Weekend Travel Packing List

What's up everybody? My name's Nate Beck and you're watching Fix My Hog. So today we're talking about a motorcycle trip, but not the kind of motorcycle trip that you save up vacation for. These are for the two day trips that we live for. Just get away on a weekend and get the wind in our face.

So when we're preparing for that, we have to think about what we're going to pack cause we don't need a lot and we don't have a lot of space to do it with. So we're really using the economical options and getting the stuff that's going to do the most for us is going to be the key for a successful mini excursion. So what I'm going to do is walk you through some of the stuff that I like to take with me on my bike when I go and maybe get some gears going in your head. So keep it in mind, I ride a 2015 Sportster so I really don't have a lot of space to put things so what I do put on my bike has to work for me. So let's run through this.

My whole ethos when packing is layers. Layers is what's going to keep me warm and keep me cool throughout the whole day. Keep it in mind, that seven am is a pretty chilly time and noon, two-o-clock in the afternoon can get pretty warm. Layers is going to play a big part of what I'm packing. On the top half of my body, my layers are going to be a nice under to keep me warm, a t-shirt, a flannel, and then my jacket in the morning.

As the day goes on, I have to remember to not over pack so I have room to put that stuff in my saddle bags. And as the day goes on, I have to remember to keep my jacket on to be safe at all times as well. On the bottom half, I do like to keep on another pair of jeans when I go because you do get sweaty in the afternoons and having a fresh pair of jeans always feels good. So another thing is, we only have so much space. This whole thing is about space and you'd be surprised at what you can do with a couple zip ties and a bungee cord.

Gets a little hot, maybe you don't have room to put stuff in your saddle bag. You can use a couple of these to roll things up and put on your handlebars. Maybe it starts raining and you just bought something and you want to put that in your saddlebag to keep it dry. Or you can put your rain suit on your handlebars if you have a couple zip ties. So keeping a couple zip ties with you at all times is a nice fail safe, but don't forget something to cut the zip ties with, which brings me to my next point is a good quality knife.

If you're camping maybe on the weekend, having a knife or something sharp is going to help you in multiple ways. Another easy thing to take that doesn't take up a lot of space is a bandana. I rock a three-quarter helmet, so in the mornings it can get pretty chilly. It's pretty easy just to throw a bandana over my face and stay warm. Take it off, and again, doesn't take up that much space and I can even throw it in a jacket pocket.

Another thing when talking about temperature is gloves. I like to take two sets of gloves with me. One, would be just a simple leather glove for when it's warm and two, a nice lined glove for chilly mornings and cool evenings. Now, not only safety on the bike is important, but safety off the bike. You're probably going to get hurt at some point in your life when on a motorcycle trip so a good quality first aid kit that you piece together from some simple items, is really going to be key.

So let's go through that. I like to keep it all in a Ziploc bag. Ziploc bag you can use for 8,000 things as well. Start off with a good quality toothbrush, I know we're bikers, but we need to brush our teeth at least once a week. I opt for nonstick pads as opposed to band aids.

It saves a little bit of room because you never know how big your cut is going to be so if you take a couple of these, you can use your knife to cut it to the size you need, and you're good to go. Now because these are nonstick, to keep them on, I like to take a little tape with me. Also this can be helpful if you sprain your ankle, sprain your wrist, it'd be good support. After we've stopped the bleeding, I like to use a liquid bandage. Now a liquid bandage also comes with antiseptic properties so we can handle any infection should it occur.

I always carry a lighter. Kind of falls in the same as the knife, better to have one and not need one. Sunscreen. You're out, you're riding all day, the sun's beating down, protect your face. Keep yourself well.

Along those lines is also some Blistex. Chapped lips are no fun. Throw a little in. Again, not that much space. It's going to make your experience that much better.

Tweezers in the event you get a splinter or even sometimes this can come handy bike maintenance if you need to get in something and pull a wire through if your wiring gets messed up. I like to carry some neosporin. Again, I don't want to get infected. And then we're out there, we're cooking some stuff over the fire and we might get sick. Maybe some antacids or something to keep us feeling well to get to the next morning.

And some deodorant, cause we're bikers, we're not going to shower. So the last thing that I like to take with me is a good quality rain suit. Again, we like to think that every trip is going to be sunny and beautiful, but that's just not the case. Having a good quality rain suit is not only going to keep you happy, but since we're not taking a lot of clothes, it's also going to keep the clothes that we have dry, which is of utmost importance. And again, if you run out of room you can easily use those zip ties or a bungee cord, roll it up, and throw it on your handlebars.

So hopefully some of this stuff got you thinking and inspired you to go out on those quick two-day trips because they are worth it and they are a ton of fun. So my name is Nate Beck, you're watching Fix My Hog, and until next time, ride safe, wrench safe, and we'll see you on the road.