Motorcycle Camping on an XS650

[Gordon in nc]

A quick note before I have to go back to work.

I already have my guy ropes made up. The ridge line too. I make my ridge line out of a different color rope so it's easy to find.

There are a couple of ways to set the guy ropes and I'll try to cover those later.

Gordon in NC......a blue tarp motorcycle camper I told you you can't take the Cracker out of a fellow!

 

[mrtwowheel]

I like the tarp cover. My parents had one with a center pole, bought the more recent ones, were not as sturdy, especially in the wind. I like the idea of no center pole. I've made guy ropes with about a 4" piece of 3/4 x 3/4 wood with two drilled holes for tension adjustment.

A 12 volt pump and a queen size mattress is a fast and nice setup.

That Ariel bobber looks like a fun ride.

Scott

 

[Gordon in nc]

Here's a modified version of the simple A but without using the extending poles. I knew this campground and also knew I would get there early enough to get this spot.....so I left the extending poles at home and just scrounged some natural wood poles to help make some head room.

The reason I did "free standing" examples in the photos is because this was for some of my friends in the UK and 90% of their campgrounds don't have any trees at all. They also use a different (barrel) type of tent from us but more about that later.

Funny that Scott mentions a "center pole" because the type of shelter I set up most of the time I use a center pole (that's why there's 5 poles).

Now I don't want to come off as sounding like I have reinvented the wheel.....people have been making shelters like this for decades....I didn't invent it and I sure don't want to come off like I did.

Note the wind direction.....from behind.

This one is a bit of a pain to set up by yourself......but it can be done in about 15 mins if it's freestanding ....if you have two trees to attach a ridge line to.....you will cut that time in half. If you have the trees.....tie the ridge line first and drape the tarp over it. BUT.....if you're doing a freestanding set up start just like you would a simple A. Lay the tarp out on the ground....back side toward the end. This time instead of driving th stakes directly through the grommets.....and short guy lines.

Place the stakes approx 2 feet back and use a truckers knot (or the peice w/two holes like scott does).....you will adjust these later.

Make sure this side is facing the wind.

to be continued......................

 

[mrtwowheel]

Gordon, pretty cool what you can do with a tarp!!! Almost 1000 views on this thread already. You can't get away without explaining that "truckers knot", maybe someone can find a link for that knot? Great job on the pictures too.

Scott

 

[Gordon in nc]

<snip> You can't get away without explaining that "truckers knot",<snip> Scott

Scott, there are several versions but this is "sorta" the way I do it. There are a TON of videos on you tube that show how it's done. All my ready made guy lines have a loop in one end (simple overhand knot) so if I'm in a hurry I just pass the loose end of the rope through the loop and tension. I'll use this version (shown in the video) of a truckers knot (hitch) if I'm using rope that isn't already set up as guy lines.

to be continued..............

 

[mrtwowheel]

Thanks for the link Gordon, that's a good one. Not realizing till now that I grew up using that slip knot on nylon string for building lines with my dad. Dad always wanted those lines pulled tight enough to cut your fingers. Also spent my childhood with a pair of posthole diggers. For a few summers we were starting a pole barn every week. I loved the work, climbing like a monkey and driving nails with just a couple of hits. I still have those post hole diggers with the electrical tape on the one handle to measure the depth of the hole.

Scott

 

[Michaelo]

I did take notice of the knot Gordon was using, we too use it on the sail boats all the time...."The Bowline".
A very simple knot that you can use everywhere, no matter how tight it gets you will always be able to undo it.

Something we don't do down under is park out tent under trees, the self pruning trees here drop limbs and lots of poor campers have been killed whilst happily sleeping in the night....

Keep this thread going Gordon, it's great

 

[Gordon in nc]

YIKES!!!!! Mick.........remind me IF I ever get to your side of the world to NOT pitch a tent near any trees!!!!! I'm sure it's happened here in the States but I've never heard of it.

Yes sir......that's a bowline knot at the end of my guy lines......and I just run the loose end through it in a "sorta" truckers knot.

Okay......where was I????

The tarp is 12'x16' and we now have it staked down with short guy lines along the 12' end.
Measure back 6' and this is where you'll have your ridge poles. Most of the cheapo tarps have a grommet at this point. Go ahead and set a stake at either side of the tarp in line with the ridge pole.....approx 5' out. That way when you set the pole you can go ahead and run the guy.

Next you'll want to stand the ridge poles and loosely guy them off.....don't forget the ridge line we already talked about.

Remember the order.....ridge line, tarp then the guy over the tarp. If you put the guy under the tarp, there's nothing holding the tarp onto the end of the pole and it can come off.

Now you add the front poles and pull the guy at an angle that apposes the rear guy.

All of this is a bit shaky when your doing it by yourself but it will come together as you go around and tighten the guys and straighten the poles. IF the wind is blowing hard....you'll need an extra hand. If it's blowing hard enough...you might as well just lay the tarp out and crawl under it.

You can go back and redo the front guys and double them up for better stability.

Now you have a 12x10 covered area and a 12x6 area for your tent. BUT you have all this flat tarp that WILL catch rain and you need to shed that off so..................

You add a center pole. I use a can that has a dimple in the bottom (hammer and a drift)

But a bottle works just as good......as long as it doesn't break

Here it is being used at the wonderful TWOs ( we are SO lucky to have some of the best motorcycle campgrounds so close to us) I apologize again for the bike not being an XS650......but I'm working on that. OH.......and that's my 30+ year old tent under there.

next up......the air bed......to be continued.

 

[mrtwowheel]

Good with the can. Wondered what you were going to do at the center pole. Thought you might use a sock or something.

For March and October, electric blanket and power cord. Prop the plug-in connection up off the tent floor, in case there is a flood in the tent, you could get too toasty.

Ahhh, the center pole can be off center to make room for the dome tent, didn't catch that.

Scott

 

[jetmechmarty]

YIKES!!!!! Mick.........remind me IF I ever get to your side of the world to NOT pitch a tent near any trees!!!!! I'm sure it's happened here in the States but I've never heard of it.

They also have those drop bears!

 

[Gordon in nc]

They also have those drop bears!

GG

 

[Gordon in nc]

Before I get into bedding...............

You might have noticed that I use CHEAP gear. I do that for a reason. I'm camping on a motorcycle and there are a LOT of things that can ruin your gear and some of it in a blink of an eye. Engine oil, Battery acid (back in the old days), chain lube and my favorites....HOT headers and mufflers. Melting a hole in a $500 tent can ruin your day. Most of my gear can be purchased at Wally World (flame suit on) and if I break, lose, or ruin something there's another one, or one like it just about around every corner and it won't break the bank to replace it. One of the tents I use is over 30 years old....the small one(pictured) is the 2nd cheapest (first is a child's tent) at Wally World at less than $30. The tarp makes it possible because you're relying on it to keep you and your gear dry.

The extending poles..........Cheap Coleman's at less than $10 each. The ones I have are 10 years old and have been used a lot. They are a pain.....I already told you that. Unless you're camping out of a sidecar they are almost to long to carry. But I have done it many times. They are made out of cheap metal so you need to clean and protect them......almost like cleaning you gun after you've shot it.

Here they are after cleaning (takes about 15 mins)

At over 38" I break them down into three pieces and carry them in a large folding chair's carrying bag.....everybody has one of those laying around after the chair went belly up.

When I get home I set them up on end and let them dry.....then I rub them down with course steel wool and use some type of rust prevention (there are many types...you pick) I do the outsides on every trip but every so often I run a brush down the inside (like a gun barrel) but not on every trip.

Next we'll go into bedding and then this agony will finally be over...

OH, here's another one for Fred, make and model of the scooter the poles are leaning on?

to be continued..........................

 

[Gordon in nc]

I was digging through some older photo's and found these scans (before digital cameras and photo bucket)

Here's a shot of my set up back in the early 80's.....on a pedal bike. Crappy scan of a kodak 110 photo (remember those?) A version of the simple A before tarps went "blue". I got that tent ( still in use today) because my pedal bike would fit inside with me. Photo taken on St George Island, Florida, home of the Raccoon's from HELL!!!!!

When folks ask me how I can stand to tour on smaller motorcycles.....I tell them I used to do it on a LOT slower set of two wheels. I put 25,000 + miles on that bike before I hung it up...it's still hanging in the garage today.

Here's a winter shot ( January...lows in the 30s and very wet) on the NC coast.....6-8 years ago???....at least the bike is Asian.

Good thing about camping that time of year....you pretty much have the campground all to yourself!!!!!

Coming up next.......the bed.

to be continued.............

 

[Gordon in nc]

A couple of things before we get into bedding.

You might notice that in this photo with lowering the poles on one side and raising the outside corner of the tarp on the other.....you can direct the water run off away from your tent. In this case the runoff is headed down hill and away from the site. This was a VERY wet few days. Notice the front seat of the picnic table is wet. But I was able to keep my gear and myself dry the whole time.

The 4 kids that showed up late one night weren't so lucky. My guess is they had never set their tent up before and when they did (at around 11pm) they forgot to add the fly and it was one of those tents with a screened in ceiling. They set it up then they loaded the tent with pillows and blankets they brought from home and after a couple of hours of some heavy drinking they piled in and passed out. When I saw them again in the morning some were crawling out of the car and a couple of others were wringing water out of the blankets ( all 4 were soaking wet...guess they didn't think to bring extra clothes) at around 4am it had started raining and dumped almost 2" in about 2 hours. The inside of the tent had 1"-2" of standing water in it. Probably something they will NEVER forget. Ahhhhhhhh....to be young again.

Picking your set up is important. Getting into the campground after dark....and if it's a campground that your not familiar with can get you in trouble if it starts to rain. Look for well drained high ground. Look for evidence of standing water and water runoff.....a path storm water makes leaving a site. Try to set up on a high level/some slope is even better, dry spot.

One of the things I see people doing......you'll notice in my photos that I do it too....but with a tarp over you it really doesn't matter....is leaving their ground cloth exposed. Think about it, if you lay your ground cloth down then put the tent on top of it.....AND the outside edges of the ground cloth stick out past the tent. Where's the water going to go when it rolls off the fly surface??? Yep....right on top of the ground cloth and inbetween it and the tent bottom. If your ground cloth has a larger foot print that the tent.....fold the ground cloth back under the tent. Then when water rolls off the fly....it's on the ground where it can hopefully flow away from your set up. If you know you going to be in a set up for several days.....and it's going to rain a lot....a shallow trench around the high side of the tent can direct water away from your living space.

climbing down off the soap box.......and to be continued

 

[Michaelo]

OH, here's another one for Fred, make and model of the scooter the poles are leaning on?

to be continued..........................

It's a Vespa, older than Methuselah ha!

 

[FLEA]

hey mick don't scare them,its mainly the gum trees that kill a few people ,the rest are generally ok,though you do have to look out for those drop bears, that's a good compfy set up Gordon,i traveled around aust for yrs living and working off the back of my bikes and found it amazing how comfortable you can be living out of a tent,main thing is treating your gear like a bushwalker,ie.as if your carrying it on your back but with a few extra luxurys ,even carried a 6in screen tv for a while (bad mistake running off bike battery..push starting in the morning) anyway good to see you enjoying yourself

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

I find this thread very exciting.

Imagine that. Flat, level ground. With real dirt that holds stakes, lush green comfy grass. Real, straight trees. And, rain!

And, aside from the occasional 'drop bear', no worries about scorpions, snakes, skunks, varmints, hoards of nighttime 'illegals', armadillos, cosmic cowboys, fire ants and mosquitos.

I really like your simplistic, yet highly functional, tarp layouts.

The closest i've ever come to motorcycle camping was long ago, somewhere in Missouri, Route 66, about 3-4 am. Long X-country, really tired, hallucinating. Found a soft spot, swung out the kickstand, flopped onto the ground.

Woke up at the crack of dawn. Found myself in some small-town municipal park, folks started taking notice. Jumped on it, departed, breakfast hunt...

 

[mrtwowheel]

Cosmic cowboys? I've been looking for them but haven't been introduced to one yet. Been hearing about night vision gear to see them at night.

Scott

 

[mrtwowheel]

Road side park picnic tables work if you want to sleep off of the ground, and that way it looks like you made the effort to sleep instead of just passing out where you stood.

Scott

 

[TwoManyXS1Bs]

Cosmic cowboys? I've been looking for them but haven't been introduced to one yet...

Dude! Spare a smoke? Beer? Change? Food?