Touring and luggage advice?

[embee]

There's a lot to be said for the cheapo motels (F1 etc). I've used them when the weather has been particularly foul.

On the other hand I like camping holidays on the bike. I used a BMW for about 25yrs then got a Deauville, they're made for it.

The secret to efficient bike camping/touring (getting all serious about it!) is don't take anything you're not going to need, and use equipment which packs small. On the Deau I use a Givi E52 top box and the standard panniers (big lids are available), everything goes in them apart from a folding chair which fits in a purpose made rack across in front of the topbox, the topbox mounts above the pillion seat to get it forward as much as I can. The chair is a luxury but worth it's weight in gold at my age!

Small pack size usually costs unfortunately, but good gear lasts. My last tent did nearly 20yrs, I've had the current one 2 years, it fits inside one pannier along with shoes, washbag, and a towel. A down sleeping bag packs into 5" dia and 9" long. Heavier stuff in the panniers, light stuff in the topbox.

This is the Deau packed for 2 weeks in the Alps.

[SV400Rob]

I think I've decided on soft panniers, top box and a tank bag. I do like the kriega luggage but it would be no good when I want to go away with my girlfriend. I think it will only be this once when she isn't with me.

Thanks for all the advice

rob

General consensus amongst the adventure motorcycling fraternity is that soft luggage is best offroad, hard luggage is best on the road. Bikes are my only transport and I use them for work, so there is almost always some sort of luggage on my bike. Kriega make some of the best soft luggage and are one of the only brands to make stuff which is truly waterproof. Hard luggage is generally pretty ugly (especially top boxes), but the ability to lock stuff to the bike is brilliant if you are off the bike for any significant length of time. If you only tour occassionally, I'd recommend getting a cheap complete set "bundle" of Oxford first time stuff and wrapping the contents in carrier bags. By the time that wears out or you get fed up of it, you'll have a better idea of how you like to pack, how much you take, etc.

Hard luggage costs can get mental; in excess of £2K for a full set of Metal Mules.