Quote from: Speeddog on March 03, 2013, 09:32:51 AM

How long a trip are you going on?

Camping every night?

Thanks for all the info guys! The trip is starting in Dixon, IL (about 2 hours straight west of downtown Chicago) then we'll head north west to Galena, IL, then straight up through Wisconsin, making a couple of stops, we'll spend a few days in the UP, then cross at the Mackinac Bridge, and head down the LP of Michigan, arriving back in Chicago for the Mods V Rockers event in June.

The trip will be 7 days, tent camping every night, roughly 1500 miles.

I have a TON of experience camping, just not on the bike. I'm reallllllllly looking forward to combining the two. We partially decided on this route because I've grown up fishing, camping, and snowmobiling all of northern Wisconsin and the UP so I have somewhat of a familiarity of the area. Should be pretty awesome, keeping fingers crossed for good weather.

Wisconsin - Illinois largest state park

Take a look at Hennessy Hammocks - if you have a place to hang a hammock, they are very comfortable, pack small and are super light.

we used an REI half dome 4.  it was perfect for me and the wife and all of our gear.  it was overkill on nice days, but during storms, we were glad all of our gear fit inside with us. its about the largest tent i would recommend.  we ran into one guy during our trip that had the Redverz tent.  he said it was definitely overkill. 

depending how many people are in the group, you can carry different parts of the tent to even out the load.   remember, a 1 man tent fits 1 man and nothing else.  a 2 man tent will fit 1 person and some gear.  4 man tent will fit 2 people and gear or 3 people and little to no gear.  and so forth.

Quote from: Speeddog on March 03, 2013, 09:32:51 AM
I've got a Eureka Zeus 2 EXO.
Small 2-person tent with a vestibule.
Packs to 6" diameter x 15" long, ~ 4.5 lbs.
Interior is 7'5' x 4'10".

Holds me and all my gear.
It does suffer a bit from condensation issues, not horrible but not as dry as I'd like.
Need to let it dry out a bit in the morning before packing.
I used a cheapo paper-fiber/plastic laminate painters tarp for a footprint.
With careful folding, I could pack it in the original sack with the tent.
Probably increased the pack size to 7".

If you haven't bought a sleeping bag yet, do yourself a favor and get a Big Agnes.
They have a pocket on the bottom that the sleeping pad slips into.
Absolute genius.
Wish I had one.
Other manufacturers may have the same feature, haven't searched that.

Indeed, ADVRider will have a ton of info.
Perhaps too much....
Keep in mind there's a large BMW contingent, so packing size may not get so much emphasis.

A member here, eric, has done some epic tours on a Monster, his last was from California to above the arctic circle.
http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=58981.0

How long a trip are you going on?

Camping every night?

I know I am new around here, but camping/hiking gear is one thing I KNOW - the Big Agnes recommendation is on point. I used one combined with an inexpensive REI mattress pad for about 18 months in Afghanistan (was not in the military, just a contractor) and slept like a baby even in sub zero temps. Mine was a sub zero bag so it packed up OK, works better with a compression sack.

When bike camping I try for decent weather.  When it is not horrible out I find these to work great for a short term, small easy to pack solution.  Check out "Bivy Sacks" for some seriously nice options.

Got trees? Hammock. Mine's backpacking ultralite, just over a pound. Rain fly and mosquito net. All the cool kids make their own,
I bought from Hennessy. Good kit. Sets up in minutes. Lie flat.
I'll post a pick shortly.

http://www.macpac.co.nz/microlight.html

1400gm

I've slept in this for a week.

I used to have a Sierra Designs flashlight backpacking 2-person tent.  Used it for years, but it became sticky and SO was claustrophobic in it, so we bought an REI three season two-person tent which is heavy by comparison and probably over engineered for our uses.

Does your Monster have high or low exhaust?  Mine is high, and I use a Hepco Becker zip-expandable rear seat bag with bungee to stack more on top and a tank bag.  Adjusting the shock rebound is worth the hassle.

http://hennessyhammock.com/articles/motorcycling/