Touring tips & suggestions
A friend of mine just bought a new motorcycle (he’s been riding off and on for many years) and
will be taking a trip with his wife and asked my advice regarding motorcycle security on the road
best gear for touring through mountains with variable temperatures and unpredictable rain; tips
on gear storage while traveling; and “anything else” I might want to suggest as touring advice.
Below are my responses, and you probably have some thoughtful sugges-
tions for such questions, so please add them below!
1) MOTORCYCLE SECURITY ON THE ROAD: A motorcycle cover, a lock (that
attaches to a sign or pole), an alarm, and Lojack are the best security options
available that I’m aware of. However, I don’t use any of them. I just park
right outside the motel/hotel lobby entrance and ask the night clerk to keep
an eye on my bike. (I have a bike cover and big lock, but I don’t like to carry
them because mine take up too much storage space. However, there are
much lighter-weight covers specifically for touring and lighter locks, too). Of
course, when I’m camping, the motorcycle is right outside my tent.
2) TOURING GEAR: I utilize a variety of different options as I’m not aware of
any one perfect solution. I have a heavy, one-piece, thermal-lined, waterproo
motorcycle suit that I wear with an electric vest, along with waterproof boots
and gloves, as my ultimate protection against everything. But I rarely use the
big suit in the summer because it’s too warm to wear and too bulky to carry.
Hence, I have lighter, waterproof jackets that I use for summer trips and I
only use my non-waterproof leather for local travel. I also have lightweight,
waterproof overpants that I carry when I’m not bringing the suit. In fact, I
also have waterproof overboots, that I’ll wear when I’m riding for extended
periods in the rain, since my leather, waterproof boots will get saturated. In
other words, I have a variety of different types of gear. Oh, And I have more
gloves than I can count. Currently I have three different motorcycle jackets
and one motorcycle suit.
However, based upon my experience, if I was doing a summer trip
though the Rocky Mountains that you will be doing, I’d wear a comfort-
able, waterproof, summer-weight jacket with armor, and carry an elec-
tric vest (in case it gets too chilly at higher altitudes), as well as rain
pants, all in addition to waterproof gloves and waterproof boots.
The following link offers a more complete overview of rain gear:
http://motorcycle-intelligence.com/motorbike-rain-riding/330/