How to Pack a Motorcycle for Camping: Load Limits, Weight Placement and Strapping in 9 Steps

To pack a motorcycle for camping, start with the bike's load limit, set tires and suspension for that load, then place the weight. Heavy items go low, close to the center of the bike and evenly side to side. Bulky, light items ride on the seat or rack, low and over or in front of the rear axle. Strap everything with multi-point elastic cords, never to the handlebars or front fender, and recheck the load once you're moving.

This tutorial is part of our motorcycle camping guide. It covers loading the bike. To decide what to leave at home, see minimalist motorcycle camping. To organize your gear into bags that pack the same way every trip, see how to set up a motorcycle camping kit.

Key takeaways- Find the load limit on the label near the steering head and in your owner's manual; luggage counts toward it.- Set tire pressure and suspension for the load, as your owner's manual says.- Heavy items go in the "load triangle" between your head and the two axles.- Weight high and to the rear on a rack lightens the front wheel.- Nothing goes on the handlebars, forks or front fender.

What you need

• Your owner's manual (load limit, tire pressures, suspension settings)
• A tire pressure gauge, and the tool for your rear preload adjuster if your bike has one
• A bathroom scale
• Your luggage: side cases or soft panniers, a dry bag or tail bag, a tank bag
• Elastic cords or straps with more than one attachment point per side
• Smaller dry bags or stuff sacks for anything that must stay dry
• Your gear, already chosen from the motorcycle camping checklist

Step 1: Find your bike's load limit

Under 49 CFR 567.4, every motorcycle sold in the US carries a certification label stating its Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) and a Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) for each axle. On a motorcycle, that label sits close to where the steering post meets the handlebars.

Your maximum load is the difference between the bike's empty weight and its maximum allowable weight, and it includes you and any passenger. Saddlebags, tank bags and racks count too. Your owner's manual gives the figure.

Step 2: Weigh what you will carry

Weigh each bag on a bathroom scale, add your weight in riding gear, and add a passenger if you carry one. Compare the total with the load limit from Step 1. If you are over, cut gear before you load anything; our minimalist guide linked above shows where to cut.

Step 3: Set tire pressure and suspension for the load

Check your owner's manual for tire pressure and suspension settings for a loaded bike. US rules require the label to give a recommended cold tire pressure for the bike's rated weights.

If you ride two-up, set suspension and tire pressures as the manual says for a passenger. If you ever replace tires, the load index must cover the bike, rider, passenger and luggage at the maximum load.

Step 4: Fill the side cases or panniers first

Side luggage sits lowest, so it takes the heaviest gear: kitchen, tools, water, food. Keep that weight low and as close to the center of the bike as possible. Put the heaviest items at the bottom and toward the front of each bag.

Balance the two sides. Weigh each pannier; if one is heavier, move a dense item across.

Step 5: Load the seat or rack with bulky, light gear

Tent, sleeping bag and pad are bulky but light. Lay them across the passenger seat or rack, low and over or in front of the rear axle. Honda's rider-training guidance warns that weight carried high and to the rear on a rack lightens the front wheel and can make handling unstable.

Keep heavy items out of a top box or rack bag. Put the sleeping bag inside a waterproof bag so it arrives dry whatever the weather.

Step 6: Keep the tank bag light and forward

The tank bag is for things you need while riding: map, phone, rain gloves, snacks, documents. Keep the load forward, leave out hard or sharp items, and make sure the bag does not touch the handlebars or controls at full lock.

Step 7: Strap it down

1. Use elastic cords or straps with more than one attachment point on each side. The Alberta motorcycle handbook warns that rope stretches and can work loose.
2. Hook only onto solid frame points, racks or luggage mounts.
3. Never strap anything to the handlebars, forks or front fender.
4. Make sure nothing can catch in moving parts: chain, wheels or suspension.
5. Keep straps and bags off the exhaust.
6. Tuck in loose strap ends.

In the video below, a rider loading a 125cc bike for camping shows why basic hook-ended car bungees disappoint and how two-part elastic straps stay tight as the load settles. He also keeps only light items in his top box and the heavy ones low in the panniers, as this page advises.

Step 8: Shake, lift and walk around

With the bike on its stand, push and pull every bag. Nothing should shift. Then take the bike off the stand and feel the weight; if it feels top-heavy or tail-heavy, move weight lower and forward.

Walk around once more and check that the tank bag clears the controls at full lock, and that no strap is near the chain, wheel or exhaust.

Step 9: Ride a short loop, then recheck often

Rider-training guidance from Honda on carrying a passenger notes slower acceleration, more time and space needed to pass, and possibly longer stopping distances and less stability in turns. Camping gear adds weight too, so ride a short loop before the trip to learn how your loaded bike behaves.

Stop and check the load regularly so you know it has not worked loose or moved. Make your first check after a few miles, and tighten any strap that has settled.

Common mistakes

If the bike can't carry everything within its limit, our guide to motorcycle camping trailers compares the options. To compare luggage types, see the best gear for motorcycle camping.

Printable loading sheet

Riding pants for loaded miles

A loaded bike means long days in the saddle, so your riding pants matter as much as the luggage. You can browse Leather Collection motorcycle pants.

FAQ

How do you carry stuff on a motorcycle?

In side cases or panniers for heavy items, a dry bag or tail bag on the seat or rack for bulky light items, and a tank bag for small things you need while riding. Keep weight low, central and balanced, and strap it with multi-point elastic cords.