Tips for Touring on Your Harley

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Safe touring with minimal headaches and complications begins with adequate planning and prep work. How much prep work you do and how detailed your planning gets—and how much of a stickler you are for staying on schedule—is up to you, but forethought and mindfulness will always benefit you on the road. If nothing else, a solid plan gives you a safety net you can fall back on if a more dynamic approach goes awry. So, let’s look at a few points you ought to consider.

Gearing Yourself Up

Safety and comfort begin with wearing the right gear for your trip. You might be able to get by with a bit less attention to detail here on shorter trips, but long-distance travel will put your gear to the test on comfort. It’s recommended that you consider:

Helmet. A good helmet is critical for any ride—and for longer trips, you’ll quickly notice if you’ve gone cheap and skimped on comfort. Make sure your helmet meets CE standards, as recommended by Harley-Davidson, along with any local standards that might catch you.
Outerwear. Durable outerwear can mean the difference between no injuries and trip-ending injuries from a minor accident, and life or death in a major one. Quality gear like the lines offered by Harley-Davidson can make sure you’re protected and comfortable on lengthier rides.
Footwear. At minimum, you want your footwear to cover your ankle for safety and effective footing at a rest. We recommend waterproof boots you can wear for days at a time without discomfort.
Gloves. Pack versatile, so you can always be comfortable no matter the weather.
Weather gear. A basic rain suit is mandatory, and if you’re going somewhere that might be cold—consider nights and altitude—make sure you’re going to be ready for it.

Travel Essentials

Beyond your gear, you’ll want to consider what you pack for your tip. You’ll need to experiment to figure out what you need, what you want, and what’s too much trouble, but start by considering:

Tools for basic repairs and maintenance
Flashlight
Phone
Toiletries
Emergency funds
Medications (prescription and OTC)
Emergency contact and medical information
Owner’s manual
License and insurance

How to Carry It All

Consider how you’re actually going to carry things on your trip. What’s comfortable and convenient for you will vary by person, so consider each option available:

Saddlebags. Standard on any Harley designed for touring; make sure you balance left and right evenly.
Tour-Pak. The box behind the passenger on touring bikes; make sure you keep this light even if you pack bulkier items, as it sits high.
Touring Bags. Pack heavy at the bottom and light on top with these added bags that strap to the backrest, passenger seat, or luggage rack.
Various extras. You can find bags, bungee cords, nets, and straps that attach to nearly any surface of your bike; make sure they’re well-reviewed, well-constructed, and not going to upset your balance or the operation of your bike.

How Much Can You Carry?

Always defer to your owner’s manual when deciding how much weight you load on your bike. Make sure you account for fuel weight, rider weight, and other additions, or you’ll end up over capacity and greatly increase your risk of an accident.

How you load matters too; heavy items go lower, and always balance loads evenly on the left and right. Try to keep the center of gravity in the same place before and after loading.

Inspecting

Don’t forget to give your bike a top-to-bottom inspection before you get started—or better yet, have one done professionally at your dealership or garage of choice. A small problem in a shop can be a disaster mid-tour.

Personal Responsibility

Ultimately, you’re the person making every decision about your journey. That means you need to decide which, if any, of these things to plan, consider any additional complications, and make your peace with what you decide to plan, prep for, or deal with dynamically. Experience—your own or your acquaintances’—goes a long way here, so don’t be afraid to ask whoever you can, online or off, as many questions as you can think of.

If you'd like help getting your bike ready for a long journey, or you have questions about saddlebags and other accessories, reach out to the experts at Rommel Harley-Davidson today! Dial (410) 845-2535 to speak with us today.