By Lynn Ketchum

After carefully planning your route, checking on the weather forecast and arranging the sights and activities you'll see and do, the next most important thing to do is to pack your things.  Why is this of primary importance?  Well, there's just nothing worse than a motorcycling trip gone wrong because of a flat tire or a busted engine because the weight of your pack cannot be accommodated by your bike.

Here are some packing tips you may find useful for your next biking trip:

1.  Pack only necessary clothing.  The weather forecast should give you an idea of the clothing items you should include in your pack.  If you're in for some cold biking trip, of course, don't forget to pack your western jackets and other clothing items to keep you warm.  This might be a good time to get the heated clothing.
2. Pack so you can layer your clothing.  Cold in the morning, warm in middle of the day.  Hot afternoons.  Cool in the evening.  So put layers on that you can remove by afternoon and then put back on at night.
3. If you have to choose between two items of a similar purpose but the other one weighs heavier, your common sense would tell you to opt for the lighter one because that's the right choice.  Remember, in a motorcycle trip, the key to packing properly is to pack light.
4. Pack things in small amounts.  If you have to bring some medication or sunscreen lotion, transfer ample amounts sufficient for the duration of your trip in smaller containers rather than bring the whole big bottle.  You can purchase small trip size bottles of shampoo, lotions, etc at many stores along the way.
5. Pack sufficient energy bars, trail mix and water to keep your energy up and satiate your thirst.  This is important especially during those times when the next convenience store is still many miles away.  Freeze a bottle or 2 of water and put it in a zip lock bag.
6. Put heavier and more solid items on the bottom of your bike, closer to the side of the bike to centralize the weight while the lighter ones like pillows should always go on top.  Remember when you took the basic rider course and this was one of the topics……balance your load.  Maybe take a very short ride prior to taking off and see how you ride, you may need to go back and re-pack an item or 2.
7. It's best to always use saddlebags or tank bags but if you don't have that, you can also use bungee nets/cargo nets for your other items.
8. Follow your bike's load limits. Don't overload your bike because this will wear out the suspension, brakes and wheels, and make handling of the bike awkward.
9. Be sure to waterproof your luggage by lining it with plastic bags to keep it dry.  Zip lock bags come in many sizes today.  Keep your rain gear in a place where you can easily get it when it suddenly rains.
10. Keep essential or emergency items like water bottle, cellular phone or maps in your right saddlebag because this is more accessible and the less urgent necessities like sleeping items and spare clothes at the left saddlebag.  Reaching for the left saddlebag while you're on the run puts you closer to the opposite traffic.
11. 11. Keep bags away from the exhaust pipe.  Even the slightest touch with the pipe may cause for the bag to burn and you may find yourself with no extra clothes but just ashes to commemorate your things with.
12. 12. Pack a hose to siphon gas out of a gas tank in case you run out on the road.  Maybe pack a few tools, the necessary ones.  Some of your bikes came with tools.

Indeed, packing for a motorcycling trip entails a lot of effort since you only have limited space to store your things unlike when you're going on a car or RV trip.  It is necessary that you are able to bring all your necessities without overloading your bike.