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Equipping the Bike - what's the best gear? Anything to do with the bikes equipment, saddlebags, etc. Questions on repairs and maintenance of the bike itself belong in the Brand Specific Tech Forums.
Photo by Andy Miller, UK, Taking a rest, Jokulsarlon, Iceland

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Andy Miller, UK,
Taking a rest,
Jokulsarlon, Iceland



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  #1  
Old 10 Oct 2008
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auxiliary tank solution

I saw these online , they look practical but I wonder if they will make the front end feel too light.
Kawasaki Concours Fuel Cells - Sampson Long Distance Motorcycle Products

anyone tried these first hand.
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  #2  
Old 10 Oct 2008
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I imagine that is going to snap off the moment you hit the rough stuff...

xxx
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Old 10 Oct 2008
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I have no idea how these might perform, but before building a jarry can holder for the Ural, I had entertained the idea of buying one of these:

Tour Tank Order Page

They seem nice and tidy and you can choose where to fit them. For me the jerry can holder was a lot cheaper to biuld and more versatile, but as ready made products go....
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  #4  
Old 11 Oct 2008
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auxiliary tank

I looked at the link and they do seems pretty good, the 4 gallons will actually fit in a top case. for the price the auxiliary tank make more sense than having someone built one bigger gas tank.
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  #5  
Old 13 Oct 2008
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These might be a better idea

Liquid Containment

you can put em where you want...
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Old 13 Oct 2008
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I have tested various setups with canisters to extend fuelrange. It’s important to remember that often when you need an extended fuel range you will also need a lot of water. It ads up!
The fuel should be carried as low as possible and not behind the rear pegs, remember that the subframe on most bikes are not designed for carrying extra petrol and water.

It’s far better to have a bike with a huge tank…
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  #7  
Old 14 Oct 2008
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auxiliary fuel tank

agree with Alibaba but it's pretty tough to get big tank outside of BMW ,I didn't pick my bike for my RTW yet but I like the reliability of the DL1000 ,so far no one do big tank for these ??.I ill try to see if one of these HD builder can do a tank for my bike if no one sale it
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Old 14 Oct 2008
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Once I saw the BMW/Acerbis/HPN (43 liter) fitted to a DR350, it sure was ugly but it had great range.
I know people that have fitted various Acerbis multi purpose tanks to different bikes but the DL1000 might be a bit troublesome.

A friend of mine had the same problem on a K75 and he enlarged the existing tank, he also planned to make a 5 litre catchtank and place the pump and filter inside this new tank, but the bike was sold.

Quite a few people told him it was not possible to extend the K-tank and that it would look like a mess. They changed their mind:
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Old 14 Oct 2008
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The Bonneville has a useless 16 litre tank but the only retrofit is from one of the dress up companies and costs 800 quid, hence you look for other solutions. For the sort of money I could spend on the Bonneville in these sort of shops it'd be cheaper to just go buy a BMW.

The tank builders only seem to be interested in race bikes and customs and use aluminium for the simple reason it's easy to work with. Take any of those off road and you'd be walking in wet boots in minutes and stinking of petrol for weeks

There is a company in Hull who offer what to me looks a better solution, cut the existing steel tank in half, insert a strip of steel, weld up and seal with PETSEAL.

I've also been looking at old Bonneville, CB1000 tanks and the like. Trouble there is that modern bikes all seem to have followed the race trend of using large diameter frames to save a few grams. Your sensible 1960's 4 gallon tank just won't fit. I could do with some measurements from on of the BM tanks, but that's not proving easy to find.

Of course if you have a plastic tank and/or FI you are pretty stuffed unless the R1XXXGS ones do just bolt on.

Looks like I'm sticking to jerry cans until I can find a cheap second hand tank to sent to the cutting and sealing guys. Still, can't argue, I can get 30 litres in the chair

Andy
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Old 14 Oct 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Threewheelbonnie View Post
The tank builders only seem to be interested in race bikes and customs and use aluminium for the simple reason it's easy to work with. Take any of those off road and you'd be walking in wet boots in minutes and stinking of petrol for weeks

There is a company in Hull who offer what to me looks a better solution, cut the existing steel tank in half, insert a strip of steel, weld up and seal with PETSEAL.
Andy,

Most of the Rally-Bike bikes tanks are fabricated in ally and so are a lot of custom sized Enduro / MX tanks. I am sure if you find the right company, a fine, bullet-proof tank can be sourced. Might look a tad odd on a bonnie though; they are normally fairly "angular" in design.

Not sure about PETSeal; didn't have a lot of luck sealing a tank I had welded a patch onto. I believe there are additives in petrol these days that petseal may not cope with.

Regards

BYT
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Old 15 Oct 2008
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is that a K1 someone has made into a K/GS? awesome, how heavy is it though? (not as heavy as a R/adventure i bet?)

BYT, petseal is supposed to be proof against modern petrol additives, ive used it on several old nails and its worked fine.
if you dont want to use it there are several products out there, dont limit your seach to bikes and cars, aircraft, boats, farm equipment etc all use something along the same lines, ranging from chemical primers, special paints, rubber sealant
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  #12  
Old 26 Oct 2008
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This is a good solution as well.

BMW 650X Aux Gas Tank, Build one yourself - ADVrider

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  #13  
Old 26 Oct 2008
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RotopaX 2 gal Fuel Pack [RXS50] - $50.00 : Just Gas Tanks
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  #14  
Old 5 Apr 2009
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Couple of options at
Suzuki DR650 Gas Tank Page - AKA Fuel Tank and Petrol Tank
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  #15  
Old 5 Apr 2009
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I went for this in the end:

https://sites.google.com/site/threew...d-improvements

Two thoughts about big tanks on bike:

1. You tend to carry the 41 litres or whatever. This is often not needed, you carry the weight for the fun of it. I havn't the sense to only put 20 litres in for a road section where I know there are fuel stations every 50 miles. This must waste fuel, cost money and cause wear. 20kg is a lot of food, water or firewood as an alternative load.

2. Worse, I get used to the range. I get blase about stops. I had 27 litres on my F650 and could drag it out to over 400 miles. Result; I missed a stop in Norway and rather than go back 200 yards went on. The tunnel under the sea to the North Cape running on a mixture of gravity, vapour and stove fuel isn't good for the heart or the motor. Putting 27.5 litres of Europes most expensive petrol in when you do make it isn't good for the wallet! .

My aux tank was to cure a range that wasn't suitable for Wales/France on a Sunday, and for Australia I'd say 41 litres up from was best, but I'd now think carefully about cost and function of the different solutions and how you'd use them.

Andy
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