Preparations: New Adventure, New Luggage

Preparations are finally underway for our new Japanese moto adventure, this time taking us from Kobe down through Shikoku to Kyushu and back! We're flying out in under a month and I literally can't wait. Having found a good bike hire in the Osaka region, we have secured ourselves Yamaha MT-09 Tracers for the duration. My bike will be delivered without panniers, and that means bringing my own roll-bag luggage.

Yamaha MT09 Tracer - my ride for our new 13 day trek.

Having never gone this luggage route, it was time to invest in two Enduristan Tornado bags, one Large (51L) and one small (30L). Using rokstraps through perfectly positioned cargo loops, the small bag sits nicely on the top of the large allowing for maximum flexibility. I really like these bags because they are top loading, 100% waterproof and stylishly black with a demonic red interior. What more could you ask for?

Enduristan Tornado rollbags. Great choice and relatively inexpensive.

The large bag is just wide enough to allow me to pack my 13" laptop (a very important inclusion) and given my riding suit will be on my back for the duration, I'm hoping that the large bag will be enough to pack everything I need to take on the bike. The small bag will give me a little insurance for dirties or wets, and allow for some expansion in the likely event of purchases on the road.

I grabbed some cheap dividers the other day from Aldi and used these for a test pack. The results were extremely satisfying.

All items compartmentalised ready for packing

Everything except for my camera equipment and rain suit fitted nicely into the 51L bag. Pretty impressive. The camera equipment and rain gear will be going in the top box that I'm assured will come with the bike.

Large 51L Tornado is fillled, with camera+wet suit and the additional small 30L Tornado.

So that's the pack planning taken care of! Everything else is pretty well in place. We've ordered ETC cards (Japanese toll cards), Pocket Wifi devices, International drivers licenses, and the route and accommodation planing is almost finalised. All that is left to do is jump on that Qantas flight to Kansai on the 12th of May. Woot!