1st Camping Trip - Check List

[utaka]

After your first trip you will probably be more experienced than most who have offered 'advice' :woohoo:


A guy I met the other day has a friend planning a solo trip to Morocco on a ybr and he is a pretty large bloke, and I believe there is a trip to Morocco soon by a group on HMC (Chinese bikes) as some sort of rally, think thats the Iris Rally, my money would be on the ybr doing more miles reliably tho!

[-Ralph-]

Avon skin so soft wood land fresh is what you may need

cheers Spud

Want to buy some? I got a six bottle deal on ebay after somebody told me how great it was against midges, because lets face it deet isn't very pleasant to use. My wife doesn't like the fragrance of it so now I have 1 nearly full bottle and 5 unopened bottles of the stuff.

[Mike101]

You mention that you will carry the number for Green Flag..very useful f you breakdown.

But also carry the number of your insurance company. If you crash...hope not...Green flag may not help and they may tell you to call you insurance company.

I almost got caught out like this!

Mike

[Diesel Pete]

If you want to cook for yourself then Mathew Cashmore has some good camp cooking recipes on his blog and youtube
The London Biker

[optimisery]

A guy I met the other day has a friend planning a solo trip to Morocco on a ybr and he is a pretty large bloke, and I believe there is a trip to Morocco soon by a group on HMC (Chinese bikes) as some sort of rally, think thats the Iris Rally, my money would be on the ybr doing more miles reliably tho!

Great trip! I hope he is a blogger? I like to read ride reports like this - gives me hope :laugh:

Nick Jones got to Guatemala on his YBR before it died : Tales From The Saddle then he continued on a Honda XR125.

There have been a fair few long distance and 1 round the world trip that I know of on Chinese c90 copies. They seem to do the job if they are nursed daily.

[optimisery]

You mention that you will carry the number for Green Flag..very useful f you breakdown.

But also carry the number of your insurance company. If you crash...hope not...Green flag may not help and they may tell you to call you insurance company.

I almost got caught out like this!

Mike

Thanks Mike (thumbs) will do

[utaka]

A guy I met the other day has a friend planning a solo trip to Morocco on a ybr and he is a pretty large bloke, and I believe there is a trip to Morocco soon by a group on HMC (Chinese bikes) as some sort of rally, think thats the Iris Rally, my money would be on the ybr doing more miles reliably tho!

Great trip! I hope he is a blogger? I like to read ride reports like this - gives me hope :laugh:

Nick Jones got to Guatemala on his YBR before it died : Tales From The Saddle then he continued on a Honda XR125.

There have been a fair few long distance and 1 round the world trip that I know of on Chinese c90 copies. They seem to do the job if they are nursed daily.

This was a good trip and story, http://www.re-moto.com/the_motorcycles.php?lang=eng

[optimisery]

This was a good trip and story, http://www.re-moto.com/the_motorcycles.php?lang=eng

Thanks for the link - that's some trip :woohoo: , DVD is sold out..

[Freeloadeur]

I reckon packing for the UK is about as hard as it comes because we just never know about the weather, the first trip I did I had enough stuff for a round the world trip because the forecast said sunshine and showers. I've now worked out the trick is to never take anything that doesn't have two uses and that includes clothes.

So now I pull out the thermal lining of my jacket and replace it with a fleece which I can wear off the bike. I've gone for trousers with the zip-off legs to make shorts.

I've got a Phad tent too and haven't taken a footprint because while the fabric is thin it seems tough. But a lot depends on where you put it. I pitched it on grass with thistles and they poked straight through despite being almost invisible. Luckily the fabric seems to have self-healed and doesn't leak, so if you don't take a footprint then do what I didn't and study the ground well.

Food wise I don't think you can beat porridge to start the day and the "Look What We've Found" of bagged meals you can find in supermarkets are good. You can really cheat and buy microwave rice/noodles which you can heat in a pan too. It's quick and easy though.

There's an idea that when you pack you should put the heavy stuff in panniers and as little as possible on the seat, but I'm not sure that's the best way with a 125cc. If you can pack light I think it's better to put as much as possible behind you like you've done with your Lomo bag.

The reason is drag, on my Derbi I had Enduristan throwovers and a small roll bag.

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Most of the time I can motor along at 60mph, checking out the scenery, which is what I love but if I run into a headwind it's like throwing a parachute out the back. Admittedly the Derbi is quite wide with its high exhaust, then wider still with my homemade supports and the Enduristans are quite wide too so it might not be the same with your YBR. I think the trick is to try and get the panniers no wider than your legs, not like mine which are as wide as the bars. Test riding will tell you, just stuff your luggage with scrunched up newspaper and go for a test.

[-Ralph-]

Severe headwind in the Picos de Europa had my XT600 down to a 70mph top speed with big panniers on, shortly before I ran out of fuel because my main tank range had dropped from 140 miles to 105 miles, and I only got 20 miles on reserve, rather than the usual 35. I had to switch to reserve unexpectedly after 105 miles, then there wasn't a petrol station within the next 20 miles, and it rolled gracefully to a halt! Another biker on a Harley Davidson who I been chatting to on the ferry to Santander had taken the same road, was 10 minutes behind me, and rescued me!