Moto camping? Want to join us?

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Seeing how this is the campfire forum let's talk about Moto camping. How many do it? And would you like to join us September 4th? The New England GS group is doing its annual Moto camping trip at Coolidge State Park in Plymouth Vermont. We have been Moto camping up there for over 10 years now before that it was Moosehead Lake. Packing the motorcycle for 5 days can be challenging, but it can be half the fun. Our facility makes it easier we do have electricity in the Pavilion hot and cold running restroom nearby on site. Incredible View and the writing and the Vermont mountains is awesome. If you're interested check out the meeting house section of this forum. If not let's talk about your trips.

 

[LAB3]

Just baled out of the finger lakes region of NY last Monday and am now in TN. Don't have any immediate plans to be back north, chances are that won't happen til next summer. Sounds like a fun rally, I've seen it before on here.

 

[skip]

Just baled out of the finger lakes region of NY last Monday and am now in TN. Don't have any immediate plans to be back north, chances are that won't happen til next summer. Sounds like a fun rally, I've seen it before on here.

That looks like quite the setup. What don't you have with you lol?

 

[LAB3]

What don't you have with you lol?

It's quite literally everything I own, most of the bulk is winter clothing and bedding and most of the weight is tools.

 

[Vmass]

How many miles on that GS?

 

[tlg1100]

Just baled out of the finger lakes region of NY last Monday and am now in TN. Don't have any immediate plans to be back north, chances are that won't happen til next summer. Sounds like a fun rally, I've seen it before on here.

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About twenty years ago I was packed up with trailer heading out , with a few duffle bags and things strapped on, and friend of mine wife worked at the gas station / convenient store on hwy just out of town and I stopped to get some fuel and a pizza before leaving.

She told him I stopped by and my motorcycle set up reminded her of the Beverly hillbilly's truck .

I just laughed.

I packed a lot of tools for that ten day run just incase, didnt use any and yes they do weigh quite a bit. I had tools a small zip up bag with as little as I thought I could get by with, bet it weighed twenty pounds at least.

 

[lizzywhite45]

That sounds like an awesome trip. I’d really love to join but it's not possible for me this time. Hopefully next year.

I’ve done a few moto camping trips but nothing as long as five days. Packing is always a mix of fun and challenge. I usually bring more tools than I need just in case. Better safe than stuck.

Coolidge State Park sounds like a great spot. Looking forward to hearing how it goes and maybe I'll catch you all on the next one.
​

 

[skip]

That sounds like an awesome trip. I’d really love to join but it's not possible for me this time. Hopefully next year.

I’ve done a few moto camping trips but nothing as long as five days. Packing is always a mix of fun and challenge. I usually bring more tools than I need just in case. Better safe than stuck.

Coolidge State Park sounds like a great spot. Looking forward to hearing how it goes and maybe I'll catch you all on the next one.
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You can always just come for the weekend,then you have to pack 1/2 as much. Guaranteed good time.

 

[lizzywhite45]

You can always just come for the weekend,then you have to pack 1/2 as much. Guaranteed good time.

True, that’s a solid idea. A weekend trip might actually work. Let me check my schedule, would be great to ride up and hang out for a bit. Thanks for the push.​

 

[Burque73]

About twenty years ago I was packed up with trailer heading out , with a few duffle bags and things strapped on, and friend of mine wife worked at the gas station / convenient store on hwy just out of town and I stopped to get some fuel and a pizza before leaving.

She told him I stopped by and my motorcycle set up reminded her of the Beverly hillbilly's truck .

I just laughed.

I packed a lot of tools for that ten day run just incase, didnt use any and yes they do weigh quite a bit. I had tools a small zip up bag with as little as I thought I could get by with, bet it weighed twenty pounds at least.

In regards to tools, I once heard a wise man say "you really only need two things, WD-40 and duct tape. If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct tape. If it should move but doesn't use WD-40." LOL He proved that to me in person while we attended a rally 1,500 miles from home. Well, I think it was actually JB weld, but same principle haha.

 

[argonsagas]

About twenty years ago I was packed up with trailer heading out , with a few duffle bags and things strapped on, and friend of mine wife worked at the gas station / convenient store on hwy just out of town and I stopped to get some fuel and a pizza before leaving.

She told him I stopped by and my motorcycle set up reminded her of the Beverly hillbilly's truck .

I just laughed.

I packed a lot of tools for that ten day run just incase, didnt use any and yes they do weigh quite a bit. I had tools a small zip up bag with as little as I thought I could get by with, bet it weighed twenty pounds at least.

You mentioned Beverley Hillbillies and that brought a couple of memories

We have had at least two members who chose screen names from that show.

I met Geoff , who was both a really nice guy and a VERY good rider. He chose Jethro

The other was my daughter, Tam. She chose Ellie May.

 

[tlg1100]

In regards to tools, I once heard a wise man say "you really only need two things, WD-40 and duct tape. If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct tape. If it should move but doesn't use WD-40." LOL He proved that to me in person while we attended a rally 1,500 miles from home. Well, I think it was actually JB weld, but same principle haha.

I've only had a few hiccups, breakdowns while out on trips.
Worse two were a stator going bad and rear wheel bearing.
That was a long time ago, in the eighties and luckily for me a lot of shops kept a lot of stuff in stock for these bikes back then.

I lucked out on the stator , found a Independent shop that just so happened to have aftermarket stator. It didnt last long , but served its purpose and I had to get suzuki stator soon after, funny thing about that place is they hinted to the fact they didnt want me working on it In their parking lot ?
So I went down a half block along side of a pontiac dealer garage.


The rear wheel bearing started squeaky and rode it to a suzuki/kawasaki/ Yamaha dealer that I looked up in a pay phone booth phone book ha ha that long ago.

But the seven mile journey there had me worried about damaging something else.
The shop was closing in a hour and they were nice enough to fix it for me and didnt charge to much.

Few other little things but for road tripping not bad

 

[Burque73]

I've only had a few hiccups, breakdowns while out on trips.
Worse two were a stator going bad and rear wheel bearing.
That was a long time ago, in the eighties and luckily for me a lot of shops kept a lot of stuff in stock for these bikes back then.

I lucked out on the stator , found a Independent shop that just so happened to have aftermarket stator. It didnt last long , but served its purpose and I had to get suzuki stator soon after, funny thing about that place is they hinted to the fact they didnt want me working on it In their parking lot ?
So I went down a half block along side of a pontiac dealer garage.


The rear wheel bearing started squeaky and rode it to a suzuki/kawasaki/ Yamaha dealer that I looked up in a pay phone booth phone book ha ha that long ago.

But the seven mile journey there had me worried about damaging something else.
The shop was closing in a hour and they were nice enough to fix it for me and didnt charge to much.

Few other little things but for road tripping not bad

I wonder why your user name doesn't pop up using the @tig1100 hmmm.

Anyway, you just reminded me of a memorial day weekend ride a few years ago. A buddy from El Paso was meeting me in Socorro, NM and we were heading into the mountains for a weekend camping trip. About 20 miles from Socorro, his rear tire separated, without losing air, and he limped down the shoulder to a gas station. Luckily that was way after the pay phone era, LOL. Using his helmet headset he called some places in Albuquerque and found a tire for his KZ1300. I was already halfway to Socorro (about 80 miles from Burque) so my wife brought his tire down to us. The gas station mounted his tire and we hit the road. That's about it for mechanical mishaps for the rest of the trip. Pulling into the City Of Rocks campground the following day, we hit some soft sand and he dropped his bike. I stopped to help, and damned if I didn't drop mine too. We got the old heavy girls back on their feet and just had to laugh.

Since we mostly stayed at undeveloped sites, carrying enough water was maybe the biggest logistical challenge. In all it was a fantastic trip.

Pics or it didn't happen, right?

https://flic.kr/p/2g3U68d

https://flic.kr/p/2g3TZpi

https://flic.kr/p/2g3U7dz

https://flic.kr/p/2g3UAUW

https://flic.kr/p/2g3UYd2

https://flic.kr/p/2g5RUL6

https://flic.kr/p/2g3UNs2

https://flic.kr/p/2g3UVPQ

That road to the cliff dwellings takes about 2 hours to go 40 miles. It's insane twisty.

https://flic.kr/p/2g4UQR2

Another trip with my son to Northern NM. Sure wish I had taken more pics on this trip.

https://flic.kr/p/2jEj8nq

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Burque73, It’s tlg1100
second character in lower case L.

 

[Burque73]

Burque73, It’s tlg1100
second character in lower case L.

Haha, thanks, Rich.

We were talking about aluminum and stainless steel earlier and the different types of welding. I had tig stuck in my head.

 

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Welding. One of these days I’d like to take a class at the local tech school. Always wanted to learn. Tried it once. Stick welding. Don’t know or that’s arc, mig, or tig. Didn’t learn enough to get it all straight. My beads were really awful. I know there’s a lot to learn and a lot of practice to become competent at it.

Anyway, back on track. Have used my GS as a camping mule twice. It performed the task admirably, but I way overpacked. This was my first time. Talk about your Beverly Hillbillies.

Now that I have the Tiger, I have the capacity, and the comfort to do longer trips and pack gear more reasonably. Besides what’s shown below, I really only need a tent and a sleeping bag. They weigh next to nothing and I could easily strap them on. Plymouth VT is a 6.5 hr+ ride for me if I do all Interstate (booooring). I could take a scenic route and do it in 10. If I did that I’d probably have to forgo the Indiana rally in June. I wouldn’t get both past the wife. I’ll definitely give it some consideration. I lived in Boston for quite a while. I know how beautiful VT and NH are and I miss New England.

 

[gustovh]

I’ve been known to moto camp, but am on the wrong side of the states.

 

[gustovh]

The rack detaches loaded.

V