Show me pics of your fully loaded out (for camping) bike

jfheath said:
Personally, i wouldn't be without one - in fact i never ride without it, even solo. So no cons from me, apart from the orice - but i would replace it with another hondaline one if i ever needed to.

Pros:

High level brake and tail light.
Space to put helmet and gear when looking around places. We stow our textile suits, boots and helmets for en-route stop offs. I cant bear walking around in heavy, sweaty gear.
Somehwere secure and lockable rather than having gear tied on loose
Easier to access than panniers. We use liner bags in the panniers to make it easy to pack the luggage way from the bike ( in tent, or in b&b) and to keep stuff together when the side lid is opened. Individual items go in the top box and can be kept locked in there overnight.
Top box is easier to keep things dry when opened in the rain.
Top box is easier to access then left pannier when on side stand.
I dont have to worry about my pillion if i need to accelerate rapidly.
A handy place to stow and charge an ipad or notebook on the move.
Prefer to ride with top box than a tank bag

But the choice is a personal thing. Our packing has evolved over the last 16 years of touring - both camping and b&b nearly always 2 up.

Whatever you decide, it is well worth having an overnight dummy run, in the rain, to see if the arrangement works before your long trip.

Good luck with the trip and the planning.
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+1. I keep a top box on all the time and use it a lot. For long trips, I couldn't do without it.
 
Seems this conversation should really be moved to it's own thread, but this is my :tc1:
I've had it both ways. Mostly I did have a top case. On my ST1100 I installed the Bestem 2012. On my current bike I decided to forgo the cost and use a large dry bags (110 liter & 35 liter) for those very occasional trips where I need more luggage. I only ride solo... especially for traveling. I do ride the bike to work every day of the year in any temp as long as the pavement is clear or has unimpeded traction (so even in rain and as long as it's not frozen). I do carry my work laptop in the pannier when needed (mine are the right shape to fit it, unlike the ST, but if I still had an ST I'd have a top case for this). Even added a power port in the right pannier for charging. I have come to really like having the clean line without the top case when it's not needed. When I had it I used it a lot. Without it I use the panniers more, and have no issues with that. If my wife rode pillion with me on trips I'd probably want the top case... but removable for when not traveling... AND a dry bag or cargo trailer (she would bring more stuff than I :) ).
 
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All really good input. I don't ride two up on the ST. My wife rides her VStar and we usually only do day trips because of the animals. If we make long trips, its the RV for her :) I do the longer road trips. The problem I have alays had with top boxes is kicking them when I get off. On is not a problem. I also like teh bike loom with saddlebags but no top box. I will probably get a box, just for longer trips
 
I've done trips with and without top boxes... doesn't really affect the trip much as you will adapt your packing to whatever is available.

But, having a top box is nice for a quick/easy access to misc items you always want on hand like cap/flashlights/cell phone/diff gloves, etc.. and if you add power you have a lockable charging station.
 
Cape Hatteras.jpg
My 1971 H-1 in 1971....at Cape Hatteras with my gal....
In February if 1972 we loaded it onto a $15.00 Suburban and drove from Cleveland to Daytona, where we sold the truck ($150.00!!!) and rode to Key West, back along the Gulf Coast, to California, and back to Cleveland....61 days....three nights in a motel....
 
I love these old photo's, they give me wood! :grin:

In 1986, on an old Honda CD125 Benly, I did the UK down through France across the Alps to Switzerland, into Italy, Austria, what is now the Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, Belgium, back through Northern France and home (UK) :ukflag1: I took 14 weeks, stayed in the occasional YHA but mostly camped wherever I was when it got dark, no mobile phone, no sat nav, no credit card, no breakdown cover, just jeans, t-shirts, trainers and an old bomber jacket.
Unfortunately I lost all of the photo's (4 albums worth) in a house fire 12 years ago.
 
I never could figure out which top box I wanted or how much cash I was wiling to let loose of so I found this bag and added a Honda patch. 60 dollars and will hold 2 full face helmets. Locks and is water proof. On and off in a minute. I made a rack and back rest to hold it out of 1/8 aluminum. I have such little $ in it and it works ,now it is hard to go with top box that cost a lot more.003.jpg 004.jpg
 
Paul st1300 said:
I never could figure out which top box I wanted or how much cash I was wiling to let loose of so I found this bag and added a Honda patch. 60 dollars and will hold 2 full face helmets. Locks and is water proof. On and off in a minute. I made a rack and back rest to hold it out of 1/8 aluminum. I have such little $ in it and it works ,now it is hard to go with top box that cost a lot more.View attachment 169985 View attachment 169986
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nice work. Looks factory [emoji6]

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I did 3 months riding round Australia in 2014. Anything that didn't pack into a top box and 2 hard panniers didn't go. Posting a picture of that setup would be downright boring, however, in Adelaide, South Australia, I stopped at a motoring museum and came across an '85 BMW R60 that had been "fully loaded out (for camping)"....
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Snappa said:
I did 3 months riding round Australia in 2014. Anything that didn't pack into a top box and 2 hard panniers didn't go. Posting a picture of that setup would be downright boring, however, in Adelaide, South Australia, I stopped at a motoring museum and came across an '85 BMW R60 that had been "fully loaded out (for camping)"....
View attachment 172511 View attachment 172512View attachment 172513
Click to expand...

My ''63 R60/2 barely had 30hp , that one is a '65 , I can't imagine overloading one like that with so little power.
 
Hatteras Campsite.jpgCape Hatteras.jpg
Here is my 1971 H-1. My gf at the time rode with me from Cleveland to Cape Hatteras and enjoyed it so much we went for a 6800 mile ride together in 1972.
Stock everything on the bike...Vetter Phantom fairing.
Have fun!
 
I am freshly home from my first-ever moto-camping experience, a one-night affair out to the Loft Mountain campground in Shenandoah National Park.

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I had a grand time and plan to do more of it. I've car-camped my whole life as well as having done enough bicycle-camping to understand the difference in dynamics and planning. I'd put moto-camping more at the bicycle end of the spectrum than the car-camping end, given the constrained space for "stuff".
 
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Here's a few pics of my dad I moto camping at Mt Shasta. Was a miserable hot trip but I'll never forget it.
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