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Tips for mototravel

On the Internet, you can find a huge number of tips for going on a long motorcycle trip. Some of them are really useful, for example: https://customoto.com/28-sovetov-motoputeshestvenniku
And now here I will try to give some recommendations based on MY OWN experience.
When you go on a trip, distribute the luggage so that it will be convenient to use it. To do this, I drew a scheme, in which I showed the contents of the trunks and bags. I hung it on the wall in my garage and put a copy into one trunk of my motorbike. The general tips are the following:

You should have a bag attached to the handlebar or to the tank and put in it some small items that you use often, so they would be easily accessible. These are such things as a flashlight, a knife, a cloth for wiping the visor, wet wipes, a 0.3 litre bottle of water, a pressure gauge, wires for charging the phone from the motorbike or power bank network and paper maps (personally, I rarely use them).

Put tools, spare parts, compressor, spare inner tube, tire repair kit and so on into the right side trunk.

And into the left one you can put everything you need for an overnight stay: a tent, a sleeping bag, a self-inflating mattress, a mug burner and a minimum supply of food if necessary.

Central trunk is for a raincoat, shoe covers and copies of the documents. You may also leave the central trunk empty so that you wouldn't have to carry a helmet with you, when you make a stop in populated places to go for a walk, an excursion or have a meal at a restaurant or a café.

And you can organise a bag in the back seat for all the things you take with you to the hotel: pants, socks, trainers, washing accessories, etc.

If possible, do not plan a trip in terms of strict time-management since it is very inconvenient. For example, you may have an unexpected delay on the way (because of a motorbike breakdown, getting sick, bad weather, mudslide, etc.). And if you have to catch up with the "schedule", your journey will turn into a race. Personally, I consider the purpose of the trip is not reaching some point on the map to stick another sticker on your trunk, but speaking with people, enjoying nature, visiting interesting places and taking nice photos. And it is very sad, when you get to some amazing and unique place, for example, the ancient town Khiva in Uzbekistan but have no time to see it… That's why I never book hotels in advance and always take a few days' food supply.

MAKE SURE you have a spare ignition key with you! I fixed mine on the motorbike battery and closed it with a side plastic cover. If you have only one ignition key and lose it, especially somewhere in the Rybachy peninsula (I can relate…), that will be a serious problem.

Hide a small amount of money (if you go abroad, then in dollars or euros) somewhere under the seat of your motorbike in a waterproof bag. Just in case of emergency…

You should put on a raincoat as soon as you see the dark sky ahead and the first drops of rain on the visor. When you think: "Ah… I'll slip through!", it often turns out to be too late to put it on and you continue your way, soaked to the bones.

When I cross the borders of foreign countries, I immediately try to buy a local SIM-card with 2...4 GB of Internet and redirect to a new phone number from my permanent one. Mostly, I make calls by WhatsApp. The Internet is accessible everywhere now, even in Mongolia.

It's very convenient to output a USB connector onto a handlebar. I also would like to recommend you to buy a small handbag for the handlebar with a transparent plastic window for the phone. This way you can always recharge your gadgets (phone, camera, intercom) while driving. I also brought out the standard car "cigarette lighter" socket and attached it to the motorbike frame. I use it to connect the compressor. The standard socket on a BMW motorbike is not suitable for this.

VERY IMPORTANT! When you plan a long trip in the company of good (and not so) acquaintances, make sure you know these people well. A very bad decision is to go with a big group (5 people or more) of unfamiliar people. There may be a friend who is constantly late and you would always have to wait for him. It takes a long time for someone to pack their things, the other one goes slowly or, vice versa, goes too fast. Someone likes to have lunch or smoke for a long time, someone snores at night and someone is always dissatisfied with everything, etc. I've experienced each more than once, believe me! Sometimes I had to part with companions in the middle of adventure and there weren't very pleasant consequences following. A good option is a group of three people. A better one is to go together with one reliable friend. And the best variant is a single motorbike journey.