Extra petrol

[skelstar]

Hey there,
Little bit new to this motorcycling lark but was wondering about carrying extra fuel on a bike for long distance trips. I was imagining a small petrol canister (ie red plastic one - yellow lid) strapped to the bike rack at the back of the bike. Is this considered safe/illegal?

[MSTRS]

Only if combined with the use of tearaway tiedowns & a lighter. *for use in case of cage attack*

[MSTRS]

Seriously tho. There are few places in NZ where petrol stations are more that 200k apart so why would you need to carry extra?

[zadok]

I've never found the need to do it. I don't fancy the idea myself. With a fuel miser bike like yours, there would be a fuel stop available when you need, it I'm sure. How are you liking the Hyosung?

[Slingshot]

You probably wouldn't need to, normally bikes get between 200-250Ks on a tank of gas and you should come across gas stations at more frequent intervals than that.
There's probably no harm in keeping a small container of fuel on the bike but you'd need to use it on a regular basis so it didn't go stale.

[vifferman]

In places like Murka and Oz, where you can travel considerable distances between service stations, long-distance riders either fit a larger tank, have their tank modified, or fit a fuel cell (accessory fuel tank) somewhere like on the carrier. It's not really necessary here, as your fuel range means you can probably ride for two hours or more, by which time you should be ready for a rest stop anyway (and if not, it'd still be a good idea to have a break. And maybe a KitKat).

[skelstar]

I've never found the need to do it. I don't fancy the idea myself. With a fuel miser bike like yours, there would be a fuel stop available when you need, it I'm sure. How are you liking the Hyosung?
Yeah, fair comments. I guess Im a little paranoid about running out. Getting about 30km/litre at the moment so I shouldnt be complaining eh?

The Hyosung is great. Im a bit frustrated with running it in and riding on the motorway into a headwind but its all good. Technically the only bike i have ever ridden anyway so hard to judge. I just love it that people think its a 650 as the frame was designed for a 650 motor initially.

[MSTRS]

Yeah, fair comments. I guess Im a little paranoid about running out. Getting about 30km/litre at the moment so I shouldnt be complaining eh?

The Hyosung is great. Im a bit frustrated with running it in and riding on the motorway into a headwind but its all good. Technically the only bike i have ever ridden anyway so hard to judge. I just love it that people think its a 650 as the frame was designed for a 650 motor initially.
30k/l ?? How many litres does it hold? Multiply & there's your range. My 1100 does about 17k/l, hold 18l = 300k approx.

[zadok]

Yeah, fair comments. I guess Im a little paranoid about running out. Getting about 30km/litre at the moment so I shouldnt be complaining eh?
Tip: Reset the trip meter when you fill up. Make sure your fuel tap is in the normal position and flick it on to reserve when the bike begins to starve of fuel. It will give you an idea of the mileage you can expect before a refill. You should never run out then.

[crashe]

My tank is a 9.5 litre.
I get around 200km before I have to hit reserve.

On trips around the countryside I haven't run out of gas.
But I will refuel up if I get to a gas station and I am on say 169km if I have continue on.. I just don't take chances.... if I am not sure where the next gas station is.

So figure out the size of your gas tank capitcity and then work it out.

But all bikes have different size tanks so each bike is different.

[Sniper]

My bike does 400kms to a tank so I dont see why yours shouldnt. I think they can frown opon riding with a fuel canister as in the event you have and accident you could be in trouble with fuel and hot exhaust (My theory anyway)

[Str8 Jacket]

The Hyosung is great. Im a bit frustrated with running it in and riding on the motorway into a headwind but its all good. Technically the only bike i have ever ridden anyway so hard to judge. I just love it that people think its a 650 as the frame was designed for a 650 motor initially.

Can definately relate to that. Still got a coupla hundred k's to go for my first service, so having to keep the revs below is 4500 is a pain in the arse, as atm it sits at 4500 in 5th gear doing just under 80. Ive been a bit naughty tho, letting the revs get up to 5000 to do 100 (down hill only).
My bike does 230k's before I have to flick it to reserve. Maybe less when I start to get the revs up more?!

[Motu]

I'm thinking of carrying fuel on my bike - the DT230 has an 11 litre tank and I'd be lucky to have 200km range....with the roads I ride on gas stops are important and getting out of an area I'm lost in could be marginal.

You can carry fuel in MSR bottles,it's only a litre,but that may be the difference between riding out or a long walk with a bike parked on the side of the road.The MSR bottles are strong and leak proof,approved for fuel of all sorts.I may also get a smaller bottle for my 2 stroke oil.

[Gixxer 4 ever]

What most other people have said. I took and 85 gixxer up the east cape and it only does 200km per tank and it was a bit close. However if you are going to carry fuel and I honestly don't think you need to in NZ then put the said container in a pack on the frame and pull an elastic strap over it. Stops it chaffing a hole. It is my opinion you will never need to carry fuel in NZ once you know how far a tank of gas will go. Reset the trip each fill. My 96 Gixxer will do 220 km then the light comes on. 250 and the light stays on. 280 and I am walking. Mind you on the track in Taupo the light comes on after 80 or 90 km. Don't understand that. :no:

[MSTRS]

Mind you on the track in Taupo the light comes on after 80 or 90 km. Don't understand that. :no:
Your engine is toooooo small........

[skelstar]

I have a 17l tank, and my bike has a fuel gauge (no reserve). Yeah, it has a great range consequently, but my paranoia has a shorter range :).

[MSTRS]

I have a 17l tank, and my bike has a fuel gauge (no reserve). Yeah, it has a great range consequently, but my paranoia has a shorter range :).
500 odd ks & you are worrying??? Sheesh.

[zadok]

I have a 17l tank, and my bike has a fuel gauge (no reserve). Yeah, it has a great range consequently, but my paranoia has a shorter range :).
No reserve. That's unheard of. It isn't a seperate tank if that is what you think. It is all part of the main. There will be a tap for you to change it to 'reserve' for sure.
My guess is you will get about 400km on a tank easily.

[Str8 Jacket]

I have a 17l tank, and my bike has a fuel gauge (no reserve). Yeah, it has a great range consequently, but my paranoia has a shorter range :).

No reserve?!! Are you sure? . . . .

[Motu]

Back in the good old days there were pumps at every small town,the local store had them out front.I rode all the back roads I ride now,but they were even backer back roads then,my bike had a 7 litre tank and I never ran out of gas.

Now the oil companies are plucking the pumps from every small station,all the small back country towns are ghost towns....no Post Office,Telecom,Power Board,Railways - and no pumps! If you travel the main roads you are OK,but if you like to wander in the out of the way places fuel becomes a big issue,that's why adventure bikes have bigger tanks than trail bikes.

[vifferman]

No reserve. That's unheard of. It isn't a seperate tank if that is what you think. It is all part of the main. There will be a tap for you to change it to 'reserve' for sure.
No, it's not unheard of, and there may well be no reserve position.
The "reserve" is, in any case, just a shorter pipe on the intake to the fuel tap, so when the fuel gets to the top of the longer pipe for the "On" or "main" position, the bike splutters, and switching to "Reserve" allows the last few litres (and assorted crap) from the bottom of the tank to be used.
Many bikes nowadays have a tap only for turning supply off when the tank needs to be removed for maintenance, and this tap isn't even accessible except if the tank is lifted.
My last bike had no reserve, no fuel gauge, just a RedLightOfDoom (actually the Reddish LED of Warning and Admonishment). So, I had to use the odometer as a fuel monitor, and the RLOD/RLWA was secondary reminder, which I ignored anyway. This once resulted in me having to push the bike a couple of kms, where due to the remarkably sucky nature of the v-twin engine, it had made negative fuel - the tank took 0.3 litres more than its capacity. :yes:

[Blackbird]

You can actually get small fuel cells for extra range, but I don't know much about them except that they have greater safety features than conventional containers. I've seen them mentioned on the Iron Butt Association website: http://www.ironbutt.com/about/default.cfm . These are the US-based endurance riders.

I'm with the other guys though - after 300 km or so, it's nice to get off the bike for 10 mins and gas up to repair the wear and tear on the body.

Have a go at the Grand Challenge 1000 miles in under 24 hours ride in October. That will teach you a lot about range and what your body will take, haha :ride:

[zadok]

No, it's not unheard of, and there may well be no reserve position.
Well, you live and learn. Must be rare but.

[skelstar]

No reserve?!! Are you sure? . . . .
Pretty sure. I realise its not a separate tank, but Im guessing that if I have a gauge then I dont need a reserve tank. Just like a cage.

[Beemer]

My Beemer doesn't have a reserve tap - it's fuel injected and a light comes on when you are getting low - it has a 15L tank and the light comes on when it gets down to four litres. On the economy run our club has every year it wins hands down, did 31kpl last year and about 28 this year (but my husband was riding it this year...). The Goose also has a 15L tank, with 3.4L in reserve - it did about 24kpl on the economy run, but it isn't fully run in yet so I expect that to get better.

If you have a range of about 450kms on a tank, I wouldn't worry too much - there is bound to be a service station within that distance! I usually fill mine up every time I head home from a ride, that way I know it has got plenty of petrol when I head out and I don't have to stop. I zero the odometer and tend to fill up about every 300kms so I never run out.

[vifferman]

Pretty sure. I realise its not a separate tank, but Im guessing that if I have a gauge then I dont need a reserve tank. Just like a cage.
I think that's the philosophy behind it. With older bikes, there was no fuel gauge, so the bike spluttering as the fuel level reached the top of the main feeder pipe gave you advance warning that your fuel was getting low.
I suspect most of the current bikes that still have fuel taps with a reserve position are models that have been around a long time with only minor upgrades over the years.

[Eurygnomes]

Can you switch from ON to RESERVE while riding? It's happened to me twice now (that I"ve felt the sputtering) and both times I've not known whether to pull over. I coudl check my manual...but that's at home and I'm not (more's the pity) right now.

[vifferman]

Can you switch from ON to RESERVE while riding?
You may actually need to do it while riding, especially if you're on the motorway. Good idea to practice doing it while sitting on the bike, even if it's not going. :yes: Otherwise you may find you switch it to "Off" instead of "RES".
Can be a bit dodgy though (depending on where the tap is) - can look like you're playing with yourself while riding along, especially if the easiest way to reach the tap is between your legs!

The VFR750 had a big knob thingo (technical term) on the lefthand fairing, connected to the tap via two cables (push and pull). Made it easy to see what you were doing.

[Lou Girardin]

There's bit of a gap in fuel stops between Lake Dunstan and Tekapo. Being on reserve for 30 odd k's and no town in sight is a worry.

[Ixion]

Can you switch from ON to RESERVE while riding? It's happened to me twice now (that I"ve felt the sputtering) and both times I've not known whether to pull over. I coudl check my manual...but that's at home and I'm not (more's the pity) right now.

I always switch on the move, always have. Just wait till it splutters, most don't just stop dead suddenly. Reach down and switch over (or turn the other tap on it you have the two tap system - I prefer that one m'self)

It's a pain that bikes have such small tanks. There is no reason why most bikes could not have a 10 gallon tank, especially the ones that have fuel pumps anyway. There are a lot of places in NZ where fuel stops (OPEN fuel stops) are more than 200km apart.Bloody fuel company oligopoly, pulling all the tanks out of the general stores . hate them :mad:

[Wolf]

Can you switch from ON to RESERVE while riding? It's happened to me twice now (that I"ve felt the sputtering) and both times I've not known whether to pull over. I coudl check my manual...but that's at home and I'm not (more's the pity) right now.
Switch while riding all the time - bike starts sputtering I just reach down past my knee, feel the tap through the gloves easy enough, twist it to reserve position and the engine evens out and I start looking for a service station.

A couple of times I've reached down and felt that the tap was already on the reserve position. Accepted practice in that situation is to start recalling all the obscenities you know...

I've found that most bikes I've ridden will do at least 200km at open road speeds on the main tank before hitting reserve - further if you drop 10km/h top speed when you know you're running low on gas. I rode from Wanganui to Palmerston North to Hamilton on bugger all petrol - coasting down hills with the bike in neutral and the engine barely ticking over, top speed 90km/h and never exceeding 50km/h in town - because I only had $10 when I filled up in PN prior to riding (at normal speed) to Wanganui and I knew I had no more gas money so the trip back to PN and then home to Hamilton had to be as economical as possible. Back then, a tank of gas was less than $10 but it still didn't give me a lot of margin for error.

[Oakie]

There's bit of a gap in fuel stops between Lake Dunstan and Tekapo. Being on reserve for 30 odd k's and no town in sight is a worry.

Hmmm, you must have been going too fast to notice Tarras, Omarama (two stations) and Twizel. :devil2:

[unhingedlizard]

Switch while riding all the time - bike starts sputtering I just reach down past my knee, feel the tap through the gloves easy enough, twist it to reserve position and the engine evens out and I start looking for a service station.

A couple of times I've reached down and felt that the tap was already on the reserve position. Accepted practice in that situation is to start recalling all the obscenities you know...



Man, been there. Coasted into a garage once. How lucky can you get.

I wondered if my TDR could get across the desert road once. Only gets 140km to a tank. Thirsty shit. But did a trip in a car and it was only 40odd kms between fuel stations.

[Wolf]

Man, been there. Coasted into a garage once. How lucky can you get.
Try pushing the bike along the road and have some bloke with a trailer stop and take you and the bike to the next service station... only money I had was a $1 - American $1 - note (Sorry Sarge and Waylander, "$1 bill") and the guy at the servo exchanged it for NZ$1 worth of gas (I was not in a position to bargain and he wasn't a money exchange) which those days was fortunately quite a bit.

[Gixxer 4 ever]

Your engine is toooooo small........
So I see you haven't done enough work today. :nono: Mr's gixxer has no complaints about the engine and she cried when I wanted to swap to a bigger one. :love:

[Bonez]

Use to carry a 1 gallon steel jerry can in soft panniers, padded by towels years ago on the cb550 on "extended" back country trips. Also came in handy for those East Cape Sunday rides.

[crashe]

Can you switch from ON to RESERVE while riding? It's happened to me twice now (that I"ve felt the sputtering) and both times I've not known whether to pull over. I coudl check my manual...but that's at home and I'm not (more's the pity) right now.

Yep you can do it while riding... In fact that probably the best way.

Find where the tap is when you sit on the bike and get a feel of where it is.

When the bike starts to splutter etc, then lean over and turn it to RESERVE.

Just remember to turn it back to NORMAL when you refuel up again.

[Wolf]

Just remember to turn it back to NORMAL when you refuel up again.
To avoid that "other scenario" I mentioned above.

After a while it becomes almost second nature to switch back on gassing up.

Almost. Unless you're in a hurry and thinking of a dozen things. If you're lucky you'll remember later before its too late.

If you're lucky.

[SixPackBack]

my dad carries extra petrol on is harley in a big plastic bag

[crashe]

To avoid that "other scenario" I mentioned above.

After a while it becomes almost second nature to switch back on gassing up.

Almost. Unless you're in a hurry and thinking of a dozen things. If you're lucky you'll remember later before its too late.

If you're lucky.


Yep I have to admit that I have forgotten to turn it back to NORMAL.
Twice I have run out of gas for the m/bike and had to push the heavy bike.

And a couple of times I have remembered after a little while of riding....

So it is easy to forget to do it.

Now when I fill up, I double check the tap position, even if I havent had to put it on RESERVE. :rofl: :rofl:

[Wolf]

Now when I fill up, I double check the tap position, even if I havent had to put it on RESERVE. :rofl: :rofl:
I'd be riding to or from work and suddenly come over paranoid, not remembering whether I reset the tap at the last fill so I'd check, groping under the tank at 100km/h convinced I was still on reserve.

Sometimes I'd be right.

[Skyryder]

Don't even think of it. Bin it and sparks come up from the road..............ignition well................like I said don't even think of it.

There's enough shit out on the road with out having to carry it with you.


Skyryder

[Timber020]

Forestry guys use Toucans, they are an aluminium can which is square and is seperated into 2 compartments, one for chainsaw lube and one for Fuel. I use them in my work quite a bit. They carry 2.25 and 1.6 litres. They mount to a packrack pretty well and take a hiding.
www.taylormadenz.com/sl/toucan.htm

[scumdog]

My old sporty had a small tank, use to carry two 2litre Coke bottles full of petrol in a bag, never had problems with that idea but probably not the best eh?

No problem now, bigger tank.

[Wolf]

Get a BMW R80GS or R100GS and get the "Paris-Dakar" tank fitted - 34 litres, from memory. I think that should see you around most of NZ, if not: blame poor planning...

There should be other bike models for which an oversized tank is available. BMWs are not the only bikes used in the Paris-Dakar raid and humongous tanks are the norm - presumeably all the major brands build an adventure bike with a tank that'd bankrupt you to fill (especially at todays prices - Scumdog's coke bottles would bankrupt me at the moment)

[Oscar]

Man, been there. Coasted into a garage once. How lucky can you get.

I wondered if my TDR could get across the desert road once. Only gets 140km to a tank. Thirsty shit. But did a trip in a car and it was only 40odd kms between fuel stations.

I once did a whole tank of gas on my RD400 (3&1/2 - 4 gallons?) in 70 miles (AKLD - Te Rapa). Took me 55 minutes...

[unhingedlizard]

Arnt the worst times when you lean down to check its not on RES, only to find it is, so you turn in to ON and it starts to stutter straight away. Find it helps to reset the trip meter when you fill too. quick visual indicator of how far you've gone.

[Wolf]

Find it helps to reset the trip meter when you fill too. quick visual indicator of how far you've gone.
Only a couple of my bikes had functioning trip meters (if any at all) so I never got into that habit. Those that had working ones I did try a few times to make sure I reset at every fill but that quicklly fell by the wayside and I'd get readings like I'd done in excess of 600km since my "last" fill. No wonder I was running out of gas...

[Eurygnomes]

I always do the tripmeter thing anyway...and have started recognising the 'fill er up' distances. I've not run out of petrol in a car (though it cost me $79 to fill the other day...and it's a sodding sedan, not even a truck, running on 91!!!) yet and I don't want to do so on a bike (no roof/radio!) so I'm figuring it out.

My on/reserve switch is 'straight up or down' but I can't yet distinguish between the two and neither do I feel comfortable leaning over to look (whilst riding on motorway - for instance).

I guess it's like the pre-ride check huh, just something you should check when you put your petrol tank lid back on.

[Wolf]

My on/reserve switch is 'straight up or down' but I can't yet distinguish between the two and neither do I feel comfortable leaning over to look (whilst riding on motorway - for instance).
The positions should be labelled on the switch. Once you sort out which is which, put your gloves on, sit on the bike with your foot on the peg and practise locating the switch and determining what position it's in. You should be able to tell by feel if it's on main or reserve.

Once you have it worked out you should be able to switch modes (or check if it's on main) without taking your eyes off the road.

[vifferman]

Man, been there. Coasted into a garage once.
I did it at least three or four times on my first bike (CB175), as it was quite predictable in that it got a very consistent mileage on every tankful. Only once had to push it, and that was from a few metres from the driveway to the forecourt. Plus when it started to run out, it was so miserly that it would cough, splutter, and fart for quite w while before it actualy conked out. When the FahrtSturm did the same thing, I foolishly thought it could run on alternating cylinders for as long as the CB used to. Wrong!! The distance between telling me it was running low and stopping was a matter of less than a minute, and when it ran out, there was less than no gas - there was a small black hole. :eek:

[phaedrus]

I have a 17l tank, and my bike has a fuel gauge (no reserve). Yeah, it has a great range consequently, but my paranoia has a shorter range :).
how far do you get before your paranoia starts? i've been testing to see the range of mine. the fuel gauge showed empty at about 300km i'm at about 400km now and from what i can guess there's about another 30km in the tank, this is all commuting style riding.

[number33]

Used to cart a steel 2 gallon tin on my mach111 kwaka(15 mpg@90kph) back when Muldoon closed all petrol stations on weekends, imposed carless days, and knocked the the open road limit down to 80 goddamned kph. No way to get from Turangi to Palmy weekends without a tin. Would have been 'The Flame' had I arsed off.

[Pixie]

You may actually need to do it while riding, especially if you're on the motorway. Good idea to practice doing it while sitting on the bike, even if it's not going. :yes: Otherwise you may find you switch it to "Off" instead of "RES".
Can be a bit dodgy though (depending on where the tap is) - can look like you're playing with yourself while riding along, especially if the easiest way to reach the tap is between your legs!

The VFR750 had a big knob thingo (technical term) on the lefthand fairing, connected to the tap via two cables (push and pull). Made it easy to see what you were doing.
:hitcher: Most modern bikes that still have fuel taps don't have an off position.The taps are vacuum operated and close automatically when the engine stops.The positions on the tap are:On;Prime and Reserve.On and Reserve are vacuum operated and Prime is on all the time so you can fill the float bowls after the bike has been drained,without cranking it on the starter for minutes on end.

My latest run out was at the bottom of the Wellsford hill,but a nice young lady let me up-end her lawn mower and drain the two stroke mix into my tank,to get me up the hill.

[Bonez]

:hitcher: Most modern bikes that still have fuel taps don't have an off position.The taps are vacuum operated and close automatically when the engine stops.The positions on the tap are:On;Prime and Reserve.On and Reserve are vacuum operated and Prime is on all the time so you can fill the float bowls after the bike has been drained,without cranking it on the starter for minutes on end.
Just remember to turn the tap back to "On" otherwise you could end up with a sump full of petrol. Trust me.