Hi mob,

I'm after some advice on carrying extra petrol. Looking at doing solo and unsupported cross of the Anna Beadle Hwy next year. Its not a highway so much as a soft sandy track that occasionally appears out of the scrub - so tough, slow work.

Anyway, its 1400kms of desert sand with only one petrol stop - the longest stretch without petrol is 800kms.

I'll be fully loaded with camp gear, food, water tools, the lot - plus extra fuel.

I've got a 24lt tank, but given the deep sand and all the weight, I figure I need to carry and extra 50lt. But I'm stumped for how to carry that much extra.

cheers

Assuming it's your BMW F800GS Adventure, I think 74 litres in total sounds an overkill as it works out at about 11km/litre. Riding steadily off-tarmac the 800GSA should achieve around twice that consumption rate (my KTM 690 regularly gets over 25), in which case you'd need 35 litres in total. But of course you'll need some more just in case, so maybe another 10-15 litres on top.

But then you're looking at carrying maybe 26 litres (20 kg) outside of your tank which gives all sorts of problems. And you'll need probably 20 litres (20 kg) of water. And these weights don't include the containers. With your camping and other gear you might be looking at a total load of 70kg on top of the wet weight of about 230 kg. Add you in heavy biking gear into the equation and you're maybe up to 400 kg.

Is there any way you could arrange for someone to leave a fuel and water stash between Ilkulka and Laverton and another between Ilkulka and Coober Pedy?

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Hi DamoC,

This problem would likely have been discussed in the Australia section of ADVRider so worth checking there, too.

I agree with Tim that 74 sounds like quite a lot. I have a 990 that absolutely guzzles in deep sand but I have a non-consumption friendly map in it. Sometimes I go as high as 10l/100! But don't let me scare you off.

If your tank is stock, I'd consider getting a larger one (Safari?) and then possibly mounting two Rotopax containers on your luggage racks, with soft panniers draped over or in front of them for your luggage. You could also take an additional fuel bladder (Desert Fox of Liquid Containment) on top of your tail bag for an extra 7l or so.

As far as I understand the 800s are pretty good on fuel, so Tim's estimate may be a better reference, but the softer the sand the higher the consumption.


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Hmmm, not a solo crossing anymore though is it?

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While there is soft sand .. eg around Neale Junction. Most of it is corrugations. I'd plan on 20km/l with say 5 l spare. Restrict your throttle openings and max speed and then you should get good mileage. 80km/h is a good fuel economy speed.

Have you read Len Beadell's book on it?
And checked the exploroz site for conditions/permissions?

Carrying the fuel - I use 2 small canvas ex army bags each with a fuel container inside slug over the fuel tank. Use an ocy to connect the lower front corners together to stop them lifting up at speed.

I have never heard of anyone doing a fuel dump out here. Other than Neale Junction - made from Laverton SS IIRC. However these days ... there is not much call for fuel dumps.

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I don't want to get into a fuel consumption debate, but I think its good to be conservative in your calculations. Better to have too much fuel than too little. However, I doubt very much you'll average over 20km/l for the trip. Whilst I myself get as little as 10km/l on sand, this is not 'generally' the case and I found 14-15km/l is a more reasonable figure for consumption/distance calcs.

But a lot of this depends on whether you can actually ride sand or not (no offense meant). I've seen people who manage quite well on an unloaded bike become totally unstuck on a loaded/heavy machine. And if you're going to paddle your bike through the sandy sections, then expect to use a lot more fuel. The good thing is that most of the track is actually as wide as a road and not just two lines in the dirt/sand.

But getting back to you original question- how to carry extra fuel? Without the obvious solution (and expense) of an aftermarket large fuel tank, most people prefer fuel bladders which can be rolled up and stored when not needed. Other popular options include Rotopax (or the cheaper knock-off versions). And then there is also the cheap option of using steel / or plastic jerry cans and abandoning them on the way as you're finished with them. (Someone else will pick them up and use them, so don;t be worried about leaving junk inn the bush)

As said before, the ADV website is full of people with different options for unsupported fuel options- e.g. look at all the Simpson crossings and how they do it.

Good luck

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