Britbike forum Forums General discussion The Rod and Tappet Motorcycle Camping

ricochetrider...the cooler bags. I used what I had lying around but did have to purchase one more of the cheap (they're NOT very good at cooling) Coleman coolers (under $17). I used some Stanley corner braces I had here and made a backing plate ( on the inside)to back up the bolts I used to secure the whole mess. Note:...it was that one hole strap at the top that was pulling off the luggage rack. This rig worked well...but if I'm thinking right...I see no reason to mess up the cooler by drilling holes in it.



SO....I'm thinking this is the WRONG way to go and will be working on a different attachment system in the next couple of weeks. Picture...for lack of a better term... a shelf (not sure what material yet...gota dig around the shop and see what I have)
The shelf attaches to your luggage rack and the cooler (with NO holes drilled in it at all) just sits on the shelf...and is strapped on with the gear. When setting up, the coolers are just taken off the shelf. Gona try to hinge (another lack of a better term) the bottom of the shelf so it folds back into the bike and out of the way when the bags are off. I'm going to try to do a mock up this week and will post a pic.


Your para-wing is really sweet. But the cheapest one I cound find
(the 19' para wing) was at Campmor for $199. I think that 12'X 16' cheapo tarp I was using cost less that $16 at Lowes. I'm just going to have to be envious until my ship comes in.

Thanks for sharing.....take care....Gordon in NC

George my brother....fishing and camping go together like disappointment and Triumphs. BUT your right....lightweight fishing is fun NO matter what's on the end of the line.

Fishing, Camping, Boiled Peanuts, Camping Gear, Bone in Ribeyes....it's ALL good and I'd like to hear all I can about it. So keep sharing boys and girls. It helps us all OUT!!! (pun intended)

Take care...George...remind me next time I see ya to show you the fisherman's handshake....hehehehehehehee....GG in NC

good work Gordon, glad it all went well! I like the shebang as well, kinda like the tarp I use, but mine uses the ridgeline of the tarp as the rope. those parawings are awesome too, we use them often for river trips, the wing itself isn't too heavy (altho it is heavy duty material) its the poles that get heavy.



this one could be hung from poles if you want it higher, or don't have a tree. but usually if its up, its raining, so I want it tight to the ground on the windward side. I use a 3" down filled airmat (made for winter camping to reduce the convective heat exchange) and a waterproof bivy sac instead of a full tent. the tarp is one pound and the bivy is another. then there's also a ground cloth.

of course getting my setup "dialed in" does nothing for taking the missus, as for some reason she always wants the full tent around her

here's a couple of my previous tarp, bigger, but not as good really



up on this



the view from that setup



another day

SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!! Thank you SO MUCH for sharing....those views are breathtaking. I'll have to admit, I've done a lot of sleeping on the ground but always liked it better with a tent around me.


You also wrote....."but usually if its up, its raining, so I want it tight to the ground on the windward side."


YES....it's the key to the whole set up....keeps the rain off and blocks the wind.

THANKS again for sharing...I'm sure I'm not the only one who will enjoy your pictures.

OH.....betcha Graham would'nt go near that rocky/river set up...if he can't stay on a mattress...he'd probably roll off into the river!!!!! Drinks on him...so to speak.

Cheers....Gordon in NC

or him in drinks, eh? :-D

the pic on the rocks was a river trip (Westwater in CO/UT), not a MC camp, but fun none'the less!

I like the strap and shelf idea, sounds a lot like the military rigs on a lot of the BSA's here? bet you can get some ideas from them.

YES!!!!!! on ALL accounts.


Something like this.....




I'm not re-inventing the wheel here...I figure I'm also not the only one who's tied a cooler on a bike...I'm just having fun and trying to pass some information around.

THANKS for the heads up on the military rig.....sweet. I sure would like to look at that attachment up close.

Take care....thanks again for the share....GG in NC

Gordon, A shame that a 2 piece saltwater rig and some basic tackle would probably be to cumbersome to pack on a bike. If that fishing pier in the photo was close to your campsite, some fresh caught, pan fried flounder or croaker would be a real treat. Maybe they rent tackle? Looks like you enjoyed yourself. Greg

Correct Malcolm, Tanhill it is, as seen here



And look, all BSAs not a t*****h to be seen :bigt

But there were plenty of these


Photo courtesy of Geoff & Sara

Gordon, no undue force necessary, it's what we do. Albeit Marie declined to join us on that particular excursion, dunno why.

gordon,
so you can see where the *she-bang* has gone and how it has evolved. one of the interesting aspects of humanity is the functional brain and limitless imagination. your coolers are just another example and i LIKE that. i am a big fan of making what you have on hand work to cover your needs. that alone is a skill one really needs to develop.

and hey- about my old coffee pot...that thing has been AROUND a while! long lost all the guts- i think the lid has fused to the pot in a molecular way? can't seem to get it off any more, and so it hasn't gotten lost on the bike trips! i only use it to boil water for coffee. it goes along wherever i go to camp, hanging of the back of whatever bike i'm on. Shaun sez to not take it might be bad luck!

nate's para-wing is the even larger version. and he's right- it IS the poles that get heavy. the two 8' poles are over an inch in diameter each and yes, they have some weight. for most of my purposes, i am driving up or riding up. so if i have the room on the bike, and it looks AT ALL like the weather might turn, i take the wing. in THEORY, one COULD might get a tarp to free-stand..but then you add the weight anyway. actually, a couple of my tarps get kinda heavy anyway- i get the big silver tarps with the black undersides...because they are more UV resistant and won't rip up in a hurricane! ha ha...(but i'm serious- i'll camp in ANY weather right up to and including a class III hurricane)) the free-standing aspect is what i like about the para-wing. any tarp is still LOTS cheaper than the 'wing tho, admittedly. and here in PA, much like most of north carolina- there's no shortage of trees.

now if i were WALKING it all in...my tune would change considerably. i figure if you're DRIVING up to the campsite- take it ALL...

nate, i DO like your little
ground-cloth, sleeping bag, and bivy-sack with that tarp thingy that you used coming back from scotland bro. the BIG advantages being lighter weight, yes but BULK reduction is really key as well for M/C camping. if you go back and look at the shot of my Bonneville all loaded up, you might guess i could take a lesson or two in bulk reduction?

i am a natural-born gear-head...so i GOTTA have all the stuff...
a curse i admit, but whatcha gonna do, right?

Tom Bro Dude, did I say THAT? BLIMEY Lad you sure Dodn't sound like the sort of thing I'd say, still if you tell me that's what I said, then I'm about to change me mind...

That coffee pot is YOU lad, and you should have it with you at all times, when you post photos of your adventures, I'm ALWAYS looking for it :bigt

Now to talk BULK, that's my trouble, not so much weight it's BULK I have trouble with, can't seem to get it down. I TRIED them snug pack sleeping bags, so small you could fit them in your pocket, 'They' said they're good for winter camps Yes they are, IF you throw them on a fire! I froze me tab's off in the SUMMER with em Although they're not too bad if used with a fleece liner, but then we're back to BULK! So I went for a good sleeping bag.

And another bit of Bulk I have trouble with is, the tarps I use for ground cover, I wrap them around the tent, then load that on the bike, but they make that bulky. Can't seem to win Still never mind, I'll keep trying till I get it right, I'm having a blast doing just that.

Think I'll have to see about them Parawing thingies, $200 eh? Wonder if they sell them here for less??? If not I'll get me one over there when I show up

shaun sez:
"$200 eh? Wonder if they sell them here for less???"


dude,
200 USD = 100 pounds bro (OR 122.508125 currently)
THAT'S less....

http://www5.snapfish.com/thumbnails...SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=comcast2/

gordon,
here's the link to some more of my pictures, the ones on snapfish. this was a trip i took last June. i went up and rode a couple days up there, on US hiway 6 across the northern tier of PA. i got my @$$ kicked the last day when it rained BUCKETS on me all day...

there are some cool shots here. among them are pictures on an old wooden-wheel ferry crossing the Susquehanna river.
i THINK the Millersburg ferry is the last wooden-wheel paddle boat ferry left in this country? check their website for more info. i've been on that ferry 3 times- all on bikes! it's 6 dollars for a bike and 1 rider

Hey Tom ... That reminds me of my old tobacco tin and Zippo lighter. Now, Grandad doesn't hold with smoking, but, and you'll notice that's a big hairy 'but' with huge tusks and little piggy eyes ... for some reason, many years ago, He gave me this tin at Christmas ? I thought at the time He was experimenting with some kinda reverse-psychology thing - The fact that HE gave me the tin, would make me think ...... well, I dunno, but I digress.

That tin, and a Zippo I bought around the same time, went EVERYWHERE with me .... every rally, UK, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Holland .. blah de blah. Here's the thing though, some of them rallies were *wild* parties, and it's a fact that at a FEW of 'em I'd managed to partake of one cup of Tea too many, and invariably, on occasion, I *lost* that there tin !

BUT .... somehow, I'd ALWAYS get it back. I'd lose it in Holland, but three months later I'd be at a rally in BELGIUM and a Dutch guy would come up to me and say 'Hey you left THIS at OUR rally' This happened a number of times,and that tin became quite famous

Now, to my eternal embarrassment this ALSO happened in a particularly BritBike.com way ?

I went to the 'Hunt for the Lannissquatch' rally, over there in the US of A ? That there tin was with me ... but GUESS WHAT ? I LOST that there tin out there in the fair State of Virginny ! I was seriously pissed off, and we hunted high and low ... but couldn't find it. It was gone, forever, lost in a little corner of a distant land <sob>

And THEN, months later, I had a little parcel - Airmail it was, from the States. Lannis had *found* that there tin of mine, right out in one of his fields ! Seems I must have lost it whilst having a HOOT on that Trail Bike of his ?

Karma that. Thanks for reminding me Tom !

(I finally DID lose that tin, out in the Lanes of Kent. I miss it, Grandad, yer hear ? And it *is* Christmas soon ? )

:bigt

welll
G dude...
look man i figure we are more or less tenders of our various possessions- especially the old things. somebody likely has that very tin now and is cherishing it, losing it, finding it again...etc.

a buddy of mine has it down pat. he just gets things and gives them or sells them away. he is in a constant state of flux and never has the same things every time i see him. no matter how cool i thought whatever he had was, it's always gone when i see him next

Gordon, my TRW has "racks with shelves" on as original kit, but a biy different to the BSA pictured. Right now it is blowing like crazy, minus several degrees and snowing, but tomorrow I will measure and take a picture or 2. These racks are available from Walridge's, but not cheap.

You know Greg...I can be lame at times...I just never thought about it since I haven't fished in YEARS. It used to be a REAL passion for me. Sorta can't help that being rasied in Tally.


Take a look back up this thread...to the picture of my packed up bicycle.....the thing sticking up...is a two piece salt water rig
(lightweight)...I was packed for a week long camp on St George Island. Caught and cooked some nice saltwater trout that week.


The pier charged $4 to fish....$4.50 to rent a rod. But I just watched...they really weren't catching much and the old farts had all the good spots taken. I'm not one to push and shove my way in between them...so I just watched and enjoyed.


Take care.....from another cracker...Gordon now living in NC

Okay Bryan.....NOW I get the PICTURE....beautiful..if even in a bleak sort of way.

Thanks....Gordon in NC

ricochetrider....LOVED the pictures...LOVE the coffee pot...LOVE the wing.

I'm with you 100% on needing my "stuff" with me....I've always been like that and to tell you the truth...LOVE it too.

Now...if and when you get time...could/would you tell me the story that goes with the Kinzua? It's the construction/destruction worker in me...I can't help it.

Take care....GG in NC

Mike....THANK YOU!!!! Don't get wet or cold but I would love to see pictures of the racks...and especially how they mount.

Take care....Gordon in NC

Gordon lad, don't you fret none about our Mike, after all he IS British lad, and y'all KNOW we're made from sterner stuff, I just HOPE he's not been in Canada for too long I mean look at Britbodger, BLIMEY he's been away from the Olde Country for far too long, poor sole that he is

Shaun.....so THAT'S whats the matter with him!!!!!

Thanks for clearing that up...just thought you ALL were like that...hahahahahahahahhaha

GG

ricochetrider

I'm not going to let ya off the hook that easily....hehehhehh

"Now...if and when you get time...could/would you tell me the story that goes with the Kinzua?"

Cheers....GG in NC

Shaun...anybody???

I forgot to ask....could you explain "lane spliting" please.

Thanks in advance....GG in NC

Lane Spliting is when a motorcycle passes in between two cars that are in their own lanes. As in- the motorcycle cuts right up though traffic jams on the divider lines.

Legal in England but I believe only Californians have the God given right here in the States.

Ask me how I know this??? Really I knew it before but I never had a taste of doing it at 80 miles an hour until riding on the back of Shaun's bike last September!!!

It was great! :bigt

Wade....thanks for taking the time to clear that up for me.

Hmmmmm????? I can see where that would come handy...but can also see the down side (pun intended).

Thanks again.....Gordon in NC