New 20 ounce tumblers available now! Forum donation credit with purchase. https://www.wildguzzi.com/Products/products.htm#Tumbler
REI also sells sleeping bag liners, basically a really light weight zippered bag to go inside your sleeping bag. This gives you several options. On a warm night you just use the liner, when it gets cold the liner becomes another layer of insulation. Best of all, the liner is really small. Waking up at 0200, shivering, is no fun. That extra bit of warmth has saved the day for me a couple times. Oh, and +1 on the hat idea. I carry a fleece cap for sleeping.Peter Y.
HAVE FUN! There is a LOT to like about an 06 Sportster. It's actually going to be pretty darn smooth... maybe smoother than a Buell. It's carbureted and easy to repair. Dealers and parts are ubiquitous. Hard to argue with that choice if you go that way!
And when it comes time to consider a stove, think about whether you really want one or not. I find that packing up and getting breakfast down the road or eating before setting up camp is better than cooking all the time. Also don't have to worry about carrying all kinds of food and stuff with you.
This is true, however, I like having the ability to have hot coffee or hot chocolate in the morning. That for me is worth carrying a stove. You can also heat water for tea or for oatmeal in the morning and that's very easy to make and clean up. Also, hot water for a package of soup at night is quick and easy.
Crusty, I must have missed the bit where you decided the Norge was no good for the job. I'm interested to know why. Was it in another post?
I use a single sized air mattress I purchased for around $29.00. It's probably 6" thick when inflated. Rolls up to the same size as a matress pad I have which is not comfortable at all. Sure I need to bring the battery powered inflater that came with it but it's a small price to pay for true sleeping comfort.
Yes, it is a somewhat sad state of affairs when a 65,000 mile Norge is considered not up to the job but a Sportster is.Though I think the Sportster choice is totally cool.