and a back pack since my bike really isn’t designed for long distance travel (Triumph Speed 4). In general I travel pretty light for myself. However, we have had to pack extra when we take our little guy since there is a good chance he will have an accident and might have to wear a second (or third) set of clothes in a day.
Don’t you mind the weight of the backpack after riding for a while? I have a kind of elastic net you can use to anchor a backpack on the passenger seat. My back hurts carrying a bag for too long.
It didn’t really bother me to be honest with you. It was mostly just some socks, underwear and some rain gear so it wasn’t too heavy. I thought about a mesh next for my rear seat and then decided I would rather “look cool” and leave the rear seat cover on instead. Can’t say I always made the smartest decisions in my early 20s.
haha let me know when you would like to guest post about the cost of being cool 🙂
I do like to travel light….but not that light! We usually try to take a carry-on instead of checking luggage so that we don’t have to pay a fee to check our bag.
When my wife and I went to Costa Rica just about a year ago, we decided to travel as light as possible. One backpack for each of us. I’m typically an over-packer, so it was a challenge to narrow things down to just the essentials but I managed. And I definitely found that I was totally fine with the small number of items.
Like DC, I always wondered what it was like to pack for a long term trip as a biker. We like to pack pretty light, which can be a little harder if we have the kids with us. We’ll do what we can to avoid the fees airlines want to charge which we’ve found to be fairly easy…so far. 🙂
If am traveling alone in continental USA, I just carry a back pack based on the length of my stay to avoid fees. However, when I am going home to Kenya, I carry two checked luggage and a carry-on because they are all free.
I’m so impressed with your trip. My wife and I talk about doing a multi-day bike ride and would have to deal with the limited pannier space as well.
Packing for a few days is not much different, as I had clothing for 10 days only. We traveled for 6 months last summer and didn’t bring much more. Then there are basic items you can’t do without like hygiene products that will always take up space. But all in all for a few days you don’t need as much as you think.
Count me impressed. I recently finished a memoir written by a woman that backpacked the pacific crest trail and the weight of her pack was a theme throughout the book. I think learning to make do with as little as possible is a great lesson to have once in a while.
It is indeed nice to get back home and have your stuff, to wear something other than the one pair of jeans you packed, but you really don’t need much, even when we went on a 6 months trip we barely packed more.
Oh my. What an adventure. That truly is living the dream. Someday, I suppose :/
Great job! I would totally suck in that situation because I ALWAYS pack too much. I packed for literally two weeks before I backpacked in Europe, trying to figure out ways to make everything fit.
oh, it took you two weeks to pack! I thought you packed two weeks worth of stuff and that is was pretty light to backpack with hehe forgive my French. I have lots of packing practice, and have downsized with every trip. You really need less than you think.
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Well done on the trip and for packing so light! I have reduced the amount of stuff I take with me but I am still reliant on a bag that gets checked in on flights.
Wow, well done for packaging. I always take so many backpacks with me when I go traveling!
I’m all about traveling as light as possible.
Whatever gear I can fit on my Motorcycle, that’s what I’m bringing with me. The issues arise when my Wife decides to travel with me.
Great article!
I’m currently in Saigon, Vietnam and soon gonna ride up to Dalat (highlands) when it stops raining!!
Keep up the great work.
The details and packing for your trip is very admirable. These are surely good tips on packing for a long term motorcycle travel that we all should know.
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I had a big challenge packing enough stuff for my motorcycle adventure trip. I mean I thought everything I had packed wasn’t enough, even though there wasn’t enough space left. I will be going for another trip on summer ad will be sure to use these packing tips.
I really appreciate you taking your time to offer these incredible tips.
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