Motorcycling is a romance of speed, line, technique, and refinement. And like a romance, there are ups and downs. Much of my blog, the Art of Motorcycling, stews in a romance of riding, yet, there was something important I needed to address. I love riding my 2024 Triumph Speed Twin 900, but, at the back of mind, I often think….what if I breakdown? What would I do? How would I get home? As a new rider, I overlooked solving a breakdown on my motorcycle, by focusing my energy on learning, practicing, and surviving my commute days and weekend rides. As far as putting in an effort to acknowledge that my motorcycle can and will, at some point, break down, I just looked at my triple A card and thought, “this will take care of that”. Lately though, I have been putting together plans for a motorcycle trip to Western North Carolina next year. Since August, I have invested in a luggage system, which includes a left side saddlebag, and mount. I visited my local Triumph dealership and spoken to an employee there who has made multiple motorcycle trips to Western North Carolina to learn about setting up a base camp and riding the amazing roads in this area. Research also included watching a few YouTube videos on motorcycle trips, but I knew one thing was missing; an emergency roadside kit. But where would I start? Sure, breaking down in a car sucks too. Yet, most of vehicles I have owned come with equipment to at least get you home or to a location for additional assistance. Heck, I have driven cross-country twice, and always packed an emergency roadside kit. But on a motorcycle, what do you take for a blown tire? What if your gear shift pedal gets bent and you can’t get out of second gear? What do you do? Questions like these and more got me thinking about addressing my need for a motorcycle emergency roadside kit for my Triumph.

The legendary fork bag has had a long and storied tradition in motorcycling. Though you don’t see many fork bags on the road in my area, I knew adding a fork bag to Lucy, my Triumph motorcycle would be the first step in having a resource to save my bacon. From my internet research, the fork bag made complete sense. Just enough space to carry essentials for solving multiple types of issues in the event of an unfortunate occurrence while riding. Attaching the fork bag would continue to keep a lovely retro vibe that my saddlebag does for Lucy. Appearance wise, it didn’t seem that it would create trouble while riding. Now finding a particular fork bag that meet my needs and looked that part, would be fun to find. The most important was not adding a big block of plastic to Lucy. The magic of Lucy is the iconic style this motorbike showcases and slapping on a big bulky piece of plastic was not going to work for me. Searching through various images of fork bags, I kept coming back to a fork bag made by Longride, out of Brussels, Belgium. The fork bag from Longride got my attention because of the overall appeal. A retro style made of robust materials like leather and cotton to really give their fork bag a proper look. Seeing the internet pictures of their fork bag on motorbikes like mine, I knew I had to pull the trigger. I placed my order on a Tuesday and by Friday, Leo, my fork bag arrived at my doorstep. “So what the heck do I put into Leo?”, I thought. Space was limited. I knew what to do. It was time to hit up ChatGPT for support and build my first motorcycle emergency roadside kit.

For me, I can honestly say, I have broken down on the side of road a few times. It is never a fun experience. Yet, I learned a lot. Through surviving the unexpected, I knew a few items would need to be included. But packing a spare tire on my motorcycle was definitely out of the question. To build my first motorcycle emergency roadside kit, I had to address the tires first. Lucky for me, the first item on ChatGPT’s roadside kit list, was a tire plug system. Fortunately, I had experience with a tire plug system when I repaired a hole in my rear tire on my first bike, the Moto Morini. I ended up riding three thousand miles on my first plug, probably not a great idea, but hey, tires ain’t cheap y’all! Finding my tire plug kit, I packed the tools, sealant, and tire ropes in a plastic baggie. Though ChatGPT didn’t recommend my next item on my list, I knew my 30 year-old Leatherman was next. Maybe not the most sexy tool in my tool box, but I wouldn’t be honest if I haven’t had my Leatherman by my side in all types of adventures. Add that to my kit. The third item I selected, and recommended by ChatGPT, was power related. My iPhone is wonderful, until it dies from loss of power. So packing my power brick with a 10 foot lightning cable was a no brainer. In theory, this would allow me to run my lightning cable from my power brick to my iPhone mounted to my handlebars. Thus, I could ride for hours with full bars, without worrying about Google Maps draining my battery life. Finishing off my kit, and with the help of ChatGPT, I added zip ties, electrical tape, rubber bands, nylon cords, a zip lock bag for emergency cash, a pair of scissors, and a microfiber rag. Not included in Leo, but will packed in my saddlebag, is my portable tire inflator, and a headlight I can wear. Expect the unexpected.

Sitting in my room writing this blog post, I feel confident as I prep for my Sunday ride, with Leo attached to my fork, and confidence knowing I am prepared as best I can be. Having no experience using Leo yet, I trust the process. Knowing I have tools to save my bacon makes me happy. Preparation is an essential part of life. Maybe tomorrow I will realize I need to add another component to my kit, or remove one, I don’t know yet. But today, I feel I have made an effort to believe I can make the journey north to Western North Carolina, or at least get to work if I have a flat tire. Addressing this need has been long overdue. But the pieces fell into place this week and seeing Leo attached to Lucy in my mom’s garage, makes me smile with confidence. It is amazing how an idea forms into reality. And as a new rider, evolving into the best motorcyclist I can be, is a must.

Rolf