Oct 09, 2025

🏕️ How to Pack and Make the Most of Your Nomad Moto Luggage System

By Kurt – Founder, Nomad Moto

When it comes to adventure riding, how you pack your bike can make or break your ride.
You can have the toughest panniers in the world, but if your weight is off-balance or hanging too far back, your bike will feel like it’s fighting you on every corner.

After 15 years and more than 300,000 km off-road, here’s how I pack every Nomad Moto setup — and how you can too.

⚖️ 1️⃣ Keep It Light

Only take what you actually use.
Start with the essentials — tools, tubes, spares, layers, and hydration.
Then halve it. The lighter your load, the easier your ride.

💡 If you haven’t used an item in your last three rides, it probably doesn’t belong in your kit.

🔒 2️⃣ Keep It Tight

Loose straps or shifting gear? That’s how the pendulum effect starts.
Your Nomad Moto soft panniers are designed with compression straps to keep everything cinched down and stable.

Use all tie-points and MOLLE loops properly — the tighter your load, the less sway you’ll feel through corrugations or rocky climbs.

👉 Think compact, solid, centred — not flapping in the wind.

🧭 3️⃣ Keep It Forward

The golden rule: pack above or in front of the axle.
If your luggage sits behind the rear axle, it starts acting like a pendulum, throwing your balance off in corners or rough terrain.

Move weight forward — over the rear seat area if possible.
This keeps your bike planted, especially in sand or loose gravel.

🧳 4️⃣ Smart Load Order

Here’s how I break down a typical Nomad Moto setup 👇

Bottom of panniers: heavier items — tools, tyre levers, spare tubes
Middle layer: medium-weight items like cooking gear or water bladders
Top layer: lighter items — clothes, jacket, first-aid kit
Roll bag / rackless base: tent, sleeping kit, and soft gear

The goal? Keep your centre of gravity low and forward.

🏍️ 5️⃣ Ride Safer, Go Further

When your luggage is packed right, your bike feels balanced, agile, and responsive — exactly how it should.

That’s the Nomad Moto difference: modular, universal, and tested in real Aussie conditions.

So before your next trip, remember:
🔥 Keep it light. Keep it tight. Keep it forward.

Your body (and your subframe) will thank you after a few thousand kays.

💪 Ready to Dial In Your Setup?

Check out the full range of Nomad Moto Luggage Systems — designed in Australia, built for riders who go further.

🏕️ How to Pack and Make the Most of Your Nomad Moto Luggage System