Best Way to Organize Luggage on Adventure Motorcycle 

Considering how many adventure riders and campers struggle to pack what they need without weighing down their bikes, the tips you provided will help ease their struggle significantly.

We bought a Vespa GTS 125 in the UK and my wife and I rode it to our house in central Portugal. We had a front rack which was not needed and had everything we needed, all packed under the seat or in the back bag that came with the scooter. Two people.. and one of us was a woman!!! and we wanted for nothing, okay we stayed in hotels but I would be surprised if we had 10kg. It was fantastic, I was 66 years old at the time. But he is right, we have a Vivaro campervan and pack a minimum of stuff in that too, it's a good philosophy, less is more.

How very true. I use a RT as a daily. The bike rides so much nicer with the panniers off and just a small tankbag. Same is true for a Pan European. It is not just the wieght of the panniers (even when empty), they also make the bike more bulky and are certainly not help when you are filtering. The Police RTs do have much smaller panniers!

On the various 2-weeks offroad trips I did in Africa, my luggage was only 6 kg. So one additional tip is to share items with others that travel with you as a small group. Like tools, tubes, common spare parts, pharmacy, some spare items (like motorcycling gogles). As camping gear, we only took a silk liner, to sleep anywhere local, and tape to fix holes in local mosquito nets !

Pavlin thanks to you I just bought a croissant 40L from 21'Brothers and in a few months I'm buying a small Honda Crf 300 Rally... Thank you for being you... ;))) Greetings from Poland

I will be zip tying my tire irons to my frame. Thank you!

Stumbled across your channel. some great advice mate. Thanks!

Good advice. I haven't done any really long trips but I've gone to a lot of motorcycle rallies. I leave the DSLR and lenses at home and take a small, light, mirrorless camera with kit lens; they can be found secondhand for not too much money. I carry a set of mess tins, and as well as providing eating bowls they are filled with pain killers, meds, loo roll, sewing kit etc. I'll take enough meds to last the length of the rally plus a day and all the body maintenance stuff is in one place. Anything that can serve more than one purpose is great. I have hard panniers; ancient fibreglass Cravens that are waterproof but not too heavy and I use a tank bag too. I have a list which I print out, cross out anything I'll not need on a particular trip, then tick off items as I gather them. This also helps me not to take two things to do one job.

Great video Pavlin, I have seen people carry tables, chairs and barbecue equipment and large family tents on there bikes not very minimalistic but quite funny to watch.

Great video. Made two trips to Kansas from my home in Oregon last summer, camped bothe trips, outstanding. My learning for this summer will be to ship my belongings to my destination, (been spending a month with my father). I like the minimalist approach. First trip I packed food, next, "foraged" on trip, but I do insist on a hot cup of coffee in the morning, hence the stove! Nice! Thank you again!

Awesome topic, I’m a minimalist by nature, I do a lot of hiking where weight is always important… this crosses over to motorcycling too Less is best Cheers 😎

Hey Pavlin, I am not in any way a seasoned motorcyclist like you. I ride, and that's it. But your advice about minimalist travel is amazing. My wife is queen of light travel. Your advice sounds exactly like hers. Now you know why I listened to you with great attention🤭 Thank you

I cannot tell you how useful this advice is. Thanks to you and your packing style, me and my wife can go on any trip using my topbox. Usually we both have everything there including some of Dima's homemade "fuel", clothes and rain gear. All in a 50 liter topbox for 2 people. Thank you.

Great video, I agree completely. I do a lot of ultralight backpacking which makes it easy to pack my motorcycle with less than 10 lbs.

Always good to listen to your tips here :)

Before I acquired my first motorcycle (500cc Enfield), I spent months watching videos and learning everything I needed to know from channels like this :) Esp. this. Real on the ground, no frills, info.

Good advice. I copy all my documents and scan them so I can reproduce copies if need be if originals go missing. And as good as gps is, I must pack my paper maps. Good, important topic. Safe, happy travels 👍

Hi Pavlin, spot on,,,good advice,

absolutely brilliant video i love your no nonsense videos i am a minimalist it has to be the way

Excellent video…! Since I have been watching your channel, my motorcycle travel has improved immensely.

Hey Pal, Thanks for the simple yet very useful tips…

Hi Pavlin!Congratulations!You are back!

I am 70yrs old and planning to ride from Bangkok to UK and back again...I have seen adventure bikes but they are huge, even though I am rider of 55yrs now,,..I want Interceptoe and little luggage,, I am not tourist..I am a bushman / Biker wanting to test himself on one last ride...you advice is helpful..thanks

Hi Pavlin. Your advices are always great, (but also this time not for me, we are almost on the same wave). I always packed two bags for any trip, because they are lockable, on both the old and the new motorcycle. I don't even have a tank bag, don't have body bag. I have documents and money like you, always inside of my jacket. The heaviest thing I carry is probably a disc lock and a large SLR camera. I don't have a camera or a drone, I don't like moving pictures, I know they are full of them on RU-vid and better than what I would shoot. I mainly want to enjoy the trip and when I want to go somewhere, leave the motorcycle parked in peace, because there is nothing to steal from it. When I was young, I was a tramp, I slept under the stars, I didn't have a tent even then, so at our age I don't consider it any adventure anymore. In addition, I have a road motorcycle, so we sleep in hotels so that after the evenings we can still sit somewhere in the city and enjoy this atmosphere. We also went camping, again we only managed to pack in side panniers on two motorbikes. I have really strange feelings when I see how uniform all motorcyclist are. SUV motorcycle (GS or alternative), many cases, tank bag, a lot of things attached to it, enlarged windscreen, mandatory navigation, some even brag about how they buy sim cards in every country so they can use navigation in their mobile phone (ok, navi is super, but then people stop watching the country and road signs and look only to the small display). They are all dressed in those universal suits and they have road reflective vests on them, that is, except GS owners, they have BMW suits, hehehe. And then I'm just waiting for when those loaded several hundred kilos will start to hang out with men in their years. In the summer on the road, it even happened to me that an elderly man with a GS loaded in this way did not hold it and it fell while parking about 10 cm next to my brand new motorcycle. The ease and carefreeness of traveling and individuality have completely disappeared. I apologize if I was too negative. But whether I look around me on the roads or on videos, photos, travelogues, it's really like you say.

Hi my friend, this was well needed and explained. Carry exactly what you need for your specific bike and plan in advance. Food and lubs can be purchased along the road. There is always a helping hands. Take care. How much I would like to visit ur country a ride the TET.

Cool and very Helpful video! Thaanks

Istimewa 👍

Great advice - i have travelled by other means and this is 100% true for *any* adventuring. I have to admit, when i go away on the bike i like to take 2 pairs of gloves, sometimes gets chilly and i dont have heated grips :D

Great video, very helpful

Hi Pavlin. I totally agree with you. For me, the hard paniers are necessary when traveling in "populated areas" as the main "enemy of man is the man". When going into country side (villages and off-road) one doesn't need antitheft protections. A big part of my limited long motorcycle trips weren't into the cities so, believed or not, some of my "saddlebags" were represented by plastic bags strapped with elastic cords on my motorcycle.

Good review, thanks If picking with me camping gear I would add minimalistic kitchen gear like small stove, small gas, small cup/cattle and spoon-fork, there is nothing better in a world like fresh coffee in a tent:)

I carry a leg bag which I keep my wallet, some microfiber cloths, lens spray, Rain-X spray, small knife, Velcro strap for the front brake, bug remover spray, kickstand disc for soft terrain, and a squidgy that fits over a glove finger. It all comes in pretty handy and doesn’t restrict my movement.

Good Job Mate Keep it up

You're absolutely right! It is indeed possible to travel with minimal baggage on a motorcycle, because I've done it for more than 5000 kms. It's safe, less to worry about, easy handling of the bike, more easy access to many places, and more importantly good for your motorcycle and your pocket!

Hi Pavlin, really great practical advice as always in all your videos! I tend to keep the passport or the driving licence and one credit card in the jacket itself, in a pocket that I do not regularly open. not together with all other cards in the wallet… In case I lose the wallet! Avoid to have all 🥚 in one basket 😂

2:44 agree with your concept. i still don't know why people carry entire home for two weeks trip. it never took me more than 40 liters bag + tent even for two months trip.

Respect you man, you are always professional !

Greetings from Macedonia, I am new to adventure motorcycling and I watched several videos that helped me a lot to learn and understand how to ride an adventure motorcycl. Keep going and all the best!

great video!! thanks

This video motivated me to make a tea.

I totally agree ...

Holster bag works well

Good rules for life really. After a certain point, having more stuff is like having less, cos you can’t find it in all the other stuff you have got. Worse still, you know you actually have it somewhere but it isn’t available to you! Happiness comes when when you learn to want all that you have rather than have all that you want. 😂

Great video without a waste of time. A minimalist style of recording a moto vlog video HA! Keep up the good work!

Безценни съвети човече, благодарим ти. Но смятам, че пропускаш двата най-важни съвета за всеки приключенец, които са: на първо място ново Temere 700 и на второ място СМЕЛОСТ. Поздрави от София

Thank's Pavlin ! It helps me a lot, because i am plannig a trip next year with my brother. We are from Guatemala and we are going to Alaska, north pole. It is a 55 day, and 23k km aprox. trip! If you have any tips, i will be pleased to hear them!! Thank's for all your videos.. 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

For me, curb weight is one criteria I consider before making the purchase. I don't carry much. I don't cook, preferring to sample local delights. Less is more.

Bro you are GOD of realistic wourld. I love your advices!!!

Very pretty stove 😊

Lighter is definitely the way to go, I've managed a week in Scotland with just a tank bag, no camping gear obviously, what compressor do you have it looks minimal

It would be interesting to take off handguards, skid plate, frame guards, rear rack, FuelFriend bottle, tank bag (with disc lock), panniers (only folding stick-stove, coffee filter, 1ltr water, two food flasks and coffee/whitener) - and weigh the total added weight. I'm on a crf300l with aspirations of adv usage.

Thank you for the tips. Ludovic Pap from Făgăraș, România.

Hi Pavin , the rolling bag is the xl rolling!? What’s your take on the bags ? Thanks.

All good points. Minimal, think backpacking. If you don't need it don't take it. Now, I'm trying to arrange motorcycle shipping from USA to Iceland, then ferry to Norway. Plan ahead. We can't swim that far.

Another great video Can I ask what tank bag are you using it looks to fit the tenere very well

Great stuff, I would point out that an oil filter should only be installed by hand, this ensures you can also always remove it by hand. Oil filter wrenches are only to help when someone else overtightened it 😊

Thank You for the tips. I'm a maximalist, and my buddy is a minimalist. I've been trying to get to a happy middle ground. My buddy is always borrowing things from me so I know a total minimal setup is not good for my peace of mind. Still I guess I don't need to bring a full size commercial Espresso Machine, my camp coffee French Press will do, and it doubles as my soup bowl. I have a Tiger 900 Rally (Adventure), and a Suzuki DR650 (Dual Sport). I have the Mosko Moto soft panniers and the Giant Loop soft bag (like yours). My Tiger is easy to overload, my DR I go much lighter. I'm leaving for a 3 week trip in June so these tips are perfect.

This is a topic that many underestimate. I'm 100% agree with you . Just a question: do you carry some first aid kit and in this case, which?. Thanks.

good to see a map of NZ there...

I'm a very light motorcycle traveler. In 1986 I rode a 1981 Honda XL 500 3,300 miles from Northern CA to the Canadian border and back, mostly on forest service roads. I was doing adventure riding decades before the term came around. I would never choose to ride a 1,200 cc touring bike weighed down with tons of baggage. But, I would never judge other riders or make the claim that if you carry a lot on your bike, that you will enjoy the ride less. That's nonsense.

This is the way

Nice stove

Great video, was wondering what compressor you use?

Hi Pavel, thanks for this and many other great videos. What is the make and model of the soft bags you use on the T700 (in this video)? Благодаря и наздраве! ;)

Hi Pavlin, loving the videos. I'm concerned if I would be able to change my rear tire (Scorpion STR). It is notorious for being a tough nut to crack. Are you able to do it with the tools that you carry?

7:29 is the government lying scene… such an OG!

Short and fit riders have an advantage, my weight is 70 Kg since 25 years ago and that is a 20- 40 Kg less than a big/fat rider. Short AND FIT, you have to be able to handle those 200 - 230 Kg of your motorcycle when it falls, when you go at low speed, etc.

Hey Paulien Thanks for you video i have a question about olie do you use 10 w60 voor de Yamaha T7

Keep it simple. A mantra for life.

This video is important and full of wisdom and experience. Thanks you ! One small advice: You can do well without the weird background music...

Please address the subject of weight distribution of luggage as well. Is it better to keep added weight low versus up high in top boxes? Is it better to put some of the added weight on the front of the bike? How is bike handling hurt by poor weight distribution choices? Sort the luggage items into high density (water, fuel, tools) and low density (sleeping bag, clothing) and locate the high density items low on the bike with the low density items set up higher. This basic principle of organizing loading will help keep the bike's center of gravity lower, improving handling and making it easier to pick up if dropped. When mounting side bags or panniers, how should we determine the optimum balance between ground clearance and low center of gravity?

Hello 👋 dear, I am following you from longe time, I am really pleased with your advice. Where or what I can find the dealer website of your wheel tire charge air pump ?

Hi Pavlin, do you still hit that pull up bar in your workshop?? haha. Love your channel!!! Regards from México!!!

Hi Pavlin, If i could propose you a photo camera. I use Canon m50(mirrorless), good photos for daily/landscape/vlogging, much less weight, and compact, than DSLRs

i have one advice. Go on first trip with everything you think you need. After that i promise you take half of that on next trip. Plus - soft luggage FTW !!! My orginal (triumph) empty hard paniers weight more that packed soft luggage

Love from India ❤❤

One more question... I have rode from Miami to Thailand. From Cartagena to Ushuaia... Both times I got a "carnet de passage" and paid a lot of money for this... In the USA, a CDP costs a lot. I never had to use it -- ever in my travels.... Do you carry one when traveling the world?

Hi Pavlin, as usual great video. Your luggage weighs 18Kg but how many Kg's do your accessories and modifications to your T7 weigh? that is on top of the standard kerb weight of the bike?

Great video thank you Pavlin. Your passport sized wallet looks very useful! I can't find anything similar online. Did you buy it online? If so can you please share the website? Thank you. :)

Can you tell me what make your little battery compressor is please 🙏

thank you Pavlin for the tips, you said to share my planes on the social media, do you recommend something? thank you.

Thank you for the all tips, where can buy the same bag as your? Thank you.

If you fast for two or three weeks before taking the trip then you can carry more stuff

Браво

Hello Pavlin, do you think a DR-Z 400 can cary a 21 brothers ROGAL 40L ? I plan to do my first trip, maybe a week, 600 km´s.

Thank you for the informations. I have a question about one of your videos in the past regarding your trip to India. Why you didn't use your Yamaha 660 instead of a Royal Enfeild?

What tyre inflator/battery pack is it that you have please?

Pavlin this was a very good video, thanks a lot! I agree with all of your points except number 4. While I agree that it's useful to make plans in advance, I personally find it more appealing to have a general sense of direction but then let fate decide where I'll be headed. Of course for oil and tire changes you end up spending a bit more but at least there are no constraints. The other aspect is the amount of clothes one takes, I would prefer to carry a bit more clothes rather than the bare minimum because stuff tends to happen while travelling, of course personal preference. Everything else is spot on and I have always been a believer that less weight is always better.

Hello Pavlin. You make super interesting videos 👍 Can you tell me where I can buy these soft bags in Germany?

Hi Pavlin, If I had a laptop to carry what would you recommend? Thanks.

Hi, can you share the link of the bag? Thanks.

Hey Pavlin, if you had the money freely, would you get the KTM 890 Adventure? Weight savings and comfortable/offroad bike.

Best Adventure ride- Take one of those guided tours on rental bikes in Africa. Where the tour guide takes ALL you stuff in his trailer! hahha

300g here, 300g there, you will finsih with 30 kg. Legendary statment. Great video.

QUESTION WHAT KIND OF BIKE IS THAT . GRATE VIDEO

Hi Pavlin, what are you doing with a Dublin licence plate on your wall?? 😂

All the new bike are out of controls with weight increases. It seams it will never stop. To start save a few pounds and go back to a single front rotor system. Hold the line on engine size. I don't need more then 70 HP for an ADV bike. Stop with the high end, high RPM performance. 100 HP and 80 foot pounds at 8000 RPM? I don't run 8000 RPM on a dirt road. More torque on the low end not the high end. On dirt I often run 2000 - 3000, some times lower and my f800GS has no power at low RPM. Even minimalist, we have a lot of tools, and camping stuff we need to haul.. With water, food, tool, camping gear, I carry about 70 pounds. Consider this. Plan your trip with the idea you bike is a CB500X or DRZ400 and keep the load manageable as if its going on a small bike. In my case, I will not cut corners on a good tent, chair and warm cloths, sleeping bag. I often go when nights get down to 20F.

👍👍👍

On my last trip about 3 weeks, I only carry about 42 litres of item.

For any type of travel it’s a good idea to just take what you will definitely need and not what you might need. Although I recently saw a video by an Aussie biker, who was carrying a table, drone, small axe, and a collection of different spices! And somehow he made it all fit on his bike quite well.