What to bring on an 8,000 mile trip?

It sounds a little silly...but...I will sometimes take a few USPS flat rate boxes to ship things home in. They're small enough to fit in your pack It works for the things that I tend to pick up along the way- i.e. T-shirts from Sturgis/Daytona, parts from swap meets, dirty laundry, 2 lbs of Bison jerky etc. It’s easy to find a place to mail it but you can’t always find an open FedEx or post office.

And, if you’re a man of little means (like me) I always bring my title. If I should happen to break down and need some major repair, there would be no way I could pay for the towing, parts, or motel bill while I wait. I figure I could at least sell it for enough cash to ride the bus home.

Someone said in an earlier post to always have your cell on your person. Great advice.
My brother hung his bike in a tree along Lime Creek road (outside of Austin Tx) one night and ended up waaaay off the road. It tore him up enough to make him immobile. Had he not have his phone in his pocket he might have been there for a while. The Goldwing riding sheriff was able to hear his phone ring from the road.

I wish you sunny skies and the best of weather!

Good call alwaysbroke- but at this point, the amount of blood, sweat and tears I've out into the bike, I'd sell my soul before it.

Made decent progress this weekend- I scored an Anton Sportpac on ebay not too long ago. It's a fiberglass combination of saddle bags and a top case. It's cool because it keeps the weight lower than a traditional top case, so I'm looking forward to it. In the attached image- it's mounted on a GS1100, I'll need to get creative with some flat stock to fab up the right (and sturdy) mounting brackets.

This weekend, I shot the inside with rubber undercoating to hopefully ensure that the 30 year old fiberglass is watertight. I laid it on thick in some areas so it's still drying- when it is, I'll spray some off-white primer in there, so hopefully I'll be able to see what's in there in the dark with a little LED headlight. I'll then fab up the brackets and once that's nailed down, I'll paint the outside (don't want to mess up my $4 rattlecan paint job by scraping it on a bracket ).

I've started another thread on the Electrical Forum regarding waterproofing my electrical system- if you have anything to add, I'd appreciate it! www.kzrider.com/forum/4-electrical/464701-waterproofing-my-bike

I see it has been suggested already, but wasn't on your list, Mozzie Repellant!!!
As an ex Alaskan, 24 years up there, and both an Alcan and Cassiar hwy driver, I would forgo the Cassiar on a bike do to the extreme distances between fuel stops. You can count on fuel at Dease Lake, but the others can be seasonally closed, which can be permanent. I did it in a full sized pick-up with dual tanks, and was so glad to see fuel again when the second tank was near empty. Not so much of an issue on the Alcan, but you would still need to top up regularly.
Also that Hwy is Not paved, so the risk of flats and breakdowns increase. then the traffic is less so additional help may be hard to find. I remember back when the Alcan was 1700mi of gravel. Luckily the Alcan is all paved, except where being resurfaced/ repaired.
If you have the Vacuum petcock still, you may want a spare diaphragm kit or replace it with a manual style. I developed a fuel leak due to a blow diaphragm on my K2 last year, lost quite a bit of fuel.
With the additional electrical accessories, I would check the total Amp draw and the total system output to see how loaded it would be. The suggestion of a larger Stator/ system might be unavoidable if you need to use the heated equipment.
Don't forget a First Aid kit.

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Are you here yet?



or more like this?



:lol:

lots of bail money! :woohoo:

KZ_Rage wrote:

:lol:

Holy shit I just saw the dogs in the cage being squished! Wow! hahaha Poor dogs!

Just don't ride past a PETA protest!

Actually I can't shake the feeling that those dogs are "what's for dinner"... :sick:

KZ_Rage wrote: Just don't ride past a PETA protest!

Actually I can't shake the feeling that those dogs are "what's for dinner"... :sick:

I'm sure of that! What an insult! We breed them to be companions teach them that we're the most important beings in the universe and them kill them for food.

Sorry! No racism but there's a little of room for consciousness raising here.

Bill

I'm sure of that! What an insult! We breed them to be companions teach them that we're the most important beings in the universe and them kill them for food.

Sorry! No racism but there's a little of room for consciousness raising here.

Bill[/quote]

I know exactly what you mean. I love dogs too, but I also find myself appalled by the treatment of dolphins (and whales) by the people that built my favorite motorcycle. I've met dolphins while I'm diving, and know them to be much more than brainless food meat.
Sorry for the drift, but I'm fairly passionate about this.

Weekend update:

The rubber undercoating/coat of primer that I shot my touring trunk with is still drying. It got considerably harder after sitting in the sun all day on Saturday. (It rained here today!!! WTF it doesn't rain in SoCal!?!?!) Another day or two and the trunk will be ready for its final coat inside. Thread here .

I replaced the fuse box and fuses today. 5 minute swap. Still debating a voltmeter- thread here , I'd really like one. Was about to replace the voltage regulator and rectifier when I realized that I had absolutely no idea what I was doing- I should probably get on that. Also, I wired up my 108 LED tail light. People are going to start flashing their high beams from behind it's so bright! Had a problem though, the LEDs only light up at full intensity- there is no running light/brake light difference. I don't know what is causing this, I started another thread here . I emailed SuperbrightLEDs.com and hopefully I'll get a reply soon.

A GPS is looking like a strong possibility. Do I need to run RFI suppression plugs with such electrical equipment?

Bad news, my lead on a Vetter Windjammer fairing seemed to have fallen through. I might be back to a simple windscreen.

Kickstand up in 19 days. Rock and roll!