Carry extra gas?

[Big_Steve]

My bike can only go about 100 miles before I hit reserve. I'd like to take a small 1~2 gallon can in the trunk, but the thought leaves me uneasy. What are you guys doing if you're heading someplace unknown, and rural? (Meaning gas may be few and far between.............)

 

[ThirdWheel]

Pray!

 

[Big_Steve]

Pray!

LOL, I meant what are you guys doing if your HEADING someplace unknown, and rural?

 

[docweb]

this topic has happened before, and the most common comment is how dangerous it is to carry gas. that being said, riding a bike is dangerous.

i carry 2.5 gallons of extra gas in my trailer. or if no trailer the largest msp?? bottles. ( the ones for those little gas stoves it's about 32 oz of gas and i carry two. leak proof and dang near indestructible.

i carry some xtra gas all the time because as a senior citizen i can't remember to keep my zipper up, let alone remember to stop for gas.

as for that big fire ball every one keeps talking about when you get hit. if you see me on fire bring marshmellows

 

[ThirdWheel]

(LOL, Doc)..Big_Steve I remember reading somewhere about a substitute fuel had was prepackaged and safer to carry, designed for carrying in the trunk of a car..It has been a few years ago and I don't know if is still on the market or if is (or was) worth a crap. I understand your concern with a 100 mile tank.

 

[skuuter]

Except for fastening a reserve tank on the Bike, there really is no "safe" way to transport the stuff. Being around a junk yard, race cars, etc., etc., all my Life, trust me, a very little gas and a spark can be really devastating....I understand the dilemma though...my Wife's Aero 750 Trike can see reserve pretty quick.....:wtg:

 

[Carbon_One]

Thus another good reason for an built in auxillary tank. My bike was hitting near emty around the 125 mile mark. That gets old after a while. not bad when by yourself but sure hated holding up other riders in group rides. After riding 2 years like that I decided it was time to add an auxilarry tank . I now have an extra 3 1/2 gals of usable fuel to tap into when needed. Have it set up so all I need to do is flip a switch to go from one tank to the other.
Larry

 

[ricle41]

I may be a little dense, but I've been thinking about an extra carry tank for awhile, and always run into comments about how dangerous that can be. What is it that makes a small container of gas (1 to 2 gal) clamped down in the trunk or elsewhere, anymore dangerous than the 6 gallons I've got between my legs?

I would think those containers made for small cook stoves, installed with a sturdy clamp to hold them in place could hardly be more dangerous than what is all ready on the bike. Of course, I'm not known for being the sharpest crayon in the box.

I was in a situation just a couple of weeks ago, that around the 200 mile mark there was no gas available. Just small towns, on Sunday, with no place to buy gas. I sat at one intersection and had to make a choice: 25 miles either direction, and did not know which small town would have gas. I made the right guess, but would have been afoot if I'd of taken the other route.

 

[Big_Steve]

Thus another good reason for an built in auxillary tank. My bike was hitting near emty around the 125 mile mark. That gets old after a while. not bad when by yourself but sure hated holding up other riders in group rides. After riding 2 years like that I decided it was time to add an auxilarry tank . I now have an extra 3 1/2 gals of usable fuel to tap into when needed. Have it set up so all I need to do is flip a switch to go from one tank to the other.
Larry

Who makes it, how is it installed?

 

[Nauga Mok]

I built my own, but I don't recommend that for just anyone. There are several places that have aux tanks for the sport bike croud. Here's one supplier I found on just a quick search:

Motorcycle Auxiliary Fuel Cells, Sampson Long Distance Motorcycle Products

There are several more that make this kind of an "attachment". As for carrying extra fuel in gas cans, they DO make a 2 gal "safety can" like the fuel cans we had to carry on our service trucks that have the seal of approval from DOT. Seems I've seen them at Home Depot -- could be wrong though.

NM

 

[Smoken'JOE]

Had a guy top off my tank with the MRS bottle after 80 miles because it usually needs it. Going to grab a couple for long trips.
Poured it right into my tank till we got to gas station and filled up.

Tour Tank, For those who refuse to let gas stations dictate their destination.

Amazon.com: msr bottles Sports & Outdoor Equipment

 

[John Luciano]

A GPS solves the what way to go for gas, hit POI and GAS and you know where to go . The MSR look like a great idea. I thought of doing my one AUX gas tank, a Plastic 2 gal gas can hidden behind the area under the pass seat. a small filler tube on the fender or someplace, and a small pump to use to trans the gas from it to the main tank. I hear a ll sort of problems get the gas to fill the aux tank or to get it to move .

 

[Big_Steve]

It's amazing (in a bad way) what things cost, isn't it?

The MSR bottles I can live with. But no where did I see anything that said they were fine/recommended to use with gasoline. White cooking gas isn't as volatile as gasoline, or so I think.

Are MSR bottles built to be safe with gasoline?

 

[ricle41]

A GPS solves the what way to go for gas, hit POI and GAS and you know where to go . .

Have the GPS John, but we're talking about SMALL towns (with less than 250 people). The GPS can direct you to the town, but cannot tell you if the stations are open on Sunday afternoon. I can promise you, the station I bought gas that day, is not listed on any GPS that I've seen, and the owner leaves, if he's not busy, so no regular hours. Backroads touring is fun and exciting, but not an exact science.

 

[Carbon_One]

Who makes it, how is it installed?

Steve I built my own to fit under the trikes body. I'm using a Tri-Wing kit so basicly no one made a ready to install tank to fit my needs. I just made a 12 x12 box and whatever length it finished out at. Due to a support bar running at about a 45* angle the ends are notched out to fit over the supports. The tank itself measures out to 4 gals but in real life I can only get in about 3 3/4 gals IF I run off the auxilary tank before the main. Otherwise heat expansion will push fuel up and out the overflow tube.
If I intend to use the front tank first I'll fill the axuilary tank to about 3 1/2 gals. My tank is made of 16 ga sheetmetal and after getting it built I used tank sealing material to insure there were leaks. Works great and I love having that extra fuel.
Got a trip coming up next week. 620 miles day 1 and will stop for fuel 3 times. and still have 3/4 of it left on the 3rd tank when I end the days ride. Steve PM me for photos and install info.

Larry

 

[Carbon_One]

Have the GPS John, but we're talking about SMALL towns (with less than 250 people). The GPS can direct you to the town, but cannot tell you if the stations are open on Sunday afternoon. I can promise you, the station I bought gas that day, is not listed on any GPS that I've seen, and the owner leaves, if he's not busy, so no regular hours. Backroads touring is fun and exciting, but not an exact science.

So true there. With today's economy there no guarantee that a station listed is even still in business. Had that happen to me once in the boonies of Mo. last year, thus more incentive for me to get an auxiliary tank.
An enjoyable days riding can sour quickly when you fear getting stranded near days ends.
Larry

 

[Big_Steve]

Larry, my VTX looks like gravity feed to me. How are you getting the gas up and out of the tank and into the carb or throttle body?

 

[John Luciano]

I agree ( they change names locations and even close ) here in the East we are never more than 30 miles from a Gas station or 5 miles from a D&D. I forget the mid west is different. We rode out there a few times with a cage and we got nervous with our 17 gal tank .

 

[Yogisan]

You might want to take a look at this. It's made for the Lehman Jackal trike which is baselined on a Suzuki Boulevard C90. It's a 2.5 gal tank which mounts between the frame rails just in front of the box. The C90 has a 3.7 gal tank under the seat. The GTank uses a fuel pump to pump the gas into the main tank when the main hits reserve. The pump is started with a switch that engages a 5-minute timer. The kit comes with tank, pump, switch, timer, fuse, hoses, clamps. You may have to use some ingenuity to mod this for your trike. I've been using this for over 2 years and it does the job. The way the tank is mounted doesn't cost you any box or seat space and there's plenty of ground clearance; eg. if you scrap the tank you better go back and pick up your mufflers.

http://gmanindustries.com/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=109

 

[PhilGilbert]

"(LOL, Doc)..Big_Steve I remember reading somewhere about a substitute fuel had was prepackaged and safer to carry"

That was dehydrated gas pellets. You just dump a dozen in tour tank and fill it up with cold water. ;_)

 

[1800 06 Champion Trike]

We did 4,000 miles last August from Wisconsin to Yellowstone and back with a lot of side trips.
No need for extra gas.
Never had a problem with the gas and mileage of my Trike pulling my cargo trailer.
Never pass a gas station if your getting low figuring you can make it to the next one. Only takes a few minutes to fill up.

 

[Big_Steve]

Thanks Mr. Yogi. 500 bucks. Oooh boy........

 

[Maria]

I have discovered a gas issue that really has nothing to do with running out - except it kinda does.
When I put the Frankenstein kit on, the geometry changed. Duh, no big deal. Welllllllllll, the front of the tank is lower than it used to be. And the fuel pickup is in the rear of the tank. 1.8 miles from the station we were heading to, at barely a needle-width under 1/4 tank, she went DRY! I could see gas, I could rock it & slosh gas... but the slosh only moved enough gas back to the pick-up for about 500 feet.
Really frustrating. I hopped on Dan's backseat and we drove the 1.8 miles (grrrr) and filled a 1.5 gallon can - apparently designed for off-roaders - it fit nicely in his saddlebag (Beeemer) - we poured about 3/4 of a gallon in the tank and about 1/2 gallon all over the paint (grrr again) and cruised back to the same station for a fillup.
I have been told there is a little bracket to re-align (raise) the mounting point from the front of the tank to the frame, but haven't had any luck finding one.

 

[Spirit Warrior]

Remember to check and see if there are any bolts etc that can hit a extra gas tank while the trike is being driven.

 

[Glennrae]

We did a 3400 mile trip to Canada (Edmonton) last summer. We carried 2 gallons of gas on the cooler rack on the trailer. We came home with the same gas. But I like to say we used it about six times. It is amazing how far you can go on "E" when you have extra gas. But if I were to do it again. I would not take the gas. But instead take the cooler.....with more Root Beer
But that would mean more gas stops. And sometimes filling when it is still half full.
But if you are going through some remote areas. Take gas:yes:

 

[Big_Steve]

Thanks all. I'd love a real aux tank, but I'm not going to spend the $. I ordered a pair of 30 oz MSR bottles off Amazon. That's just shy of a gallon, and should give me some peace of mind.

 

[Alan Oakley]

I just completed 5400 miles in 16 states over 24 days (Dallas is home) on my 09 Wing (Motor Trike IRS) and I averaged about 32 MPG pulling a Bushtec Roadstar Trailer. My high was 37 and my low was 28 in a head-wind in So. Dakota. It was plenty hot on the final leg of the trip (113 in Vegas) and throughout the trip I found that I was ready to stop and stretch about every 100 to 125 miles. I never really ran close to empty based on those numbers. I know we all ride differently but after this long trip I realized that I had no need of extra gas. I know, especially in Canada and Alaska (as well as some desert areas) that gas is sometimes scarce but I found with just a little planning and my Garmin GPS, I was always able to get fuel. I certainly am not being critical of those that feel the need to carry it, I just don't have the need...safe riding to all. :Flag:

 

[triwinggirl]

If I was on a run and pulling a trailer. I would carry at least a gallon of extra.
If i was riding in a group as well most definetly. Better safe than sorry.
Besides you might need it to start that pesky camp fire.

 

[Carbon_One]

Larry, my VTX looks like gravity feed to me. How are you getting the gas up and out of the tank and into the carb or throttle body?

Steve what I did was used an after market fuel pump to pull fuel from the auxiliary tank. An in-line filter and a electric fuel shut off is in the circuit as well. I wired it thru a relay so that when the switch is off the main tanks fuel pump is activated as in normal operation. Once I flip the switch for the auxiliary tank that pump is shut off and the auxiliary pump is on. I used a pump due to the tank being level or just below the carbs so needed to pump fuel uphill so to speak.
Since lowering the rear of the trike I find I can get more usable fuel from the main tank now too. The tank is rated at 6 gal. Last time I ran the tank nearly dry I put in 5.8 gals and the bike was still running on the main. probably on fumes thou. LOL So gets scary thou when those fuel bars disappear, but knowing you have 3 + gals on tap is a huge relief.
Larry

 

[Big_Steve]

Thanks all. I'd love a real aux tank, but I'm not going to spend the $. I ordered a pair of 30 oz MSR bottles off Amazon. That's just shy of a gallon, and should give me some peace of mind.

Oops. Just shy of a half gallon.

Man, you guys are so nice. On most boards that would have been the target of two weeks worth of ridicule.