8 Items Florian Can’t Ride a Shamrock Tour® Without

RoadRUNNER Shamrock Tours® are four-day trips out of one base location that are easy to tackle for both veterans and beginners. For such multi-day trips, it’s given that you should pack some pieces of gear, like a rain suit and spare clothes.

That said, there are plenty of less obvious things that may prove incredibly useful on the tour. RoadRUNNER editor-in-chief Florian Neuhauser has run plenty of Shamrock Tours and learned first-hand just how vital having such gear is.

Here are seven items Florian makes sure to always have on his bike when heading out on a Shamrock Tour—or any other long ride.

Ram X-Grip Mount

Unless your motorcycle has onboard navigation, you’ll need a good, sturdy mount to hold your chosen navigator. During his travels, Florian relies on a Ram X-Grip mount to secure his phone or Garmin GPS device to his handlebar.

The spring-loaded X-shaped holder arms provide a solid grip on devices of various sizes, meaning you can likely use the same mount even if you buy a new phone. Ram offers multiple mounting options for the holder, from handlebar U-bolts to fork stem inserts and simple clamps.

For additional security, you can get tether bases and vibration dampeners for the mount to ensure your phone or GPS navigator stays where it’s supposed to.

CruzTools Travel Tool Kit

Tightening loose screws, adjusting suspension preload, reattaching a muffler that decided to fall off… Having a full, travel-sized tool kit aboard your bike will save you from many a disaster.

For his travels, Florian relies on CruzTools tool rolls. Each kit includes tailor-made tools for various motorcycle brands to ensure you can get your bike from the side of the road back to your garage.

In a typical CruzTools kit, you’ll find a motorcycle-specific wrench set, a ratchet with sockets, a multi-head screwdriver wrench, pliers, a tire gauge, zip ties, and more. It’s a mini toolbox that travels easily with you on your bike.

Leatherman Multitool

In addition to your tool roll, a strong multitool is an invaluable moto traveling companion. After all, you can plug a punctured tire if you can’t even pull out the offending sharp object.

The Leatherman brand is often synonymous with multitools for a reason. The tools, with a variety of foldable heads in addition to the pliers, are strong enough to wrangle a construction nail out of tire rubber without breaking.

Paper Map

Wherever you ride, you should always pack a paper map of the area to take with you. It might be old-fashioned, but it can be a real lifesaver if your high-tech navigator runs out of battery, breaks, or gets stolen.

Without a map, you can make sure you’ll find your way home (or at least to the nearest town where you can call for help). Your phone or GPS device might be more convenient, but sometimes the good old-fashioned paper map works the best.

Fuel Siphon

Even the most carefully laid out travel plan can fail and you may find yourself running out of go-juice. With a fuel siphon in your panniers, you can save the situation with the help of your riding partner or a generous passing motorist.

Just a length of plastic tubing can work as a siphon, but you may want to consider investing in a proper unit with a hand pump and valves. With a pump, you won’t have to worry about accidentally taking a sip from the donor tank.

Tankbag

You might not think you need a tankbag—until you do a ride with one. A good tankbag adds that one extra bit of storage space and keeps your most important items easily accessible.

If you spot Florian on the road, he’ll likely have his Nelson Rigg Commuter Lite tankbag attached to his bike. This 8.4-liter bag maintains its shape even when empty and the internal organizer panels keep things where they’re supposed to be.

The bag attaches easily with either straps or strong magnets, depending on your preference and bike. Whichever mounting method you use, you can easily detach the bag at the end of the day’s ride.

Action Camera (and Mount)

At RoadRUNNER, we tend to record every trip we go on. If you’d like to document your moto travels, a handlebar- or helmet-mounted action camera captures things exactly as you see them.

Florian’s go-to solution is a GoPro video camera attached to a Dango Gripper mount. With this combo, he records steady, high-quality videos from his adventures—some of which you can see on the RoadRUNNER YouTube channel.

Tire Pump

An empty tire will end your motorcycle tour just as effectively as a drained fuel tank. A lightweight automatic tire pump lets you top up the tire pressure even on a remote roadside.

Florian has found MotoPumps and Fantik tire inflators to be reliable and fast pumps. Yet, as long as your pump can fill two to three tires up to 40 PSI on one charge, it will serve you well.