Scooter Camping

05^th May 2019

So I set out to answer a simple question: can you go camping on a 125cc scooter?

In-fact yes you can!

Tent in rucksack, bed matt between legs, sleeping bag on luggage-rack, everything else under seat or in left-over space in rucksack. Rucksack's straps are long-enough that it can sit on the passenger seat so it's not hanging on my shoulders while I ride.

My biker jacket is the only jacket I took but it's warm and badass. I don't have room for any spare pair of trousers so I wear riding jeans all the time. Basically all the clothes I packed is a hand-full of underwear, a spare t-shirt, and one pair of shorts.

So I rode 220 miles to Devon and it was fine! Here's my tent pitched:

I stayed here in Hele Valley for 3 nights. The campsite is surrounded by great places to walk.

Fields:

Woods:

Sea:

Rocky beaches:

Cliffs:

For food basically the mini stove and kettle allows to make cups of tea and boiled food like pot-noodle, or those special packs of camping food. And I ate in a cafe one meal per day.

I forgot to take any pictures of my favourite Cafe and I forgot it's name but according to maps it's called "Snacking Kraken".

Look a bunny:

Anyway so what was it like going camping on a 125cc scooter?

Well really it was a great adventure and digital detox. There was nothing to do in the tent so I was out all day walking and exploring. On both days I walked from 8am to 4pm, took a nap in the tent, then went for another walk.

One thing I'll say is: don't do it when it's rainy because you won't have fun at all. If it's forecast to rain cancel your campsite and book hotels. But luckily it barely rained on my trip.

As for how the scooter fared; the suspension preload did need adjusting up a notch because it was riding too low with all the weight. It's top-speed wasn't affected by the extra weight but the acceleration was. However it still accelerated fast-enough for aggressive filtering through the traffic-jams.

Here's packing list:

• small 2-man tent (do not buy a 1-man tent... it's too uncomfortable and you have no room for your stuff)
• small self-inflating bed matt (5cm thick type)
• mummy-type sleeping bag + sleeping bag liner
• self-inflating pillow
• travel towel
• rubber mallet for tent pegs
• minature stove
• minature gas bottle
• minature stove wind-break
• 400ml kettle
• matches + lighter
• cutlery
• camping cups, plates and bowls
• washing-up sponge
• water carrier
• minature lamps for lighting tent x2
• 1st-aid kit including mosquito repellent and tick remover tool
• a rucksack big-enough that I can loosen the straps to rest it on the passenger-seat
• waterproof bags for my sleeping bag, bed matt and rucksack
• bungee luggage net
• minature travel bottles of shower-gel, washing-up liquid, hand-sanitiser, sun-cream, tooth-paste, moisturizer
• sit matt
• torch
• wood to put under scooter's stand to stop it sinking into the mud
• high-capacity battery for charging my phone
• my phone-holder and charger so I can use my phone as a sat-nav on the scooter
• travel-sized amount of tissues and kitchen-paper
• spare carrier bags for keeping things dry
• small bag or rucksack for day-trips
• the stuff I normally take on holiday e.g. clothes, shades