Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Tank bag inventory

My BMW K1200GT is going to Grass Roots BMW Motorcycles in Cape Girardeau, Mo., tomorrow for a new fuel pump and periodic service.

So I’m stripping all of the extraneous accessories from the bike this morning to make the bike easier to load on a trailer.

And this gave me an opportunity to do an inventory of the stuff in my Marsee tank bag.

Here’s a list of the stuff I carry in the main compartment and lid pockets:

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From left to right, top to bottom: BMW Gore-Tex rain gloves, BMW vented summer gloves, sidestand foot plate, the bag itself with insurance card and pens, custom solid earplugs, in-ear stereo monitors, BMW tire plugging kit, DeWalt bifocal sunglasses, National Park Passport, special wrench for changing MotoLight bulbs, Nikon binoculars, LED headlamp, BMW rally pocket knife, LED flashlight, MotoLight replacement bulb and 2 o-rings, mosquito repellant disc, spare bolt for saddlebag mount, BMW MOA Anonymous book, BMW plug-to-automotive plug connector, owners manual, service manual, envelope for GPS sunshade, postcards and stamps. From the forward pouch: cotton helmet skullcap (that I never use), BMW road service manual, tank bag rain cover, 3 packs of matches from Nepenthe in Big Sur, BMW buff, registration certificate, instructions for my tent.

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And then there’s the aft pouch: a second tire plugging kit, cleaner for glasses and helmet visors, microfiber cleaning cloth (dirty), tire gauge, 2 Garmin GPS screwdrivers, BMW power plug, screws for GPS mount, solar powered calculator, three screws of unknown origin or purpose, stereo extension cord with right-angle connector and volume control, fuse puller, fuses, two valve caps and a pair of foam earplugs.

Not pictured are my windstopper balaclava and glove liners which are in the saddlebag of the K75S, but normally live in the forward pouch.

In emptying the bag I also found most of the gasoline and motel receipts from last summer’s trip.

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