Back in 2013 I got my first “big-girl” bike — a BMW F800R. The next month I was supposed to move to Germany with it (a 2,000km trip). I already had about 15,000km under my belt with various smaller bikes, and had been on shorter trips here and there. I was pretty confident that I could handle a longer distance. Well, I was a noob and I was wrong. And I continued to learn that over the years, so here’s what I’ve learned so far:

1. Get proper weather-proof riding clothes

At the time I had a leather two-piece suit, which I deemed worthy of a long trip. Boy, how I was wrong. The first heavy rain and I was soaking wet in less than 15 minutes. Reality is, you have two options:

If you must wear a leather suit, make sure to pack a rain suit. A decent one like this (US store), or this (EU store) will set you back about 60–70 EUR/USD. Trust me, it’s totally worth it. Once folded, they take up minimal space in your luggage, and putting them on is a matter of seconds. Make sure to get one in a proper size that can fit over your leathers. A much better option (in my opinion) is a good weatherproof gore-tex suit. Granted, these can set you back quite a bit (600 and upwards for two pieces), but it’s a pretty damn long-term investment. Best part about these is that you can wear them in any weather. Most have inner linings that can be removed for summer temperatures (and the opposite for winter), while you are completely wet-proof from both summer rain and winter snowfall.

All cosy in my gore-tex suit during winter commute.

Make sure your footwear is also rain-proof.

In terms of gloves, it’s my experience that summer (vented) gloves are better in the rain during warm weather. They dry more easily and your hands don’t stick as much. In winter, opt for the gore-tex/touring option.

2. Get a proper eye-gear helmet

Optional bird-eye view camera available

During that same trip, I was sporting my brother’s Shoei X11 pictured here. It’s a damn good helmet, but here’s what went wrong. My default visor was a dark smoke one. Perfect for sunny days. Completely wrong for rain and night time.

The first time it rained on the road, I had to switch to the clear visor, because visibility was about as far as the first car in front of me. The rain was over in 20 min, and the sun came out again. Not only was I only soaking wet from the aforementioned lack of rain gear, but I was also blinded by the sun. I stopped and switched back to the dark visor. One hour later it was raining again. You guess it, I switched to the clear visor once again. When the sun came out a bit later, I was so pissed that I decided I would rather squint in the sun than stop to change visors yet another time.

Once again, you have two options here:

Get a helmet with an internal flip down sun visor. Plenty of cheap options to choose from. Get a helmet that is sunglass-ready. There are models that offer extra room in the padding, specifically designed for prescription or sunglasses. You can keep them in your jacket pocket and put them on/off without stopping. I still recommend going for option 1 tho.

Also, bugs can be very annoying. Make sure to carry something to clean your visor with.

3. Pack some extra fuel

“But why would I need extra fuel? There’s gas stations everywhere!”

No, there are not. Especially if you decide to run some alternative/scenic routes.

Even if gas stations are abundant, I’ve had a hand full of situations where I thought “oh I’m not that low on gas, I’ll skip this one and stop at the next one”, and the next one was a lot further than I expected. Or I was way lower on gas than I thought (thanks BMW for the ambiguous fuel indicators). Or the next one was closed. Or the next one didn’t accept credit cards and I didn’t have cash. The list goes on.

A nice option for packing extra fuel are these MSR Fuel Bottles. They are pretty cheap, come in various sizes, and sport a safety cap. I’ve had two for a couple years now and don’t have a single complaint about them.

4. Install a waterproof 12v plug on your bike

Because you don’t want to run out of battery on your phone or navigation in the middle of nowhere, right? They are very cheap ($8) and can also come in handy for other stuff I mention later.

5. Get a copy of your bike’s owner’s manual

Whether it be various warnings on your dashboard, or your engine not starting, you can at least troubleshoot the most basic stuff before calling for road assistance. More on this in the following sections.

6. Get the proper toolset for your bike

Granted, you are a noob, and probably will not be fixing mechanical problems with your bike. But, screws come undone from vibrations. Batteries drain for no reason. Headlights die for obvious reasons. If you don’t have the proper tools to operate your most basic parts, you will be in pain.

I once had my entire left handlebar clamp loosen and twist forward. The clutch was almost inaccessible, and the mirror was out of the picture. Torx wrenches are hard to come by when you are in the middle of nowhere, thankfully I had the proper tools with me.

Make sure to search for a toolset that fits your bike’s specific screws and sizes and buy one asap.

7. Get spare low and high beam lamps

Because you really don’t want to see this in the middle of nowhere, especially during night time. And because they are standard sizes and dirt cheap to buy.

Here’s where the owner’s manual and toolset come in handy. You will have all the info and proper tools required to swap your lamps.

Turn signals can be a bit more complicated, but then again, you have your hands for signaling.

8. Get a flat tire kit

A flat tire on the road is no fun. But most flat tires are easily fixable if you have the proper tools. Here are two options:

Get a tire repair kit. They are pretty cheap ($10), and very easy to operate. Just jam a bolt into your tire, stick some gum in there, and you are pretty much good to go for at least another 500km. Get a tire sealant. These are also simple to use and inexpensive ($15). You pump the liquid in the tire and it seals whichever holes it reaches. Slightly messier though for changing the tire later — make sure to tell your repair guys that it’s in there so they don’t make a mess.

In both cases, you need something to inflate the tire right? Best of both worlds is a kit like this one ($25) which includes the repair kit, a sealant, and a compressor that you can jack to either your bike’s battery or a 12V plug. Here’s where the plug comes in handy once again. If your battery is not within reach (without taking the whole bike apart), you can just use your 12v plug.

9. Get some chain lube

If you are riding long distances, you need to make sure your chain is properly lubed every 500km or so. A dirty/dry chain can reduce the power output from the drivetrain to your rear wheel, while it also increases wear of your chain and sprocket.

I like this lube from Sonax ($29) because it’s multipurpose and seems to gather less dirt on my chain, but you can also buy ones that cost $10 or less.

To go the extra mile, you can get one of these brushes ($10), in case you are riding in a lot of dirt, and have a lot of build up on your chain.

10. For everything else, there’s zip ties and duct tape

Courtesy of my pal Noah, who’s been on the road for 4 years now.