My Favorite Things

We contemplated gear quite a bit in preparation for this trip. Space is at a premium on the bike, particularly when toting all camping gear and planning for both very cold and very hot on the same trip. I think we did pretty well right from the get-go, though there were a few stops early on to tweak our kit, and other stops further along.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Rok straps, man. Rok. Straps. Love these things. Little pricey, but totally worth it. Half bungee cord, half cinch strap, they make short work of loading and unloading the bike. Zero complaints with these. The 5/8" x 42" size is my favorite, but I like to have the "light duty" set I accidentally ordered on-hand as well.
  
• Go Cruise Motorcycle Throttle Control. The idea of a throttle lock scared me just a bit, as I like the idea of the throttle letting off when I let go if it. But after several long rides and uncomfortable right arms, I thought I'd give it a try. Couldn't. Be. Happier. This thing lets me shake out the right arm from time to time, or make adjustments to my gear while keeping up at highway speeds. It's easy to set and easy to release.
  
  Slightly overpriced, in my opinion, which is why Nick gave a shot at 3D printing some variants. They work well, too, but are just a bit too long to work well inside my hand guards. The top variant in the picture below works best, particularly with the ability to add a rubber band if you need it tighter.
  
• Garmin GPSmap64s. This was another last-minute purchase, and one that I waffled back-and-forth over for a long time. Really glad to have it along on the ride, though. I kept deciding against it because of the smartphone, but having a dedicated GPS, fully loaded with City Navigator maps has been great. Google Maps on the smartphone can be a bit flaky sometimes -- even with maps downloaded for offline use. The Garmin has had its own hiccups, too, unfortunately. It doesn't like to stay powered from the motorcycle for some reason, which adds the cost of batteries to the trip. Still sorting out the best way to deal with this. Overall, though, I'm happy to have it along.
• Kyocera DuraForce Pro. Speaking of the smartphone, I upgraded to the Kyocera DuraForce Pro a few months back. The first one they sent me ended up having some battery problems after awhile, but I was subsequently given a free replacement. It's a beast when it comes to durability and handling the elements...fully waterproof...works well even with gloves on...can take a shock... I also like the wireless charging and rigged up a wireless charger inside the RAM mount that holds the phone on the handlebars. Works well. The phone does have a tendency to overheat, though, particularly if charging and running maps on a hot, sunny day. Speaking of Palabras Nuevas!, "enfriandose" is not a message you want to see on your phone, particularly when just arriving into a new town and relying on said phone for navigational support. Maps, maps, and more maps, people! Can't emphasize that enough.
• Newly re-covered seat and Purple pad. Lots of miles already on the newly re-covered seat (thank you Sarah!) and the Purple pad. Holding up really well...both the seat, the pad, and my butt.
  
• Scepter 3-gallon marine fuel tank. (Would love to link the Scepter website, but it appears to be non-functional presently.) Not really designed for this purpose, but way cheaper than the alternatives. We deliberated long and hard on extra fuel options, estimating that we would need an extra 3 gallons to get to Prudhoe Bay. We looked at the Giant Loop Gas Bag, as a container only as big as the amount of fuel in it would be optimal, and we looked at RotoPax, which offers a compact and tidy way to tote extra fuel. Both were well beyond what we wanted to pay. Found the Scepter option during an online search, though, and subsequently located it at Bass Pro in KC.
  
  I can think of no better way to tote 3 gallons of extra fuel on the back of the bike, especially for under $50.
  
  There was the problem of fuel leaking the first time I filled it. This was due to the red plug seen in the photo above not being intended as a seal. Thus, as normal rise in temperature caused an increase in pressure inside the tank, fuel was pushed out through the internal hose, as intended by the manufacturer. (This outlet is supposed to be connected to your motorboat engine.) In Grande Prairie, AB, I found a plug that should solve the problem. I reckon we'll find out for sure next time I fill it.
  
• Shark EvoLine 3 helmet. The ability to ride with the chin bar up or down has been great, particularly south of the US since the fewer hurdles when trying to communicate in Spanish, the better. Had to give it a good cleaning after our dusty day to regain acceptable functionality, but I've really enjoyed this helmet. As far as I know there's only one other that has a streamlined design like this with the chin bar up; the rest catch lots of wind.
  
  
  
  

These are just a few favorites that came up as we prepared for this trip. There are certainly other pieces of gear that I've come to rely on over the years, but that will have to be another post.