How We Pack Our BMW GSA for Two-Up Camping Adventures

Packing for a solo trip is one thing. Packing for two people, full camping kit, camera gear and a few creature comforts — that’s a different game altogether.

When we roll out fully loaded on the BMW GSA, everything has a place, a purpose and a weight limit. Two-up riding means balance matters. Weight distribution matters. And knowing exactly where that coffee is at 7am in the bush definitely matters.

In this post, I’ll walk you through exactly how we pack our BMW GSA for two-up camping adventures.

You’ll see:

• The bike fully loaded and ready to roll

• How we lay everything out before packing

• Each bag we use

• What goes inside every pannier and bag

• The weight of everything we carry

  
  

This is our practical, real-world system that works for us riding two-up across WA backroads, gravel and bush tracks.

Over time we’ve refined what stays, what goes, and what earns its weight on the bike. If you’re planning your own two-up camping setup — especially on a big adventure bike — this should give you an idea of what it actually looks like when it’s fully loaded and heading bush.

Let’s start with the full setup shot and then break it down bag by bag. Yes, the bags have the dust on them from this weekend's adventure, the red dirt gets into everything.

Shannon Dam Fully Loaded

Top view

Layout of Luggage

Lone Rider Crash Bar Bags

Starting at the front, the addition of these 2 crash bar bags has given us accessible storage for our wet weather gear & spare gloves. Regan wears the Rev'It! Sand 5 adventure jacket & pants, the wet weathers can be worn as inners or outer wear. Leigh has the Rev'It! Sand 4 jacket & pants which only have inner wet weather liners so has recently added the Cyclone 2 H2O jacket & Acid 4 H2O pants.  Weight - 1.2 kg per bag

We also have 2 small wind deflector bags, perfect for keeping a couple of snacks for when we stop on the road.

Giant Loop Diablo Tank Bag

We are impressed at how much can fit into this tank bag. Having the ability to store extra batteries & charge while on the road, along with the drone, mics & cables while still having room for a wallet & a few essentials - Weight 3.3kg

Kriega Bottle Holders

These 4 insulated bottles give us 2.5l of water. They attach to either the front or rear of the Kriega panniers as part of the OS system. They don't impact Leigh's footing on the pillion pegs, particularly with the upgrade we made to these for better grip off-road. The Yeti flasks will keep ice cold for a full day which is perfect in the WA summer. Weight 2.5kg per bag

Kriega OS-32 Soft Pannier - Leigh

Included in Leigh's pannier is our compact camping table from Kilos Gear, it is slim & fits perfectly on the back edge of the bag. We use packing cells for clothing, toiletries & shoes. The shoe bag also holds a battery bank for overnight charging, a bluetooth speaker & a small bag with cables. We also include a first aid kit. The Wild Touring beach towels are quick dry & compact which is ideal for taking up less space. Weight - 8.6kg

Kriega OS-32 Soft Pannier - Regan

Regan has a Kreiga tool roll in his pannier, this has a full set of tools that would allow for any maintenance needed on the road. We also carry either an iPad or 13' MacBook which allows us to transfer footage if needed while on the road.

Kriega OS-12 Adventure Pack - Camp Kitchen

The 2 Kriega OS-12 bags fit to the back of the panniers. On the left we have a jetboil along with a small burner & lightweight pot from Aldi. We have a Sea to Summit XL set, this nests into the Sea to Summit frypan. Leigh has a small selection of seasonings & oil. This bag also fits 2 cutlery sets, our Yeti mugs & tongs and spatula for cooking. Weight 4.1kg

The food bag fits 2 insulated lunch bags, this allows us to pack cool food into them or add something frozen which defrosts through the day ready for dinner. We travel with a small selection of non-perishable items & stop in the last town of the day to get any fresh food for dinner & plan lunch for the next day. This is also the opportunity to get a couple of cool drinks for the evening camp. Weight 1.9kg (this varies)

For coffee while camping, Regan has cappuccino sticks for a white coffee without needing to carry milk, while Leigh has been testing & refining which coffee bags are preferred for a black coffee. Pour over coffee bags are a favourite, particularly a couple of Japanese brands when we can purchase them.

Pannier Rack Tool Box

We mounted a tool box to the inside of the left pannier rack. This fits our portable air pump & puncture repair kit, easy to access without unpacking everything should we need to inflate our tyres or deal with a bigger issue. Weight 1.5kg

Lone Rider Overlander 48l - Camping Set up

Here is everything we need to camp overnight, whether at a caravan park or free camping in a more remote location.

The tent is a Marmot Limelight 3p hiking tent, we roll our 2 Kilos Gear Air Sleeping pads inside this & have it all in a single storage bag.

We have Mountain Designs hiking sleeping bags with a comfort rating 4º, along with a sea to summit thermal liner that adds another 4º for the cooler nights.

We have 2 lightweight Kilos Gear camp chairs & a hexagonal groundsheet which gives ground cover outside the door of the tent to store our boots under the fly overnight.

We carry a lightweight hammer, spare Rok Straps (can never have too many) & a string of LED camp lights.

The Flextail pump inflates the air mattresses quickly & doubles as a light in the tent.

The Overlander includes a beaver tail with an inside clear pocket, this is great for stashing gloves while flying the drone, or storing a layer if the day warms up.

Attached to the outside of the bag under the beaver tail, we keep a Go Bag, this contains insect repellant, rubbish bags, wet wipes & essentials for being in the bush.

For convenience , with a couple of carabiner clips we have our thongs (jandals/flip flops) available for a quick change out of the riding boots.

Weight - 15.1kg

Somewhere in the tall timbers - Western Australia

All up, it comes in at 52.1kg of gear strapped to the bike — not including us. On paper that’s just weight. On the road, it’s 52.1kg of freedom. It’s everything we need to turn off the highway, take the gravel option, roll into a quiet bush camp and stay the night. No bookings, no strict plans, no limits on the roads we can travel. Once it’s packed and balanced, that weight doesn’t feel like a burden — it feels like capability. And that’s what two-up adventure riding is about for us.