Getting your bike tour ready…
Discussion
I’m spending the next few days getting the bike ready for my latest European tour and wondering what else people do to their bikes to prepare..
My list:
New tyres
Oil/filter change
Brake caliper piston clean/pads out etc.
Check all fluids
Check/lube/adjust chain
Check/lube/adjust any pivot points
Clean
Clean
Clean
I’d love to be like my mate that just rocks up to the ferry with his bike in whatever state it’s currently in, but my OCD doesn’t allow me to do that…
So… anyone worse than me??
My list:
New tyres
Oil/filter change
Brake caliper piston clean/pads out etc.
Check all fluids
Check/lube/adjust chain
Check/lube/adjust any pivot points
Clean
Clean
Clean
I’d love to be like my mate that just rocks up to the ferry with his bike in whatever state it’s currently in, but my OCD doesn’t allow me to do that…
So… anyone worse than me??
I got mine serviced before going to Eastern Europe, but that's because it was due for a service. I did ask the dealer to change the dipped beam headlight bulb though, even though it still worked.
Otherwise if it wasn't due a service, I'd just turn up to the Eurotunnel.
I always carry gaffa tape and ratchet straps if anything falls off though.
Otherwise if it wasn't due a service, I'd just turn up to the Eurotunnel.
I always carry gaffa tape and ratchet straps if anything falls off though.
remember to pack:
Cable ties / allen keys- always handy in case bits fall off / snap.
Spare fuses - heavy rain in the alps can play havoc with electrics on Italian machinery.
Small bottle of chain lube.
spare gloves & snood - nothing worse than getting soaked and having to ride 300 mile in wet gloves when it does dry out.
Puncture repair kit for obvious reasons.
Cable ties / allen keys- always handy in case bits fall off / snap.
Spare fuses - heavy rain in the alps can play havoc with electrics on Italian machinery.
Small bottle of chain lube.
spare gloves & snood - nothing worse than getting soaked and having to ride 300 mile in wet gloves when it does dry out.
Puncture repair kit for obvious reasons.
Friday for me, and as a first time bike tourer (passed my test last year) I've loaded up and ridden to work to see how the bike feels, maybe a little tweak to the preload before riding home to see what difference it makes.
Final shopping done last night, hope it arrives in time, a Quad Lock wireless charging head, thankfully I think the man maths purchases are now complete...
Final shopping done last night, hope it arrives in time, a Quad Lock wireless charging head, thankfully I think the man maths purchases are now complete...
I check the tyres have enough life left in them for the trip - change if required.
I check that a service isn't due before about two thirds of the trip has been completed - service if required.
I check the oil and tyre pressures and adjust as needed.
I clean my DNA air filter.
I clean the bike (if I have time but not essential)
I pack and go!
I check that a service isn't due before about two thirds of the trip has been completed - service if required.
I check the oil and tyre pressures and adjust as needed.
I clean my DNA air filter.
I clean the bike (if I have time but not essential)
I pack and go!
Pretty much what others have said, thought it's been a fair while since I've toured (6 years by my count!). Just the "normal" checks of chain, tyres, and fluids. That's pretty much it.
I tend to deliberate more about what to take in terms of tools / kit. But the reality is, you only need a few bits and bobs and I've settled on the following:
Pocket size 1/4" socket set (with Allen bits and hex sockets)
Selection of small spanners (8/10/12/13)
Medium screwdrivers (cross and flat)
Stubby screwdrivers (cross and flat)
Regular and needlenose pliers
Side cutters
Multitool (Leatherman or similar)
Puncture kit / can of sealant
Mini 12v compressor
Cable ties
Electrical tape
Length of electrical wire
Length of lock wire
A handful of Wago connectors
Chain lube, paste type that comes in a toothpaste style tube, usually has a little brush on the end
That should be enough to get you out of trouble, and if it's not...chances are you've got bigger issues going on!
I tend to deliberate more about what to take in terms of tools / kit. But the reality is, you only need a few bits and bobs and I've settled on the following:
Pocket size 1/4" socket set (with Allen bits and hex sockets)
Selection of small spanners (8/10/12/13)
Medium screwdrivers (cross and flat)
Stubby screwdrivers (cross and flat)
Regular and needlenose pliers
Side cutters
Multitool (Leatherman or similar)
Puncture kit / can of sealant
Mini 12v compressor
Cable ties
Electrical tape
Length of electrical wire
Length of lock wire
A handful of Wago connectors
Chain lube, paste type that comes in a toothpaste style tube, usually has a little brush on the end
That should be enough to get you out of trouble, and if it's not...chances are you've got bigger issues going on!
Tyres are the main one, I had to get a new rear in France some years back and it was a bit of a pain in the arse finding one
Other service items depend on far I'm planning on travelling and when the service is due.
No point cleaning it, it's only going to get dirty again
Re the above tool list, I have the bike's original tool kit which is good enough for pretty much everything except changing the front sprocket. I also carry some gaffer tape, cable ties, puncture repair kit (Cargol turn & Go), CO2 cylinders, latex gloves and a length of windscreen washer hose to siphon fuel from the tank to my cooker.
Other service items depend on far I'm planning on travelling and when the service is due.
No point cleaning it, it's only going to get dirty again
Re the above tool list, I have the bike's original tool kit which is good enough for pretty much everything except changing the front sprocket. I also carry some gaffer tape, cable ties, puncture repair kit (Cargol turn & Go), CO2 cylinders, latex gloves and a length of windscreen washer hose to siphon fuel from the tank to my cooker.
Edited by RizzoTheRat on Wednesday 31st August 08:51
With my old stuff it was always a case of "strap stuff to it and go". I try to keep all my bikes up to scratch all the time, so don't feel the need for extra prep'. Between us we always managed to get the bikes back (tho' this did once involve towing a mate's Bonny half way across France behind a 535 Virago, on a washing line). Often, I had no idea where we were actually headed, no map, no phone, no sat nav' etc. and just a vague "hope we don't get split up cos I'm following him" attitude...
On one occasion, my lodger wanted to come along on his nice new R1 (or similar). He went over that front to back in preparation. Badgered me so much that I ought to prep' mine, that I let him help me check over my old hardtail Zed chop. Alarmingly, he found the oil level to be low. So, I dutifully poured half a litre of oil in whilst he peered through the cloudy little window on the casing. When he was happy, we had a cuppa...
Following day, giving it stick down the M4 on our way to the ferry and the rear wheel was all over the shop. Every overtake would be accompanied by a huge drift, especially if I clipped a lane marker. No choice but to pull over. You guessed it. That half a litre wasn't wanted and the bike was now coughing it all up through the breather which exited just before the rear wheel, and the whole of the rear of the bike was just washed in oil... I think, round about Dover it had blown out enough to stop doing it... until then it was a tad iffy.
Cured me of "prepping" and went back to my belief that the bike should always be as up together as poss' (although, admittedly, the forward controls snapped in Dover on the way home and I had to ride the remaining two hundred miles in top. No amount of prep' would have avoided that, it was just bad design! They'd lasted the previous near two thousand miles that we'd covered that weekend, so I was happy.
).
My advice, keep the bike uptogether at all times and you should have few worries, on the other hand, there's scope for a lot of fun/excitement etc. in the planning stages and some enjoy that more than the actual travel... Just enjoy.
On one occasion, my lodger wanted to come along on his nice new R1 (or similar). He went over that front to back in preparation. Badgered me so much that I ought to prep' mine, that I let him help me check over my old hardtail Zed chop. Alarmingly, he found the oil level to be low. So, I dutifully poured half a litre of oil in whilst he peered through the cloudy little window on the casing. When he was happy, we had a cuppa...
Following day, giving it stick down the M4 on our way to the ferry and the rear wheel was all over the shop. Every overtake would be accompanied by a huge drift, especially if I clipped a lane marker. No choice but to pull over. You guessed it. That half a litre wasn't wanted and the bike was now coughing it all up through the breather which exited just before the rear wheel, and the whole of the rear of the bike was just washed in oil... I think, round about Dover it had blown out enough to stop doing it... until then it was a tad iffy.
Cured me of "prepping" and went back to my belief that the bike should always be as up together as poss' (although, admittedly, the forward controls snapped in Dover on the way home and I had to ride the remaining two hundred miles in top. No amount of prep' would have avoided that, it was just bad design! They'd lasted the previous near two thousand miles that we'd covered that weekend, so I was happy.
).My advice, keep the bike uptogether at all times and you should have few worries, on the other hand, there's scope for a lot of fun/excitement etc. in the planning stages and some enjoy that more than the actual travel... Just enjoy.
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