Why We Ride Buells

Many people have asked me why we chose a Buell XB12X Ulysses. It's not really an off road ADV bike, and it's not a sportbike. I mean what is it? Well, it's more of an all-purpose bike like an SUV. An SUV isn't a jeep but you can go places a car can't. It is effectively the SUV of motorcycles, able to carve some canyons and take the road less traveled. No, I don't take it on 4 wheel drive roads but it can handle any normal dirt road and many 2 track roads with it's 7" of suspension travel and ample ground clearance. It packs up like a mule and doesn't complain with its full suspension adjustability front and back to handle the load. The Buell is very light and easy to maneuver at only 450 lbs wet unloaded, compare that to a BMW 1200 GS at 564 lbs and the KTM 1290 Adventure at 530 lbs wet unloaded. I have seen a lot of people struggle on tight dirt roads trying to handle all that weight. My Buell fully loaded barely reaches their empty wet weight. I have had it on some trails that I shouldn't have and it got me out without trouble and was easier to handle. One other plus, I was drawn to the big old Harley 1200 motor, that sound is unmistakable, and it's an American bike!

I know the main bike for ADVenture travel is the BMW GS or KTM ADV machines but I wanted something different. Remember the old Apple ads, "think different"? Yes, it's not as smooth and doesn't have all the newest electronics like ABS and traction control but I call that character. Motorcycles didn't have those gadgets for a hundred years and people still went around the world. It's the driver, not the machine.

I like its simplicity and ease of repair. Reliability is on par with most bikes out there and once you fix it's known weaknesses it is very reliable and low maintenance. A lot of issues with Buells were from the earlier years and by the time the Ulysses most were solved. We have 2 Ulysses, a 2006 and 2007 both with over 50,000 miles on them with no major problems.

Now let's go over maintenance we've done to the bikes and service performed. Other than routine maintenance like oil changes, cleaning air filters, and tires there hasn't really been a lot of costly items. Here are the items replaced so far by bike, all labor by us unless specified:
Final drive belt both bikes once cost $125 per
K&N air filter both bikes $55 per
Front brake pads both bikes $34 per
Front fork seals and bushings with new 10w oil $30 per bike
Rear cooling fan $78 per bike
Race ECU on the 06 bike new $328
TPS sensor on the 06 bike $27
O2 sensor $25 per bike
Battery $59 per bike twice
77 connector repair $4 per bike
Wheel bearings front and rear $40 per bike changed every other tire change
As you can see there have been very few problems with our bikes and have always maintained them ourselves. They are very easy to work on and several items are found are interchangeable with regular car parts. You can buy a simple cable and some free software to diagnose and adjust the bike just like in Fast and the Furious, how cool is that?

Now let's list the upgrades/farkles:

LED Headlight, driving lights, and rock light upgrades $0 - we are sponsored by Auxbeam and Nilight would be around $175 per bike
Palmer windscreens and brackets $0 - we are sponsored by Palmer Products, normally $170 per bike
Sargent Seat on the 06 Uly $99 used on eBay
Factory Low Seat on the 07 Uly $125 new on eBay
Heated grips with foam grips $89 per bike
12v and 5v accessory port per bike $13
Voltmeter on the 07 Uly $11
MSR hand guards on 06 Uly $59
Happy Trail SU pannier brackets on 06 Uly $225
Factory top bag mount $59 used on eBay
Wolfman Timberwolf tank bag on 07 Uly $129
Wolfman Enduro tank bag on 06 Uly $89

I also wanted to do a master parts cross reference list to help others when they need parts. As you can see many parts are common on other vehicles, not just Buells.

First here is the final drive belt fitment for the Buell XB12X:

Go to your nearest Harley dealer and get a belt for one of the bikes listed. It fits perfectly! 

2006 Harley Davidson FLST Heritage Softail, 2000-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTC Heritage Softail Classic, 2001-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTCI Heritage Softail Classic, 2000-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTF Fat Boy, 2001-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTFI Fat Boy, 2006 Harley Davidson FLSTI Heritage Softail, 2005-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTN Softail Deluxe, 2005-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTNI Softail Deluxe, 2000-2003 Harley Davidson FLSTS Heritage Springer, 2005-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTSC Softail Springer Classic, 2005-2006 Harley Davidson FLSTSCI Softail Springer Classic, 2001-2003 Harley Davidson FLSTSI Heritage Springer, 2000-2005 Harley Davidson FXST Softail Standard, 2000-2005 Harley Davidson FXSTB Night Train, 2001-2005 Harley Davidson FXSTBI Night Train, 2000-2005 Harley Davidson FXSTD Softail Deuce, 2001-2005 Harley Davidson FXSTDI Softail Deuce, 2001-2005 Harley Davidson FXSTI Softail Standard, 2000-2005 Harley Davidson FXSTS Springer Softail, 2001-2005 Harley Davidson FXSTSI Springer Softail

Now everything else:

Fuel pump:

2003 Ford Mustang 3.8L
Autozone E2366

Fuel pump alternatives:
AC Delco EP274 521
Delphi 25337782 521 
Delphi FE0052 521 
Ford E5ZZ-9A407-A 521 
General Motors 25116975 521
Hella H75010041 521
Walbro 521

Fuel filter
2003 Ford Mustang 3.8L
Autozone FF3330DL

Oxygen sensor

87 Chevrolet ½ ton 4.3L
Bosch 12014

More O2 sensors:
-GM OEM= 25162693 
-NTK= 21002 
-Airtex= 553071  
-Denso= 234-1001 
-Walker= 250-21001 
-SNG= SN1-15

06 TPS sensor: 

Duralast #TPS213 ('93 Mustang) - Saves over $50 rather than HD sourcing-

07 TPS sensor:

AIRTEX Part # 5S5022 (07+ TPS)
Standard motor products TH317 (07+ TPS)
BECK/ARNLEY Part # 1580864 (07+ TPS)
Duralast TPS4129 (07+ TPS)

Wheel bearings: 

SKF6006-2RS (Rear), SKF6005-2RS (Front)

Idler Pulley Bearings - 6203-2RS

Oil Filter Part Numbers - Oil Filter - 07+ Toyota Yaris 1.4L
ACDelco # UPF1233 
Amsoil SDF10, EA009, EA010
Bosch # 3311 
Car Quest 85394 

Champion # C138 
Fram # PH4967 
HD # 63806-004 or 00y? 
HiFloFiltro #HF177 
K&N # hp-1003, KN-177 
Mighty # m4477 
Napa # 1394 
Mobil 1 # M1-103 
Motorcraft # FL836 
Penzoil # pz39 
Purolator # L14476 
STP # S4967 
Valvoline # vo40 
Wal-Mart Super Tech # ST49, ST4967 


Exhaust clamps - torca clamp O'Reilly's part# role20st. 

Replacement bolts for the rear exhaust bracket
3/8-16 and get the 2 1/2 in bolts

Replacement starter #
HARLEY DAVIDSON 31390-91, 31390-91A, 31390-91B, 31390-86, 31533-81, 31391-91, 31391-91A
NIPPONDENSO: 128000-8450, 128000-8451

Buell Relays - (Autozone) Duralast Pt # 19283

IAT
97 Ford F-150 4.6L
Duralast SU2004

I might have missed some items but I will update this list regularly so come back and check. If you know any parts that will work please email me and I'll add them to this list.

How to Budget for a Motorcycle Trip

Trip Cost Calculations

I want to give all prospective motorcycle travelers an idea of what it costs to travel long distances by motorcycle here in the US. Here is a rundown of our last trip across the US.

This trip was from Phoenix, AZ to Key West, FL and all around the southern US. Final mileage was 8,526 miles traveled and double checked by SPOT GPS Tracker. We left April 6th, 2016 at 5:32 PM and arrived May 22nd, 2016 at 5:39 PM, 46 days away from home!

Let's go over some costs:

Gas for 2 bikes total from receipts, 17,052 total miles traveled for 2 bikes. $1,043.82. We had a wide range of costs and generally used Plus or Premium fuel.

Bike maintenance costs:

1 rear tire for the Ulysses from Cycle Gear Columbus SC $112.87 Continental Conti-Motion... Not a long lasting tire, barely made it back home, 3,500 miles... Not recommended!

1 Fuel Pressure Regulator for the VFR from Kent's Powersports in Austin TX with 2-day shipping, $109.23.

Oil and oil filters changed three times on the road each bike Mobil 1 and K&N filters $143.45 for both bikes.

1 right front brake pad clip from Honda Little Rock $5.76 BTW it never worked so the safety wire lasted 4,000 miles!

The rest was normal road maintenance like chain adjust and lube on the VFR, which was a pain in the a$$, and fairing tightening due to taking it offroad a lot. The Ulysses needed nothing, so low maintenance, love that bike!
Total maintenance costs: $371.31

Lodging for 11 nights total, 2 in Abilene (not planned VFR breakdown), 5 were for the MotoGP in Austin (budgeted and planned for) and 4 were in Florida City (supposed to free camp but the Coast Guard shut that down...), 1 in Memphis (dead hooker hotel, planned for not expected to stay in such a crappy and creepy place). $605.71

The rest of the nights were as follows:

Wild and free camping 30 nights, cost $0. Thank you www.freecampsites.net!!!
Staying with relatives 4 nights, cost $0 Although there are some costs for meals I bought them in the misc section.

Food, that's where we spent way too much... Our initial thought was to cook at night but we arrived so late each night due to sightseeing and big mileage days, so unfortunately fast food... $1,497.33

Miscellaneous like: scuba and snorkeling, souvenirs (MotoGP, the tickets were purchased months earlier and not included), shirts (MotoGP), attractions, beer, fancy meals to celebrate my middle sons b/day in SC and buying dinners with relatives, etc. $525.88

Total cost of the trip $4,044.05
Average daily cost $87.91 for 2 riders on 2 bikes
Average daily cost per person $43.96
Average cost per mile driven for 2 bikes $.2371(rounded to $.24) or per bike $.1185 (rounded to $.12)

Let's take out the MotoGP costs, the scuba, and snorkeling, the not planned for motel nights, and if we were to make dinner at least 30 nights... I want to give a truer cost of a normal long trip. I'm taking out the MotoGP items, 4 nights not planned for lodging, scuba and snorkeling, the breakdown items purchased, and 30 nights of eating out and replacing that with buying food to cook or dehydrated food from home. We have a dehydrator and planned to use it but didn't... our fault.

Total budgeted cost now $2,738.05
Avg. daily cost $59.52 for 2 riders
Avg. daily cost per person $29.76
Avg. cost per mile $.1605 (rounded to .16) for both of us
Avg. cost per mile per person $.0802 (rounded to .08)

For those of you planning a trip hope this helps out. When planning a trip I usually start my budget at the .08 cents cost per mile and add from there. You can adjust your cost per mile depending on free camping or motels. I usually factor in a couple of hundred extra for breakdowns. We have AAA towing and can fix most anything on the bike short of rebuilding the motor. You might need to factor in more or have your credit card balance low enough to handle problems on the road. If you have any questions please ask, I'd be happy to help!!

My XR650R Set Up for Round The World Travel - Could Be Any Bike!

XR650R Set Up To Go Round The World

A little background first, I am planning an RTW trip in the future and I chose the XR650R because I wanted a simple bike with a kick start and easy to fix in a 3rd world country like Whogivesashitastan! I know that kick start isn’t for everyone, but once you have the carb set up right it starts easily in 2 kicks cold (32F) and almost a half kick warm. I see most problems that people have boil down to electrics so I went simple, this bike has no computer or complicated electronics. Parts are easy to find as Honda is everywhere, even in Whogivesacrapastan! :-)

You can use just about any bike really, I've seen people take Harleys, Gold Wings, to scooters. It's all about what you are comfortable with and can you repair it anywhere. I also have a Buell XB12X and I have read about guys taking it around the world. I might change and take that bike as it is easy to fix and will give me more comfort. This blog is about the XR but who knows what I'll take...

Now I see everyone using KLRs, KTMs, or BMW GSs, but I love the XR650R Pig and it’s motor. Rock solid and built so tough to race Baja. You really never hear of major problems with that motor. Plus the bike is so light for that size of a bike. I had mine weighed with a full tank of gas and everything you see below at 328lbs. Easily manageable in adverse situations. I’ve taken this bike on trips as long as 8,500 miles, and so far everything works great!

OK, now for the bike.

2000 Honda XR650R “Pig”

ENGINE MODS:

I didn’t want to get too crazy because I wanted long term reliability. I rebuilt the motor with new bearings and rings but stock. I only added the cam for some more torque. This motor has so much torque now that the gearing I did doesn’t really affect it too much in tight single track. I’m not talking about motocross type stuff though…

Stage 1 Cam

Carb rebuilt and re-jetted with 68s/178/needle 3rd position, I didn't get a pumper carb as I wanted to repair it in Whogivesacrapastan! You can get Keihin parts everywhere.

NGK Iridium plug

Big Gun exhaust now repacked and opened up

XRs ONLY choke plate

Airbox side case mod and removal of internal baffles

K&N filter

Thermostat mod

1.8 radiator cap

XRs Only silicone hoses

Evans Waterless coolant - AWESOME STUFF!!

Recently dyno’d 55 HP at the rear wheel

Uncorked of course

THE REST OF THE BIKE:

Excel rims w/HD spokes all safety wired, new bearings and Xrs Only quick change race bushings

RaceTech reworked front forks and Gold valving (didn’t do the CRF fork conversion, not needed now plus I'm not racing it)

RaceTech rear shock and Gold valving reworked, RaceTech rear spring for my weight plus the weight of gear for travel. I'm 6'4" 245lbs.

XRs Only case saver

15 tooth front sprocket normally, for more offroad I carry a 14 tooth front sprocket and a 42, 45, or 48 rear sprockets depending on terrain I might encounter, currently it's a 42 tooth. That's 70 mph at 4500 rpm.

Devol radiator guards

Devol skid plate

Oil Level tube mod

XRs Only dipstick with temp gauge

Moose Racing magnet drain plug

TrailTech 8" Baja light

Auxbeam LED headlight bulb and Auxbeam LED driving lights

TrailTech Vapor computer

Ricky Stator 200 watt stator wired dual output (AC for front LED and rear tail/brake light, DC for acc’s)

TrailTech HD regulator

TrailTech right side KTM electric fan mod (AWESOME! It’ll never overheat!!)

Battery Tender Lithium battery 240 CCA in a Roost Pakpak on top of the light bracket

Acc. ports for running electronics

Whole bike completely rewired and rerouted by me (really easy there’s like 6 wires)

Ram Mounts for phone, GPS 64st, Cobra iRadar radar detector

street plated in AZ (easy only needs a brake light w/license plate light, front light and horn)

IMS Desert tank 4.6 gal

EBC Dirt Digger clutch

Clutch bushing mod

Right peg mod

EBC red brake pads front and back. I didn’t do the upgrade to a larger disc… Might do it in the future.

Rebuilt the front and rear master cylinders and use silicone fluid

TCI Products Borrego Rack with fender stiffener

Beefed up rear sub frame with add’l stiffeners and bracing, basically welded on some gussets

Tires for a long trip with mostly asphalt Kenda K270s, cheap and they last a long time

Michelin Ultra HD tubes

Ride On flat prevention and balancing goo - WAY better than Slime!

MSR Roost Pak

MSR hand guards

Oxford heated grips… I know, I’m a wimp, I hate cold hands...

Ken Sean folding mirrors

Seat Concepts seat foam and cover (the stock seat is like sitting on a 2X4!)

AirHawk Dual Sport seat pad (a must for long trips on any bike!)

Renthal 520 O ring chain

New Steering head bearings

GPR2 steering stabilizer

GPR top triple clamp for fat bars

Pro Taper KX high fat bar with foam grip puppies and bar snake

30mm bar spacers

XRs Only extended cables

Baja Designs keyed ignition

For luggage I only use soft bags and the best one is the Wolfman Beta Plus and I add a Wolfman Enduro tank bag, fender bag, and a Sealine 30L dry bag

I'm sure I missed some other stuff but you can send me questions if you have any…

Sounds like a lot of farkles but I am planning on a RTW trip on this bike so I did a ground up prep. BTW, some of these were already on the bike when I bought it so pick one carefully and save some time and money.

2wADV Gear Load Out for Motorcycle ADVenture Travel

Do you want to take your bike on an ADVenture but don't know want to take? 

Many people have asked us what gear we take on our multi-day to multi-week/month long motorcycle trips. We have found that most people take too much, or don't know what to take, or what can they fit on their motorcycle. We wanted to give you a base reference list so anyone could take this kit and go anywhere safe by motorcycle, either around the US or around the world. Whether you are a noob or weathered veteran I think this will help you out. It’s a bit long but detailed to help you in your decisions.

My background is lightweight to ultralight backpacking so I have been using most of the camping part of this kit for week to month long backpacking trips. As I am getting older I wanted more comfort so some items like the camp table and chair I would not take backpacking but I take motorcycle camping. I am constantly revising it and adding and taking away items all the time. This version of the kit was just used on a recent 46 day, 8,500 mile trip around the southern US where we camped 38 of the 46 days.

I didn't include my riding gear as I assume you already have a jacket, pants, boots, helmet, rain gear, and gloves. If not email me for my choices.

ADVenture Vest – My design:

Why an ADVenture vest? I really wanted something to carry my water bladder, an Individual First Aid Kit(IFAK), and some other small items. I don't like backpacks, always swinging around on my back and no easy quick access. Also in case you are pitched off the bike, it's best to have your basic blood loss/trauma kit(IFAK) on you, not on the bike. Ogio and KLIM (both over a hundred dollars...) make a vest, but I wanted something a bit more custom. So I made my own, and for less than fifty dollars!

SOG Mesh Utility ADVenture Vest with added MOLLE pouches to hold items listed below:

Sabre Red Police Strength Pepper Gel
Vipertek 17 Million Volt compact stun gun
Pen type flare gun. I have regular red flares, whistlers, and bear bangers. Use the pen type, they don’t look like a gun, I’ve been completely gone through at several military checkpoints in Mexico with no problems. Just learn this phrase. “Para una emergencia y necesito ayuda.”
Gerber Multi Tool
Karambit knife
Blow Out Kit/IFAK for major blood loss – tourniquet, quikclot, battle dressing, medic scissors, tape, etc
Black Diamond Locking carabiners (4) also used in my bike recovery system to create a 5 to 1 pulley system

I use Fig. 15 - 5 to 1 ratio

Platypus Big Zip 3 liter bladder in a Condor Hydration MOLLE pouch
Small basic survival kit w/Brunton ADV Compass
SPOT GEN 3 – Never put it on your bike! You are always pitched off the bike! See IFAK above too!
Visor defog & Rain-X
LED Flashlight small single AA style
Casio 14 MP point and shoot camera on Gear Keeper retractable scuba tether

In the Wolfman Timberwolf Tank bag:

Tire pressure gauge
12’ tow strap (side pocket)
Motorcycle jumper cable set (side pocket)
Baby Wipes as TP
Waterproof case with rechargeable AAA/AA/camera batteries - 8 each
12v accessory port with AA/AAA battery charger
Black Diamond Headlamp
Icon Patrol Waterproof riding gloves
Hydro Flask Insulated 40oz water bottle
Freezeout neck gaiter and skull cap
Damp microfiber towel to wipe helmet shield
Small AA LED flashlight
Ultrapod tripod
SOG Seal Pup knife

In my yellow SealLine Baja Dry Bag 30L - all sleeping gear:

My Honda XR650R

My VFR with this kit

I like to have all the gear needed to set up and sleep in one bag so I don’t have to tear things apart when it’s late at night and I’m tired. Just grab this bag and I’m in bed warm and cozy in 20 minutes. I have done this for thousands of miles and hundreds of nights in all weather and it works perfectly. I am known for not getting to my campsite until it’s dark. The tent and sleeping bag are in their own compression sacks that are waterproof in case the tent is still wet.
Kelty Dualist 30F long hybrid synthetic/down bag or Moonstone 10F 900 fill down bag depending on temps in a waterproof compression sack
Black Diamond Betamid 2 person 4 season tent w/bug enclosure or Eureka Apex 2XT 2 person 3 season tent again depending on temps and weather. If I take the BD tent I also bring along my BD hiking staffs as they are the tent poles plus with my knees great for hiking
MSR Cyclone tent stakes 8
Black Diamond Orbit LED Lantern
Klymit Static V Luxe XL air pad, like sleeping at home!
Thermarest Neo air inflator
Tyvek kite material ground cloth – extremely durable, waterproof-ish, and light
5X7 Sil-nylon tarp to make a dining fly or attach it to the bike and ground to make a lean-to for a quick shelter, usually when I’m stealth camping
Space blanket bivy bag, I use this if it is cold and put it on my air pad for extra insulation, if it’s going to be below 30 degrees constantly I’ll bring a 3/4 length closed cell Z Pad pad too and use that on top of the air pad.

Clothes-
Small SilNylon drybags with...

3 Boxer briefs synthetic
3 Moto socks synthetic
3 Hiking socks synthetic
3 synthetic T-shirts - see a pattern here? Synthetic all the way!
Base layer thermal tops and bottoms Cycle Gear Freezeout, love these!
Heated jacket and gloves
If I expect temps below 50F most of the time I bring my pants and shoe inserts too
Nylon hiking pants Bear Grylls
Swim trunks/hiking shorts North Face
Fingerless Fleece camp gloves
Golite light 900 fill down jacket and stuff sack
McNett Tactical Micro Fiber towels XL(bath size) and small(hand/dish size)
Small bottle of liquid Tide to wash your clothes on the road. Most times I just wash them in a sink rather than go to a laundromat


Cooking/Kitchen items:

In Silnylon dry bags and a nylon zipper bag
Optimus Ti long spoon
Light My Fire Ti spork
Taco Bell sporks (6)
Bamboo chopsticks 

Benihana soup spoon
Lava soap and container – takes off grease and oil

Scotchbrite pad

Butane lighter

Hurricane matches
1oz bottle Dawn dish soap
Primus 1.5 liter Ti tea kettle
Snow Peak Trek Ti bowl and plate, the plate acts as a lid for the bowl
Coughlan’s aluminum pot grabber

Small plastic measuring cup
Optimus Heat Pouch for re-hydrating food

Hand can opener

Hand sanitizer
Gas station insulated mug 16 oz w/lid
Coleman Exponent Apollo/Pulstar dual fuel stove and windscreen – best one I have found to run on 87-94 unleaded gas. I only use this stove when traveling by motorcycle as gas canister type stove cartridges can be very hard to find outside the US. I do carry as a backup, or if I need 2 stoves going, a small canister stove.
Coleman gas bottle for the stove that doubles as a spare gas container.

Sawyer Mini Water Filter and Katadyn Micropur tablets
Seattle Sports collapsible camp bucket - for washing clothes and carry water from a stream
Nalgene 96 oz collapsible canteen

Small collapsible dog bowl - to use as a sink

Camp Gear:
GSI Outdoors Micro Table
Helinox Chair One Camp Chair

Gerber Sierra Saw

SOG Tacital Tomahawk 

Food:

Condiments, salt, pepper, spices, sugar, etc. in their own Ziploc pouch
Snacks:
Tropical Trail mix
Cliff/energy Bars
Fruit rolls

Breakfast:
Energy bar, fruit roll, some trail mix, hot chocolate, sometimes instant oatmeal. I don't like to cook in the morning so usually energy bars.

Lunch:
Eat on the road if possible, if not I make my own Moose Goo.
What is Moose Goo?? It’s an awesome paste that I have used backpacking for years. I got it from an ultralight backpacker named Ultralight Joe. It doesn't need to be refrigerated either.
Here’s the recipe: 2 parts honey, 2 parts rice flour or corn flour, I like rice flour, 1 part peanut butter, mix thoroughly and put it in one of those backpacker's squeeze tubes. Then squeeze it into a large tortilla or pita bread. Sometimes I add some grape jelly from a fast food place. Honestly, you guys will love it! You can find Ultralight Joe at www.ultralightbackpacker.com

Dinner:
I take dehydrated food usually for trips of 3-5 days, I have my own dehydrator. Typically Spaghetti, chili, etc… My last trip was 46 days on the road and just bought food as needed and strapped it under the cargo net to eat that night.


Personal Gear:

ADVenture medical kit, my design, an add-on to the IFAK on my ADV vest
Shaving/personal kit, spare reading glasses/personal medications/vitamins
Travel Meds - Motrin 800 & 200, Cipro, Keflex, Erythromycin, Zithromax, Flagyl, Imodium, some cold and flu caplets, Visine Allergy, etc.

Electronics:
In a dry bag
Anker 4 port 2.4 amp USB wall charger w/6’ ext. cord
10,000 & 9,000 MAH battery backups
Samsung Tab 3 8” tablet w/128gb card, sometimes I take my laptop to edit and post photos
Beats Pill Bluetooth speaker, because sometimes I like to watch a movie or some camp music...
USB cables for all
I'll stop somewhere to have lunch and use their power to charge up stuff, if not or I'm at a camp for a few days...
Anker PowerPort 21 watt folding solar panel, can charge my dead phone or tablet to full in 3-5 hours of sunlight.

Possibles Kit:
These are my spares for possible breakdowns and repairs, hence Possibles Kit…

Iridium spark plugs in plastic plug holders
Gorilla tape wrapped around the spark plug holders
Small bag of rags and disposable gloves
JB Weld/Rad Stop leak/Metal Epoxy putty/Gorilla glue
2/4 amp motorcycle battery charger
Zip ties and safety wire
1 qt oil and small funnel
Multimeter tester
Slime 12v tire inflator
Buell specific items ECM, ECMspy cable, TPS, fuel pump (spares I've had for a while)
Tire patch kit with tire irons in a Wolfman Enduro Fender bag
Wolfman Luggage Tool Roll with all necessary tools for the bike short of a complete rebuild
Golite Chrome Dome backpacking umbrella

50 ft. climbing rope (part of my recovery system), camp/hiking shoes, and SOG Tactical Tomahawk usually attached to the outside under the cargo/bungee net


Here is all the gear before packing, and on the bikes at Area 51.

My wallet and Gerber folding knife goes in my riding pants on one side and a notebook/journal with pen in the other

On the bike:
Airhawk air seat pad - A must for your bum!!
GPS, iCobra radar detector, phone on Ram Mounts hooked up to my accessory ports.

We use this same load out on our Buell XB12Xs but we have panniers on those bikes. On our Honda XR650Rs and my Honda VFR, I use a Wolfman Beta Plus bag and the SealLine Baja dry bag on those bikes. Whatever bike you have, if you prepare and pack minimalist, this kit will take you on any ADVenture. This kit has developed over years of trial and error. I will update this blog as items change and we find something we can leave behind or replace. If you have any questions, please email me and I will help you out.

Please follow us on social media – FB, IG, Twitter - @2wadv
email – 2wheeledadventurers@gmail.com