Go Lite

Great input, thanks everyone! I am very familiar with the need to go lite as anyone, unfortunately I have to take my laptop to keep up with my business, otherwise I can't go. So when it comes right down to it I have few options. My camping is 15'bs and consists of a 30 degree bag compressed, a Exped 9 mat Sierra 2man tent and a inflatable pillow not much extra there.

I have Frog togs in one of the dirt bagz along with my tool roll, extra gloves and a siphon hose. I also have the tool to hold up the swing arm for chain maintenance or tire troubles but weighs very little, the other bag has the rotopax 1 gal fuel can chain lube and plexus for helmet/windshield (both small size) one pack of baby wipes and small first aid kit.

On the clothes part I have (all in compressed vacuum bags)
3 pair of wool socks
two long sleeve water wicking pullovers
one pair of pants with zip off legs (make into shorts)
Gerbing electric jacket/controller (will not leave home without it)
sandals
Shaving kit/medicines etc. in small zipper bag.
Klim pull over jersey
laptop and power supply

I will be wearing my Olympia GT air armored jacket and pants along with my Sidi canyon boots and Shoei hornet helmet. Camel back also

Tank bag holds sunscreen/lip balm
extra glasses
knife
small led light
power bars
maps

GPS on bike as well as xm radio (love it, and no it's not coming off)

On the front fender I have tire irons and front/rear tubes valve stem tool/tube snake

I really think that the bike would handle the weight fine but due to the long long long way I have to travel on the slab the tank slap is a problem for sure, it is all but eliminated when I remove 15 lbs of camping gear from the rear, pump up tires and jack in a bunch of preload on the shock. Having the 606's on which I just love but do compound the problem due to the non stock sidewall. They work very very well in the loose stuff and speeds below 50-60 so I was very surprised about the scary tank slap deal on the slab.

Thanks very much everyone for your critique and suggestions they are most welcome and appreaciated!

10Cup

Mate your set!
No need to add/remove any more. your got it covered! Sounds like it will be an absolutely awesome trip!!!

Travel safe mate & like I said before, Keep us updated with pictures & reports.

Cheers,
Luke.

Best of luck on the trip. I'm hoping to do a dirt CC on the WR in a few years.

Quote :

I really think that the bike would handle the weight fine but due to the long long long way I have to travel on the slab the tank slap is a problem for sure, it is all but eliminated when I remove 15 lbs of camping gear from the rear, pump up tires and jack in a bunch of preload on the shock.

Something is not right. I've sat at the very back of the seat. That's 200+ pounds of rider and gear at 70 mph with no problems.

B_rent over on STN toured and commuted with similar weight and a windshield with no problems.

Most of this has been covered but, I'd think things to try in this order (for street only):

*Tires -- air up to max psi on the road
*Pre-load -- max it out. I'm surprised that you needed to max out pre-load with just 15 lbs of luggage
*Raise the rear ride heigt
*Cut down the windscreen

Something is not right. I've sat at the very back of the seat. That's 200+ pounds of rider and gear at 70 mph with no problems.

B_rent over on STN toured and commuted with similar weight and a windshield with no problems.

Most of this has been covered but, I'd think things to try in this order (for street only):

*Tires -- air up to max psi on the road
*Pre-load -- max it out. I'm surprised that you needed to max out pre-load with just 15 lbs of luggage
*Raise the rear ride heigt
*Cut down the windscreen[/quote]

I was thinking the same thing while I was riding the WRR on the slab yesterday. I scooted way back while at speed (thinking about this thread) and could release the bars with no instability.

You probably can't get lighter by leaving stuff home, but you definitely could by buying new ultralight stuff.

Whats in the tool roll that could be left home, is redundant because of tools in the stock kit, or can be purchased in a lighter form?

Are you taking a big honkin' laptop like the Vostro 1500 I'm typing on, or a thin, light notebook like a Macbook Air or a Netbook? Can you do the business thing with the lightweight computer? If its just checking in with email and such, could you do it with a crackberry/iPhone?

How much does that bag and tent weigh?

I had no issues with tank slappers on my 1100 mile pavement trip last weekend, even up and over 90mph a few times. Ran better with the tires at the higher recommended pressures (22F/28R, if memory serves) and I took the skid plate off to cut down on the rider-percieved noise, no changes to my normal setup beyond that.

Is everyone sure it is the weight? I mean obviously it doesn't help having all that weight, but.....meh, i'm thinking wind turbulance, tires balance....never mind, just rambling.

*my helmet came in but not the googles, what good is the helmet with no googles? Just not thinking clearly!

I'm not sure how much your tent weighs, but I use one of these and could never go back to a tent. Weighs 2 pounds, packs small (no poles) and is really comfortable when you get used to it. If you're camping in colder weather, a sleeping pad helps, but if it's summer camping, you can go without.

http://hennessyhammock.com/specs-expeditionasym.html

The hammack thing looks pretty good if you're one person in a treed area. I would likely try one if I was solo.

My wife and I used to use a department store tent and bedroll. We finally bought one of these:
http://cascadedesigns.com/MSR/Tents/Fast-And-Light-Tents/Hubba-Hubba/product

and some light-weight sleeping bags. If we're traveling light we won't carry a mattress at all. The therma-rests sleep better, but we find all of the bikes handle better with a bit less weight.

Even with the light weight stuff though, I'm not sure if we'll be able to camp on our little bikes. Loading up a little bike kind of defeats the point of the little bike. We've done back country camping on the KLRs. I don't really want to load my WR up as much as that.

Here's my setup that I tested this weekend




Scout Dirtbagz - Left bag (Sierra Designs Light year tent, REI Halo +40 down bag and down pillow, ground sheet, microfiber towel) Right Bag (Clothes in a plastic bag)

Wolfman Enduro tail bag (camp shoes, first aid kit, toiletries, small cartridge stove, cooking pot and utensils, head lamp, and food for dinner and/or breakfast) and REI Camp Pad 2.5, attached to Emersom Biggun's rear rack.

Wolfman enduro tank bag (house keys, wallet, registration, ear plugs, chain lube, Klim Stowaway jacket, maps, thermal shirt in case it got cold, tire pressure gauge, and sunglasses).

Once I get E.B.'s rotopax mount, I'll have room for more water. If I go with a more packable sleeping pad, I could fit it into the left dirtbag as well and have room on the rear rack for extra fuel. Or I could put a fuel can under the tail bag/pad.