As you prepare to head out for a week on the road, you will probably discover very quickly that a pair of saddlebags isn’t going to be enough, especially if you are traveling with a passenger. The average saddlebag will absorb a change of underwear and socks, a few shirts, a pair or maybe two of clean jeans, toiletries, medications, a sweatshirt for cold mornings, a heavier set of gloves for the same, a compact rainsuit and a few maps.

A few hundred other things might fit your definition of necessities: cell phone, camping gear, first-aid kit, electric clothing, a change of shoes, sunglasses, cap, hair dryer, additional over-clothes, camera, other tools and supplies for bike maintenance and repair, personal organizer, water bottles, snacks, other apparel to resist weather changes (rain covers for you or luggage, long underwear, neck covers), travel guides—the list may seem endless.

A wise motorcyclist selects his or her significant other by his or her ability to pack lightly, but even that quality won’t be enough to solve the packing dilemma if you are camping out for 10 days. And there is no way a set of golf clubs is going to slip gracefully into your luggage.

You will start looking around the bike for places to strap stuff on. I can tell you there are quite a few. I once made a three-week camping trip with a girlfriend during the winter on a smallish bike with no saddlebags or luggage rack. One sleeping bag went in front of the instruments. The other, along with most our clothes, got strapped on the seat rail behind her. The heavy stuff went on the gas tank, though I didn’t have an actual tank bag (which were virtually unheard of in those days). Of course, I was thinner then, and we had to wash clothes frequently…