First overnight camping trip with the Silver Wing

I'm finally taking my Silverwing on a trip! In the past few weeks I've been on ebay getting all my camping gear. Now that I've got it all together its time to hit the road! I'm not going very far. Just from my house in Charleston SC down to Fernandina beach Florida. I'll be taking back roads and stopping to grab geocaches on the way. This little trip will bring me through Beaufort Sc, Savannah, Jekyll island, and finally to Fort rClinch state park. Hopefully I'll have some good pics to post when I get back.

"Not very far" is a relative notion: I estimate your trip will be about 300 Miles. Than is 1.5x longer than my country is :-)
Have a safe journey and enjoy the Florida sun!

Ended up being 445 miles. I'll post some pics one I go through them all.

Made it back on one piece. Here are some pics.

Great pictures. I am jealous. My longest one day trip, so far, is 247 miles.

Nice pics. Thanks for letting us tag along.

Thanks for sharing these beautiful pictures with us.
Those waffles have made me hungry...

Nice pictures! Having took a trip on my Wing this summer alone; you know I kind of enjoyed it!!! Memories I treasure and am sure you will too!

Where are the pictures.

Excellent pictures, hopefully the first of many camping trips for you.

Isn't it surprising just how much you can pack in / on a silverwing. I fitted Givi E21 panniers on mine, just a bit more waterproof and thief proof.

For anyone carrying tent etc on the pillion seat have a look at this item. Makes stuff a lot more secure.
http://pacsafe.com/pacsafe-55l-bag-protector

Cheers,

Great pictures! Did you run into any weather?

@Moosedaisy:

how did you transport your (D7000) camera on the SWing? Can't see any dedicated (cam) bag on the pics.

When I go riding, I use the camera of my mobile phone, or a stone-aged (2006) digital camera, 'cause I don't want to damage my $$$ Nikon.

DuggleBogey wrote:

Great pictures! Did you run into any weather?

I rode through a few rain storms but was able to keep moving and with the laminar lip and ears installed stayed dry.

rodenbach wrote:

@Moosedaisy:

how did you transport your (D7000) camera on the SWing? Can't see any dedicated (cam) bag on the pics.

When I go riding, I use the camera of my mobile phone, or a stone-aged (2006) digital camera, 'cause I don't want to damage my $$$ Nikon.

If you look in the pic with all my gear you'll see a yellow box. That's a pelican case. It keeps my gear safe and is waterproof.

johnd wrote:

Where are the pictures.

Above. You may have a problem with your computer if you can't see them as everyone else seams to see them.

You must have had a great time.Those are some awesome pics..

tarmacburner2 wrote:

For anyone carrying tent etc on the pillion seat have a look at this item. Makes stuff a lot more secure.
http://pacsafe.com/pacsafe-55l-bag-protector

I've used a Pacsafe 55l bag protector for the last couple of years to secure an Ortlieb bag or similar to the passenger seat. Once the bag is inside the Pacsafe net, I cinch up the cable and padlock it to one grab rail. Using the helmet holder cable I kept from my 650 Burgman, I thread it through the Pacsafe net and then padlock it to the opposite side grab rail.

The extra padlock and helmet cable easily fit into the Pacsafe storage sleeve so everything is in one place.

Awesome trip! Thanks for sharing! Is there anything you did not take this trip that needs to be on the list for your next? Kinda help us that have never scooter and camp. Thanks

Next time I'll leave the tent at home and just bring my hammock camping gear. I also need to do the buttrest to backrest conversion. I leaned on the gear I had strapped to the seat and that didn't work well. I also need to install a power point on the dashboard. I've got one under the seat for powering my air compressor but it was inaccessible most of the time. I also need to install a gps mount. I ate all my meals out which can get expensive. Next time I'll bring a backpacking stove and some food. I think that's it.. Now I just gotta plan the next trip!

In case you didn't realize it, your Wing probably has a 12 volt knock-out inside the left dash cover; mine did. Had the dealer install the outlet at purchase but am sure you could install one your self... Good luck.

GHM-PM wrote:

In case you didn't realize it, your Wing probably has a 12 volt knock-out inside the left dash cover; mine did. Had the dealer install the outlet at purchase but am sure you could install one your self... Good luck.

I did see that nock out. I'm just not sure how I'd be bale to charge my gps while using it. It seems the door would close to tight to allow a cable to stick through.

moosedaisy wrote:

GHM-PM wrote:

In case you didn't realize it, your Wing probably has a 12 volt knock-out inside the left dash cover; mine did. Had the dealer install the outlet at purchase but am sure you could install one your self... Good luck.

I did see that nock out. I'm just not sure how I'd be bale to charge my gps while using it. It seems the door would close to tight to allow a cable to stick through.

I realize what you mean. I charge my phone mostly and I have a magnet inside my phone attachs to and then just plug charger in and close door. I can't talk on it while driving anyhow... For a GPS; for charging you would be OK but if you are powering your unit while using it, perhaps you could just close the dash door w/o latching? Or perhaps a small cut-out? Anyway, Good luck!!!

My 12 volt.

Here is my 12 volt socket.

GHM-PM wrote:

moosedaisy wrote:

GHM-PM wrote:

In case you didn't realize it, your Wing probably has a 12 volt knock-out inside the left dash cover; mine did. Had the dealer install the outlet at purchase but am sure you could install one your self... Good luck.

I did see that nock out. I'm just not sure how I'd be bale to charge my gps while using it. It seems the door would close to tight to allow a cable to stick through.

I realize what you mean. I charge my phone mostly and I have a magnet inside my phone attachs to and then just plug charger in and close door. I can't talk on it while driving anyhow... For a GPS; for charging you would be OK but if you are powering your unit while using it, perhaps you could just close the dash door w/o latching? Or perhaps a small cut-out? Anyway, Good luck!!!

My phone is my gps. So I like to have it plugged in when using it as a gps. It kills the battery very fast. The knockout is a good place to charge things while you don't need them. I'll figure it out. I'm sure if I do a search I'll ding some info.

I sure do like the Pictures, I have the old house and your SWing in the woods as my background on the computer.

moosedaisy wrote:

GHM-PM wrote:

In case you didn't realize it, your Wing probably has a 12 volt knock-out inside the left dash cover; mine did. Had the dealer install the outlet at purchase but am sure you could install one your self... Good luck.

I did see that nock out. I'm just not sure how I'd be bale to charge my gps while using it. It seems the door would close to tight to allow a cable to stick through.

I do charge my phone using a USB converter plugged into the cig. lighter plug on my '03 and have no problem closing/locking the door but the trick is to let the cable come out about 1/2 way down so the door can flex/bend a little.

If you'd rather not do that, one other option is to get a solar charger from Harbor Freight... :-) I don't use mine while riding yet but I am considering a way to mount one to my dash so I can take it off during wet weather. I may just make a clip for it since the charger has a belt clip. The trick then will be to make sure I don't accidentally leave it behind. Since my phone (with GPS) has audio instuctions thru Bluetooth, and I can listen to it thru my Chatterbox, I find it's often more secure to just leave the phone in the glove box or on my belt.

Great pics and trip log

The SWing really does make a great solo touring machine. I see that you camped...I think I need to look into that next year when I go back to the Pacific Northwest...a lot cheaper...you only have to rent a hotel room once every 2-3 days that way.

Would be interested to know which tent and sleeping bag you used, how much they weighed and how you packed them...

I think one could cut a hole in the side of the left side glove box big enough to pass a charge cord's small end through and run the cord up through the space under the handlebar cover to the GPS. A tie wrap could keep the end of the cord in place so it didn't fall back down. The hole in the side of the box could be cut to a size that a rubber plug could fill. That way you could plug your GPS in an outlet in the box and still keep the lid more or less rainproof. I may do that at a later date so power my iP4 so as to use the TomTom app GPS in the phone. By plugging a siamese 12V socket adapter into the socket in the box one could power something while charging something else in the box. There are a lot of Bluetooth helmets on the market too which might be worth looking into when the need for a new helmet comes up.

BTW- moosedaisy, what size top box to you have? It looks a lot larger than the 37 liter one I have. Also do you carry food and cooking gear?