essentials for riding?

[str8t six]

after taking my first ride on my ninja (60 miles) im going to start bringing a towel to clean my helmet from bugs and it got me thinking. what extras do you guys bring with you when you go for a ride and where do you keep them?

[Fly'in Ninja]

a sweater and neck scarf in case of weather change
a fully charged cell phone
roadside service card with phone #
some cash for gas, grub, etc.
use restroom before the ride

[setasai]

-Water
-allergy and headache meds
-kleenex
-travel pack wetwipes
-earplugs
-sunglasses or tinted-visor
-any kind of weather anticipations

[Mazakawi]

Tank bag:
-Cell phone with rapid charger to plug into aux power port
-wallet
-hydration bladder with up to 2liters of water (water can help you avoid cramps. Soda/Gatorade will cause cramps. Getting a leg cramp while riding sucks.)
-extra pair of gloves
-warm days: thermal/wind liner for my textile jacket
-cold days: liner is already in jacket
-headphones plugged into phone (don't tell me how unsafe it is. I don't care, i can heard things around me with them on and it's better than going deaf from wind)
-multiple sets of earplugs incase head phones break. Wind noise sucks.

[WhiteRice]

Condoms... Lots of condoms

[alex.s]

tools that live in the pack:
- multi screw driver including the allen heads needed for both my bikes
- adjustable wrench
- small needle nose pliers
- pressure gauge
- fingernail clippers for cutting (not scissors)
- zip ties & duct tape in case someone crashes.
- hidden cash just in case

misc pack dwellers:
- balaclava
- glove liners
- extra ear plugs in case i lose the ones i'm wearing
- small combination locks (handy for loads of uses)

per trip packs:
- liquid (water or gatoraide or something)
- keys, wallet, phone stay in my jacket.

[OGjackafidy]

phone
wallet
cigarettes
lighter[Very important!!! the exhaust is not hot enough to light a smoke]

if im going on a longer ride il bring something to drink but i dont get to extravagent.

[Lil_Green_Demon]

Originally Posted by WhiteRice

Condoms... Lots of condoms

Duh! Those are the major essentials for riding.




I usually bring a point-and-shoot camera with me, in case of any sort of accident. I prefer not getting into one, but if it happens, hopefully I won't be too mangled up in order to take pictures of the scene to show the insurance company. You always have to be prepared for them to say, "Pics or it didn't happen."

[DerTeufel]

I travel light.

Phone
Wallet
Emergency contact card
KTM tool kit along with multi-tool
Tire pressure gauge
Water*




*I pack this if I'm going to be far from home. The KTM has an 85-100 mile range on the tank, so most likely I grab a bottle of water at every gas stop.

[blink]

There is another thread of this sort with lots on info, I believe its undersomething like

what do you guys keep under your seat?

[str8t six]

some of you guys bring alot of stuff! i guess it really depends on your climate and the duration of your trip though. there are alot of good things that i havent though of bringing, i might need to get a bag of some sort.

[DerTeufel]

Originally Posted by str8t six

some of you guys bring alot of stuff! i guess it really depends on your climate and the duration of your trip though. there are alot of good things that i havent though of bringing, i might need to get a bag of some sort.

Most of the stuff that I bring fits in my jacket, except for water. I will wear a camelbak for that.

[nit8690]

Hmmm I dont have a bike. but once I have a bike I know most of what I will have with me.
-liner for riding jacket
-rags, and a special plexiglass cleaner meant for airplane windows
-ipod headphones
-ear plugs
-tools needed for an emergency
-other stuff as I feel fit
All this will be in a backpack I have

[Rys]

I started caring wet wipes for the bug guts too.

Roll Tide

You're not from the Birmingham area by chance are you

On a side note for those of you that wear ear plugs what kind of helmet do you wear? I have not noticed that the bike is too loud when I ride but then I'm usually not on it more than an hour or two at the most.

[str8t six]

i lived down in mobile several years ago.

i didnt think earplugs were necessary either till i got on the highway goin 70mph, gets pretty loud.

[choneofakind]

All I have on me when I ride is my

license/insurance/registration
camera sometimes if I feel like taking video/pictures that day.
cell phone.

I probably should have more safety equipment, but eh

*edit*
if the ride is longer than 15 minutes, I wear earplugs. they've saved me so many headaches.
*/edit*

[setasai]

Originally Posted by Rys

I started caring wet wipes for the bug guts too.

Roll Tide

You're not from the Birmingham area by chance are you

On a side note for those of you that wear ear plugs what kind of helmet do you wear? I have not noticed that the bike is too loud when I ride but then I'm usually not on it more than an hour or two at the most.

By the time your ears "think" its too loud, it's already too late. Recently I've been testing out some custom headphones and while I knew they were louder than earplugs, I didnt know how much louder until I tried earplugs again. Needless to say, they were too loud so back to the drawing board.

Helmets make some difference but in the end it's the high frequency whistling that eats at your ears and no matter how loud you think it is... it is DEFINITELY loud enough to cause long term ear damage.