Random thoughts on long road trip

After having crushed my foot just over 3 weeks ago I am now back on the Harley. I am also starting to think a great deal about the road trip to Turkey. I know the rough route and have a rough estimate of the miles. We’ll be doing about 4.5 thousand road miles over 4 and a bit weeks, also making use of French Motorail (one way only) for overnight from Calais to the south, a short overnight ferry from Ancona to northern Greece, and the longer ferry from Cesme (near Izmir) back to Ancona.

I am starting to give a lot of thought to what to take, or to put it more accurately what can be taken. This is being done with 2 of us on one FXSTC, Softail Custom, so we have nowhere near the carrying capacity of many models. I learnt a bit from last year when we went to Greece, there are a few things I would not take again. I think I’ll be carrying less bike maintenance stuff, tools I’ll need, bulbs are a legal requirement, spare spark plugs and fuses are probably a good idea, and a spare set of keys and alarm fob are essential. Oil I can buy if needed, same goes for cleaning stuff. I have Europe wide roadside assistance and recovery so if anything major goes wrong it can be fixed, and I’ll probably get a mechanic to check the bike over before leaving, brakes, tires, fluids that sort of stuff. What other preparations and bike maintenance stuff would others here carry?

I also need to think about riding gear. Decent boots are a must. I have an ultra compact rain suit, this packs into an unbelievably small space and would also be extra insulation if the ride home through France is cold. Last year in Greece it was really hot, over 35C, so the big decision becomes leather or denim. I am yet to decide on this, denim will be more comfortable, leather offers more protection. A denim jacket also doubles up as a more useful item when off the bike, and there is something to be said for multiple function items when travelling light. Thoughts anyone?

As for everything else it comes to what we can cram into the limited space. This will include the EPC so we can maintain a travel blog. It will not include a tent, hotels are inexpensive when compared to the UK.

This is not a great picture of how the bike loads for the trip, I had to enlarge quite a bit. There are the two HD Softail Custom saddlebags, these are not large, have less capacity than those on a Heritage for exaample. Then there is the SAC overnight bag on the fender rack, with a small backpack on top held in place with a cargo net. In the picture the backpack is at about half capacity. Further forward there is a detatchable windshield with a small windshield bag.



As you can see, very limited capacity.

Tour Pack or trailer maybe

Sounds like a great trip Good Luck!!
I thought I was goin to have a hard time packin for 1 week trip to Sturgis on my E-glide WOW, have you looked into a tour pack for your bike-would add considerable amount of storage and not to much weight. I would even consider a trailer in your case but as always depending on cash flow!!
I don't know about Europe but over here-Canada/US socks,underwear even T-shirts can be disposable items -buy a few day supply at local Wal-mart cheap and wear and toss away -- saves a little space.
Another thing I have done if there is a hotel 1/4 or 1/2 through your trip you know you will be at you can pre-ship some items to it before you leave and anything you gather along the way can also be shipped home easy enough.
Just don't forget the camera!! Good Luck!!:cheers:

I have a Tourpack, the problem if I remember correctly is the fender rack for the FXSTC is according to the MoCo only warrantied for up to 15 pound. So a large tour bag is great if riding solo and mounted on the pillion seat but less great otherwise.

Though I guess at times we all ignore those weight limits.

And don't forget the Red Green special - A Roll of Duct Tape.

Yeh, zip ties and duct tape. These are included. Thanks for reminding me.

I have had a sat nav suggested, I am unsure about this, not just the expense, but the potential distraction, balanced against maybe not getting lost in an unfamiliar town. Dunno. I'm leaning against. What do you guys think?

I am probably going to go with denim and waterproofs given that a great deal of distance is likely to be in 90 F and above.

I'll be doing pictures as we go, my phone will cover the trip and is also my camera, and we'll carry an EPC so we can post pictures from pretty much anywhere.

Not got a dog but do need to think about a sitter for the tropical fish.

Gps

Bring the GPS but hook it up for your passenger to view not you - no distraction and like HRK said the right unit can find food, gas, hotels, and most important rest areas! Most are rechargeable so just get a 120V adapter or what ever you guys use for wall plugs over there and charge up a night at hotel.

My cell phone does GPS, also does mobile internet. I could probably force it to do Sat Nav. I think I'd prefer to pull over, do GPS, then get a map.

tulelake

flht,,,did you get a card for july 3 to 6 run in tulelake,,,, came to my vfw post,,,, lots on card to do,,,entertainment , etc,,, we may go,,,looks like a good one,,,pops weather should be good than,,,and only around 600 miles