Fuel consumption in the desert
 

Hi all,
On tarmac, doing 80 to 100 km/h I use 1 litre for 23 km. That is without heavy luggage.
I know my fuel consumption will go up (a lot) riding off-road whilst carrying a lot of weight.
But how much will it go up?
Will I use 1 litre every 10 km? More? Less?
I'm planning to cross the Sahara and want to know if I should build a rack for 2 20 litre jerrycans or 2 10 litre ones.
I already fit the 23 litre Acerbis tank.

Hard or soft
 

Is the question. In deep sand, consumption goes up to 1:10. On the other hand, on hard packed piste; gravel and the like, your consumption will be the same as on tarmac or even less as your speed will be lower also.
So, what you want to know is how much dunes you plan to ride. BTW, having 2 x 20 litres or anything else heavy on board wil NOT make your life easier.

Auke

Not easy, but...
 

maybe I'll need the fuel.
I could also use 1 of them for water and the other one for fuel.
1:10 means I can ride 230 km on a tankfull. That is not a lot, not enough I'd say. I need at least 500 km I think. Then again, what is 40 kg on the back of the bike?
I just don't wanna run out of fuel or water.

More specific: on an xt 600e with an Acerbis 23 litre tank do I need 20 litres of fuel (two 10 litre cans) or do I need 40 litre of extra fuel (2 cans of 20 litres)?
I'm travelling to Atar, Tichit, Timbuktu, Gao.

Sooner you than me!
 

Have you felt the weight of a full 20L jerrycan? Try picking up one in each hand and then decide whether you want to fix one to each side of your bike and struggle through deep sand with it.
If you are going Tidjikja - Tichit - Oualata you will probably need the 60+L to be fuel so you'll have to add a fair bit more weight for water. Every report I've read about it says it's remote, sandy and not a good route for an unsupported biker. It looks good on the 741 but for me 2x 5L cans (+23L main tank) and the Route d'espoir was remote enough.

When are you planning to do this trip?

I rode an XT Tenere with 2 filled 20 litre jerrycans in Nigeria. It was ok, but then again, I didn't get into sandy areas.
But you do have a point: if I'm planning to go for 600+ km without support, then I also need to carry about 60 litres of water and that's too much. I guess I'll have to reconsider my route from Atar to Timbuktu.
Planning to leave end of June.

I would presume your fuel efficiency to be 25% less than tarmac.

Also, do NOT use the distance from Point A to Point B as the distance you will cover on the bike, because you won't ride "as the crow flies" in the desert. Add another 25% on top of of the "crow's distance" between two points.

2 20 litre jerry cans are HEAVY...you will spill fuel while trying to fill your tank...due to windy conditions, weight of a full 20l jerry can, etc. Carry several 5 litre(max) bidons...used oil bidons work well and are relatively abundant.

If you want to build a rack, build it where the passenger footpegs are, BUT be careful not to have them extend out too far, as they will clip your heel when you're trying to push & ride the bike out of sand...causing you to fall.

See pics for details...
assamaka.jpg

dscn8559.jpg


HTH