Good ideas and handy hints

[shrub]

Barocca containers are pretty good too.

Good idea, and they're easier to come by.

[Swoop]

The problem with stashing a small torch in your kit is that they are nothing more than an aluminium tube in which to store dead batteries...
Get a cylume stick and stash that instead. Ready to go when needed and for years to come. Will easily fit into a handlebar end, like Scummy suggested.
They are available for much cheaper than the example in the link, so shop around!

[MadDuck]

If you have a bag that has zips on it......MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ZIPPED IT UP!!!!!

I will forever refer to the Desert Road now as Duckys Desert Dodgem as the contents of my bag now stretch a fair amount of the road.

PS: If anyone finds a pair of glasses give me a shout

[DEVVIL]

If you have a bag that has zips on it......MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ZIPPED IT UP!!!!!

I will forever refer to the Desert Road now as Duckys Desert Dodgem as the contents of my bag now stretch a fair amount of the road.

PS: If anyone finds a pair of glasses give me a shout

Make it Zip

[baffa]

Regarding a torch, most people have cellphones that can use the flash like a torch nowadays, otherwise, carry one on your keyring. I have a little legoman with super bright leds built into his feet, useful when I was discovering how to flick the reserve switch on the side of a busy motorway

[Parlane]

discovering how to flick the reserve switch on the side of a busy motorway

I do it while riding...

[G4L4XY]

dont over take cops,

dont piss into the wind

when in doubt power out

I overtake cops if they're sitting on 100 or just under. Everyone is too scared to pass them but as long as you don't go over the tolerance you should be fine. I've done it to marked and unmarked cars and never been stopped, and i'm on a 250!!

[DrunkenMistake]

I recently managed to lose my license plate and tail tidy in my swing arm on a trip I done, thinking I had somehow bottomed the wheel on the plastic under tray I ignored it only to find 50km down the road my plate was mashed into the swing arm, I had no zip ties on me,
Im pretty sure its been said,
But Emphasis on the Zip ties
I also keep a length of cord under my seat its about a meter and a half long, just encase, I used it for the plate this time around but ya never know when you might need to tie something down

[spinergy]

Spare headlight bulb

[G4L4XY]

They are bloody useful things and you can still get them from some pharmacies and photographic shops. I have a stockpile of a dozen or so and have one in my jacket pocket with ear plugs as well as my emergency one under the seat.

Once this thread has run its course I'm going to compile all the hints in a list, but a couple more from me:

Don't ride tired. It's easy to want to press on and finish the trip, but that's when your concentration lapses and I have fallen asleep riding - bloody scary. I have learned that if I get tired to the point where I'm not concentrating I find a friendly cafe and pull over for a coffee and maybe a low GI muesli bar - not sugar because sugar makes you peak and crash so 50 ks down the road you're worse off than before. I have also been known to pull over in a rest area for 10 minutes kip.

On a long ride hydrate and snack regularly, especially if it's hot. You still sweat and if all you're drinking is coffee and/or beer you'll get dehydrated, so I stick a bottle of water in my pack with a couple of low GI muesli bars. When I gas up I have a snack and a drink and it keeps me fresh and enjoying the ride for longer.

Treat unfamiliar bikes with caution. Other people's bikes have different brakes, their tyre pressures may be out, the power is different, the steering geometry is different etc, and in an emergency you react instinctively so you may find yourself wondering why the hell the bike isn't doing what it normally does - just before you bin it.

I found myself falling asleep on the bike during one ride, I had to pull over for a sleep, it was an old gas station that was abandoned, once I had a sleep I was fine

[GrayWolf]

Depending on the amount of spaghetti inside, the headlamp casing can be a useful place to stash spare key, money and if lucky spare bulb.

[shrub]

I found myself falling asleep on the bike during one ride, I had to pull over for a sleep, it was an old gas station that was abandoned, once I had a sleep I was fine

I spent the night in a school bus shelter once. It was about 2.00 am and I was over 100 km from my destination and was so fucked i could barely concentrate. I woke just before dawn and had a great ride for the rest of the way.

[The Pastor]

I overtake cops if they're sitting on 100 or just under. Everyone is too scared to pass them but as long as you don't go over the tolerance you should be fine. I've done it to marked and unmarked cars and never been stopped, and i'm on a 250!!

its way harder for a cop to pull you over if they are infront of you.....

[pzkpfw]

Before putting your cordura wet weather pants on, tuck your draggin' jeans into your socks.

(It's a bugger trying to get pulled-up jeans back down.)

[Tigadee]

I overtake cops if they're sitting on 100 or just under.

I've done it to marked and unmarked cars and never been stopped, and i'm on a 250!!

THAT'S why you didn't get pulled over...