Best Motorcycle Camping Setup

Motorcycle camping has become more popular due to the high-tech travel-friendly cruisers and grand touring motorcycles available on the market. These motorcycles allow you to carry luggage and help you reach your destination. However, to ensure a memorable camping experience, you need a camping setup that works for you.

Some motorcyclists prefer a minimal camping setup, while others prefer to carry more stuff for comfort. In addition, some motorcyclists opt to camp at organized campgrounds and glamping sites for better facilities, and others prefer to camp on public lands that offer no amenities.

This article discusses the best motorcycle camping setups for different camping styles, so you can prepare a camping set-up that best suits your needs.

Contrary to what you may have heard about packing light and carrying the bare minimum, the best camping setup is one that has everything you might need. If you want to carry a pillow and a camping blanket for comfort, then you should, even if it doesn’t fit in your saddlebags.

On the other hand, if you want to carry less items to ensure your motorcycle stays lightweight and easy to handle, you are free to travel light.

If you are unsure whether to travel light or heavy, first determine your camping destination to determine which camping setup best suits the location.

Glamping is a lavish camping experience that offers comfortable accommodations, plush bedding and blankets, washrooms, showers, electricity, delicious meals, Wi-Fi, and clean water.

If you are traveling to a glamping site, you don’t need to bring a tent, hammock, sleeping bag and pad, pillow, food, stove system, cooking utensils, or water.

Therefore, for glamping sites, your camping setup should only include essential motorcycle tools, appropriate clothing, and toiletries.

Organized campgrounds provide some amenities, like clean water, electricity, washrooms, hot showers, and fire rings. Some campgrounds also have nearby cafeterias and restaurants where you can buy food.

However, you would have to arrange your own tent and camping setup. If you have a reservation at a campground, your camping setup should include a tent or a bivouac sack, a sleeping mat, bags, or a hammock. In case there are no food establishments near the campground, you should also carry cooking supplies and food.

Camping at public areas managed by the Management of Bureau can be challenging for first-timers. These areas do not offer any amenities, like washrooms, clean water, and electricity.

While camping setups in public areas are similar to those at organized campgrounds, you would have to bring a larger supply of water.

You can carry water bottles in a cargo net, a tank box, or luggage bags. Keep in mind that carrying your own water supply will add considerable weight to your motorcycle. If you want to avoid traveling long distances with heavy cargo, choose a location with a nearby waterfall, river, or stream and carry a filtration system with you.

Some motorcyclists prefer a minimal camping setup because it is easier to carry and manage during a camping trip. The preferred camping setup for a minimal camping setup is a bivy sack.

Lightweight and compact, bivy sacks are the best option for summer camping trips. However, if you are traveling in winter, the bivy sack won’t provide any protection from the hard cold ground.

When buying a bivy sack, look for the following features:

• Waterproof
• Lightweight
• Weather-Resistant
• Breathable
• Ventilation
• Comfort  

Listed below are the best bivouac or bivy sacks available on the market:

• Outdoor Research Helium Bivy
• MSR Pro Bivy
• Sierra Designs Backcountry Bivy 
• Rab Alpine BV
• Black Diamond Twilight Bivy

A hammock is more comfortable and cozy than a bivy sack because it offers a higher vantage point, allowing you to sleep off the hard ground.

Lightweight, small, and easy to carry, a hammock is the next best option if you prefer a minimal motorcycle camping setup. However, a hammock would only be practical if you find them comfortable, can sleep in them, and are camping in a forest. The trees must be in close proximity to each other to secure the ends of your hammock.

A hammock is a multi-purpose piece of equipment that functions as a shelter and a sleeping setup. To better protect yourself from bad weather, you can buy an enclosed hammock tent. 

When buying a hammock or a hammock tent, look for the following features:

• Comfort
• Fabric Durability
• Lightweight

The best hammocks or hammock tents for motorcycle camping available on the market include the following:

• Lawson Blue Ridge Hammock (Best for Winter)
• WarBonnet Outdoors Ridgerunner Hammock
• Tentsile Stingray Tree Tent
• Hennessy  Hammock
• Clark Jungle Hammock

Compared to bivouac sacks and open hammocks, tents are more spacious and comfortable, providing maximum protection from bad weather. If you are going on a motorcycle camping trip in a colder region, it is best to get a tent.

Choosing between an enclosed hammock tent and a traditional tent can be difficult. Most hammock tents have limited weight capacity, with the larger ones being more expensive. If you are not sure if a hammock can support your weight, it is better to buy a tent. However, motorcyclists usually avoid tents because they take up more space than bivy sacks and enclosed hammocks.

When buying a tent for your motorcycle camping trip, look for the following features:

• Capacity
• Comfort
• Ease of Setup
• Durability
• Waterproof
• Wind Protection
• Breathability

Here are the best tents on the market that you can pack without taking much space on your motorcycle:

If you are carrying a bivy sack or a tent, you need to carry a sleeping mat and a pillow to ensure a cozy, compact, and lightweight sleeping setup.

The best sleeping pads are ones that are affordable, provide maximum comfort, and fit in small storage spaces. When buying a sleeping pad, check for its R-value. Greater R-value means the pad has greater heat flow resistance, ensuring maximum insulation and protection against the cold.

The best sleeping pads available on the market include:

• Therm-a-Rest Evo- Lite Sleeping Pad
• Therm-a-Rent NeoAir X-Lite
• Klymit Static V2 Sleeping Pad
• Nemo Astro Lite 20 R Sleeping Pad

A pillow provides a comfortable place to rest your head and ensures a good night’s sleep after a long day of riding. While riders who prefer a minimal setup will use a spare jacket or a bag as a pillow, It is best to invest in a proper pillow for your camping trips.

The best pillows for a motorcycle camping trip include the following:

• Therm-a-Rest Compressible Pillow
• Sea to Summit Aero Pillow
• Trekology ultralight Inflatable Pillow

Perfecting your cooking setup requires a lot of trial and error. The biggest obstacle is low storage/weight capacity. Your cooking setup should be lightweight and compact. Make sure your stove has multi-fuel combustion ability, allowing you to use gasoline from your motorcycle to fuel the stove and cook your food.

The most popular stove systems for motorcycle camping trips are:

• Jet Boil Stove System 
• MSR Whisperlite
• GSI Pinnacle Four Seasons

Most campers can carry up to 5 L of water on their motorcycles, but this can result in unwanted extra weight. If you are traveling to a place where there are natural sources of freshwater, it is ideal to carry a water filter instead.

Here are the best travel-friendly and lightweight water filtration systems to complete your motorcycle camping setup:

• Sawyer Squeeze
• Platypus Gravity Works
• Steripen Ultra
• MSR Guardian
• Aquamira Purification Drops

Your motorcycle camping setup will depend on the camping location, the motorcycle you are riding, and the available storage capacity. However, it is essential to carry camping equipment that provides shelter, a comfortable sleeping space, and weather protection and can help you cook food. Choose lightweight items that can easily fit onto your motorcycle’s limited storage space. The more locations and climates you visit, the more you will be able to experiment with your camping setup.