You’ve booked the flights, the route is loaded, and a KTM 790 Adventure is waiting for you in St Francis Bay. Now comes the question every touring rider wrestles with: what actually goes in the bags? Here’s the straight answer — what’s already on the bike, what you need to bring, and what the Eastern Cape will throw at you.
What’s Already on the Bike
Every Outbound Moto 790 comes fitted with a Turkana Madmules 40-litre rackless soft luggage system and a Turkana Duffalo 25-litre duffel — 65 litres in total. Soft luggage is a deliberate choice: it’s lighter than aluminium boxes, it doesn’t break your leg in a spill, and it shrugs off the corrugations that would rattle hard panniers loose.
Also on the bike: a tool kit, puncture repair kit, tyre pump, first aid kit, and a Garmin zūmo XT2 GPS with your full route preloaded. You don’t need to bring tools, spares, or navigation. That’s our job.
Riding Gear: Bring Your Own
Helmet, jacket, riding pants, boots and gloves — these come with you. Gear is personal; a helmet that fits you and boots that are broken in matter more on day five than any amount of luggage space.
A few pointers for the Eastern Cape specifically: bring a jacket with a removable thermal liner and decent venting, because you’ll likely use both in the same week. Proper adventure or off-road boots earn their keep on the gravel — roughly 70% of the riding is dirt. And if you own a second pair of gloves, bring them — not essential, but wet gloves on a cold mountain morning are miserable, and a dry spare is a small luxury that costs no space.
Packing for 65 Litres
Sixty-five litres sounds like a lot until you start filling it. The good news: every night is spent in handpicked accommodation with breakfast included, so you’re not hauling camping kit, cooking gear or food. That changes everything.
For a 7-day tour, think in layers, not outfits: two or three quick-dry base layers, one warm mid-layer (a down jacket packs small and works hard), one set of casual evening clothes, and comfortable shoes for when the boots come off. Some overnight stops can arrange laundry, but don’t build your packing around it — a small bar of hand-washing soap weighs nothing and keeps you in clean base layers all week. Roll, don’t fold, and keep the heavy items low and forward in the Madmules — the bike handles noticeably better for it.
Season by Season
Both routes run year-round, but the Eastern Cape asks different questions in different months.
Summer (November–February): The Karoo sections can hit 40°C in places. Pack a hydration pack or bladder, sunscreen, and a buff for the dust. On the hot days, we recommend early starts — the riding is glorious at 6am and hard work at 2pm.
Winter (June–August): On Cape2Karoo, winter rain can make some of the low-water crossings tricky — nothing dramatic, but worth respecting. On Frontier & Mist, the high-lying country on the southern side of Lesotho can see snow. Thermal layers, a proper winter glove, and that jacket liner stop being optional.
Autumn and spring are, frankly, the sweet spot: mild days, cold clear mornings, and the Karoo light photographers cross oceans for.
The Small Stuff That Matters
- Documents: your passport, motorcycle licence, and an International Driving Permit.
- Power: South Africa uses type M and type N plugs — bring an adapter, plus a power bank for the long days.
- Cash: a little. The padstals (farm stalls) along these routes are an institution — roosterkoek, homemade jams, biltong and local hospitality — and a must-stop experience. Not all of them take cards.
- Earplugs, sunglasses, lip balm — small things, big difference over 1,300 km.
- A sense of humour for the one day the weather does exactly what the forecast said it wouldn’t.
The Bottom Line
Pack light, pack in layers, and trust that the bike, tools, navigation and beds are handled. The 65 litres on the bike is genuinely enough — every rider who’s toured with hard boxes and a top box will tell you the lighter bike is the better bike, especially when the tar ends. If you’re unsure about a specific item, ask us before you fly. We ride these routes ourselves, and there’s no such thing as a silly packing question.