What to take on a motorcycle trip? The eternal problem, especially the manager and backpacks, what to take with you, having at your disposal three trunks, in the most optimistic option. Everyone will say that only the necessary things, but for everyone can be different.

Admit who of you has repeatedly tried to convince his more beautiful catches that the iron, dryer and another pair of shoes “or maybe I will want to look nice” are not essential equipment? We, for example, have not yet been able to agree on the question of the iron. Sometimes he goes on vacation with us, sometimes he doesn’t.

Despite some controversial issues, taught on our own skin, we know that it is worthwhile to plan the trip well. Probably some will say that everything can be bought, yes, but the prices of e.g. analgesics can surprise us a lot. Therefore, in order to make it easier for you to think about what you need, we have gathered all the information together, creating our highly subjective toolkit – what to take with you on a motorcycle trip.

What to take on a motorcycle trip?

Each trip is different, the composition of our trunk changes depending on which direction we go, where we intend to spend the night, or how to organize meals. It is known that when going south, we will not pack warm clothes and vice versa.

For the purpose we assumed that it is a relatively comfortable motorcycle tourism, that is, accommodation in hotels / guesthouses / private accommodation, eating mainly in local pubs and restaurants. Tourist and camping equipment will be described in a separate article, as well as the system of packing itself before the expedition.

Documents and finances

• Identity card and/or passport – always check that our documents are valid. Please note that some countries will not allow us to enter if the validity of your passport or ID card is less than 3 or 6 months.
• Driving licence.
• Third party insurance plus Green Card.
• Registration certificate with a valid technical examination.
• Payment cards (it is good to have two different systems, e.g. Visa and Mastercard).
• Optionally, you can also buy assistance insurance, we personally, for the time being, but there are several available.
• It is good to have a photocopy/photograph of a set of documents (except payment cards) available in the cloud via the Internet.

In most countries it is possible to pay with credit/debit cards, but sometimes the only option is cash, so be sure to take at least the currency of the country you are targeting. The small ones are useful at the stations, for example, to use the toilet.

Keep your documents in a string bag in the inner pocket of your jacket. If your driving licence, ID card or payment card is not exposed to moisture, it would be foolish to lose the remaining papers if you were to encounter a rain wall somewhere along the way. We have heard that condoms are also a good replacement.

First-aid kit

It is worth adding a few things to the standard first aid kit available for sale. Mainly for “travel” ailments, associated with climate change or even other water that can cause poisoning.

These are medicines available to the general public, eager to make excuses:

• Painkillers – it is worth having at least two types with different active substances (paracetamol and ibuprofen).
• Smecta – in our opinion, the best for all kinds of ailments related to the digestive tract.
• Antipyretic drugs – e.g. Fervex, Gripex, aspirin, everyone has their favorite in this category,
• Disinfectants – e.g. Octenisept.
• Cream with UV filter – you know, tanning adds beauty, but sunburn no longer additionally, it is worth to buy a preparation useful in case of burns, such as Panthenol.
• Dry ice – very useful if you need to use cold compresses. Best for bruising.
• Of course, allergy sufferers should have their own antihistamines and/or adrenaline in the medicine cabinet.
• Electrolytes, irrigants, e.g. Orsalit.

Cosmetics

Everyone has their own personal hygiene policy, but after a whole day on a motorcycle, it is nice to find at least the items listed below in our beautician’s case.

Here we recommend that you do not test new cosmetics that can simply cause allergies before you travel:

• Washing-up gel/soap.
• Hair shampoo (optional).
• Moisturizing cream.
• Toothbrush and toothpaste.
• Comb/hair brush.
• Toilet paper/tissues.
• Antiperspirant.
• Quick-drying towel.
• Moisturizing wipes.
• Intimate hygiene articles (mainly for women).

First aid of a motorcycle

Even if you buy motorcycle assistance, it is worth taking with you:

• A wheel repair kit with CO2 cartridges or a small compressor – it’s not a big cost, and often an emergency repair of a punctured tyre will save us time and nerves on the road. Just remember to check the expiration date for CO2 cartridges.
• Spare fuses and bulbs.
• A set of basic tools (e.g. multitool) and keys (socket, eyelet, Allen) useful for your motorcycle.
• Clamp ties, by some people called triticules, a small thing, and useful and more than once can save your ass.
• Insulation/repair tape.
• Engine oil for possible topping up.
• Chain lubricant, of course, if you have one

Useful accessories and electronics:

• Spare keys to the motorcycle/cases.
• Navigation/telephone with offline map uploaded.
• Small flashlight.
• Paper map of the area to which we are going.
• Camera, camera with spare batteries.
• Intercoms, are they useful? The question of taste and how we like to travel. Since we bought them, we can no longer imagine travelling without them. We wrote about our low-budgets here.
• Network and motorcycle chargers for electronics (navigation/telephone/intercom/ camera/ camera/etc.),
• Power bank.
• External disk for downloading photos/videos.
• Sunglasses.
• Small umbrella – if we anticipate sightseeing, and the weather may be different.
• A bottle of water and something to eat, not always local shops are open. That’s right, ironically.
• A needle with a thread and a safety pin.
• Nail cutters.

Clothing

What we take with us from our clothes depends largely on the direction in which we go.

Motorcycle clothes:

• Jacket and trousers or overalls. Whatever you prefer, though we personally believe that textile clothes, in motorcycle tourism, work much better than leather suits. Remember to take all the fasteners with you. You may think that we’re going south, I don’t need any pads, but driving at night can be a real pain in the ass.
• Motorcycle gloves and helmet. Although nobody will forget about the helmet.
• Rainsuit, at least for jacket and trousers, although it is also useful to protect shoes and hands.
• Overalls/ski mask (if used).
• T-shirts/thermocouple.
• Socks.

Daily clothes:

• T-shorts/pants (depending on whether you are going to cold or warm countries),
• Dress (for women’s version),
• T-shirts, t-shirts.
• Sandals or sports shoes.
• Underwear.
• Warm sweatshirt/polar.
• Shoes or shower slippers.
• Optional baseball cap.
• Swimwear, if you are going to splash a little.

As far as everyday clothes are concerned, and more specifically their quantity, remember that we have limited capacity on our motorcycles. It is best to take less with an option to wash them than to buy them, e.g. T-shirts for every day. Also remember to use plastic bags or rolled vacuum bags to save space when packing in panniers/bags that can get wet.