The author and her Kawasaki Ninja 400 with Kriega bags on a motorcycle tour.

When you travel by motorcycle, people like to tell you about how they could never tour or camp on a bike. From non-motorcyclists, I typically hear that their fears or lack of confidence would prevent them from ever touring. 

The Ninja can hold more luggage than many riders expect, proving you don?t need a touring bike to tour.

For motorcyclists, those worries don?t come up as often ? motorcycle riding tends to require (and breed) a sense of fearlessness and confidence in and of itself. What I hear from fellow motorcyclists is that their equipment holds them back from touring or moto camping. In other words, because they don?t have the ?right? bike!  
A shorter trip requires less gear, and it helps if you stay in a hotel instead of camping.

Unlike their adventure brethren with high-towering suspensions and readily available luggage racks or touring motorcycles with plenty of space and smooth highway capability, sportbikes and other types of motorcycles are unfit for motorcycle travel ? or so it may seem.  

With the right luggage, even a Kawasaki Ninja 400 can serve as a grocery getter.

As someone who got her touring start on a Kawasaki Ninja 400, I can attest that it is not only possible to travel longer distances on a small-displacement sportbike but even enjoyable. The biggest issue is luggage space, and there are solutions.  

Tankbags and ev...