We all have our own routines before we go on tour, and our own lists (mental or actual) of what we need to pack. A lot of what you carry with you on a motorcycle tour depends on your personal preferences, the type of bike you ride, where you’re going and so on, so a definitive list of what to take and what to leave is pretty much impossible to make. However, because we’ve all been in a situation where you realise – only too late – that you’ve forgotten something essential, we decided to come up with a list of essentials that people forget to bring on tour. This is your chance not to be one of those people!
To help us get the list right, we talked to Greg Fatrai, chief tour guide at Wheels of Morocco. Over the years he has guided hundreds of people on motorcycle tours on- and off-road around Morocco. Doing this, he has developed a good understanding of what is essential to carry with you, and what people most often forget to bring with them.
This is his top three list of things that people forget to bring on tour…
Earplugs
You might be surprised to find out how little speed and how short a duration of riding it takes to cause serious damage to your hearing, and riding without earplugs can cause permanent hearing loss.
With the seriousness of this in mind, it might surprise you that one of the most often requested items from a tour leader is the humble earplug. Of course, not everyone necessarily forgets to bring earplugs; the little blighters are easy to lose too, and unless you have spares, you are a bit stuck. Many of us like to use custom fit, or universal fit filtered plugs which reduce harmful wind noise but allow ambient noise through but, to be on the safe side, it’s good to pack a few disposable foam plugs in addition to your preferred ones, just in case!
Chargers and batteries
Phone chargers are one of the items most often left behind, but with many riders now using helmet comms, smart helmets, heated clothing, satnavs, heated visor inserts and a multitude of other electronic devices, forgetting any type of charger or charging cable may cause a headache on tour.
And even if you remember all the chargers, did you pack the adapter to make sure that you can fit the chargers to the socket in your destination country?
Some items might need specific batteries, too. Bikes with keyless ignition, for example. If the battery in the key fob goes flat, you are going to be in a spot of bother, so best to replace anything which might be marginal before setting off. Because the batteries are not all the same, you can’t rely on your tour guide to have them all easily available, either. The best way to avoid forced pit stops is to carry some spares with you and, even if you remember to pack the chargers, don’t forget to get into the routine of plugging them in and recharging at the end of each day’s riding.
Spare visor or lens for goggles
These are perhaps not something that most people forget as much as something that few will even consider to bring with them, but our tour guide says it’s something he gets asked for reasonably often.
It’s not very common to have a fault with your helmet visor or goggles lens on tour, but it does happen, and it’s always easiest to bring a spare.
More importantly, if you use a dark visor or lens it’s imperative to remember to pack the clear one too – even if the weather forecast is all sunny. Keeping the visor clean is crucial too, especially if you are likely to be encountering lots of insects on your ride. Visor wipes can come in small disposable packets, making them handy to pack and carry around on tour.
Summer specials
In addition to the top three things that people forget to pack for a motorcycle tour, Greg pointed out a couple of items that are summer essentials for riding anywhere, and pretty much all-year essentials for riding somewhere like Morocco.
These are lip balm and sun cream. They don’t need much explaining, but when people pack for a bike tour, they sometimes only think about the ride part of the trip and forget that there’s usually a fair bit of time spent off the bikes too. Hayfever sufferers should also make sure they have any medication they might need, as riding with stinging eyes and uncontrollable sneezing is at best annoying and at worst downright dangerous.
