Bike all loaded and ready to go! Sheepskin trimmed on exhaust-side of bike, and held down with two bungee cords (hidden by deep, cushiony wool)
Here's a rundown on what I'm bringing with me on the trip to Panama and back:
1. Bike and mods:
- 2005 Yamaha XT225
- 16-tooth front sprocket to improve highway revs
- New rear sprocket (stock sprocket worn to shreds)
- New o-ring chain (stock chain lousy and worn out)
- New front brake pads (current ones wouldn't last to Panama)
- 4.1 gallon Clarke gas tank
- Kickstart
- Lube cables
- Replace front bearings (rear okay)
- 12V cigarette-lighter charger
- Moose Racing hard guards and bark busters
- Happy Trails aluminum pannier system
- Sheepskin to cover seat and cushion butt
2. Tool kit and spares:
- Socket wrench, extension and sockets (8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 19, 21 and 22mm)
- Spark plug socket (18 mm deep)
- Adjustable wrench
- Multi-tool with allen heads, phillips and flathead
- 8, 9, 10mm triangle socket tool
- Small vise grips
- Tire levers - three!
- Zip ties
- Spare fuse for charger (#10)
- Front and rear tube
- Patch kit
- Spark plug
- Front bearings
- Stock front sprocket
- 2 sets of keys
- Signal light bulb
- Tire gauge
- Duct tape and electricians tape
- Bungees
- Bike manual
- Chain lube
- Small bike pump
- Tools stored in homemade locking tool tube
3. Personal equipment:
- 15-degree down sleeping bag (fits in 5L compression sack)
- Gortex top and bottom
- Hennessey hyper-light hammock
- Primus omni-fuel stove and 1-L gas bottle
- Steripen
- One person cook-kit
- Medium REI quick-dry towel
- Small, collapsable Patagonia backpack
- Lithium AA batteries, and alkaline AAA batteries
- Headlamp
- Binoculars
- Chacos
- Journal
- Kindle and cable
- iPhone and cable
- iPod and cable
- Car charger
- MSR Dromedary (6L)
- Clothing (one t-shirt, one tank, one breathable button-up adjustable-sleeve shirt, one pair lightweight hiking pants, skirt, sports bra, regular bra, 5 pr panties, 4 pr socks, polypro top and bottom, sunhat, wool hat)
- Toiletry kit (Toothpaste, toothbrush, alarm clock, deodorant, floss, hairbrush, razor and razors, Q-tips, hairties, sunscreen, JE Liggett's bar shampoo X 3, tweezers, eye liner)
- Small sewing kit (needles, thread, safety pins)
- 250 mL of laundry detergent
- First Aid Kit (Neosporin, flashlight, a few bandaids and pads, ace bandage, Tylenol, Advil, Immodium, Chapstick, parachute cord)
- Documents - originals and copies X 2 (title [no original], registration, US insurance, passport, international driving permit)
- Riding equipment (Sparx helmet, Fieldsheer day-glo mesh armored jacket, Kevlar-lined Shift jeans, light Fox racing gloves, Buff, Vega riding boots, tall socks)
That adds up to 44 lbs of gear in the panniers, and 10 lbs of tool in the tube.
And, miraculously, it all fits into the two panniers and the tool tube, with room to spare for my jacket when I leave the bike (helmet clips to a lock on the frame).
Ta-dah!
