do you carry spare fuel?

[spanner]

In the past I have cartied around a 1 liter bottle of fuel to get me out of trouble but recently got rid of it as the only time I had to use it I had taken it out to freshen the fuel and forgot to put it back in. 

[alans1100]

Only when I tow the trailer on tour I take an extra 20 litres giving an average extra 300km range. 10 litres carried in the each side case as the extra weight is carried lower and the bike is more balanced. With the fuel on the bike I don't have the smell of fuel in the trailer.

[tj189]

I am one of the tanker votes above, just to clarify I use an auxiliary tank on the bike for my long distance rides it is around 14litres

[Biggles]

I used to carry an emergency one litre metal can of petrol, but stopped after a few years because of the smell that permeated the whole pannier.  I now have a 5 litre plastic jerry that I will put in if I think I'm going to be too far from reliable fuel at any stage.

[ST2UP]

I have a portable fuel/food cell on the pillion seat......Pockey can walk off and carry back fuel and even have a spare hand for a chai latte if the need arise.

We never very far from fuel....and I like to fuel last thing in the day when touring to kick off with a near 500k run the next morning unless we smell Bacon & Eggs along the way  .....

[StinkyPete]

I have never yet felt the need to carry more fuel than the already generous 29 litres in the tank.   

[Brock]

I dont think its needed, in normal circumstances. Perhaps if towing a trailer when doing the outside loop of Oz, it might come in handy to have 5 litres. You never know when you will come upon a stranded Harley.

A good way to gauge when you need to fuel up is to have said Harley ride with a group of STs. Fill up every second stop of the Harley and you will be fine.

[Biggles]

A good way to gauge when you need to fuel up is to have said Harley ride with a group of STs. Fill up every second stop of the Harley and you will be fine.

While I'll stick it in Hardly Fergussons and their wannabe clones at every opportunity, they're not the only victims of early fuel starvation.  Plenty of the sportsbikes, even lovely cousin Hondas, have 16 litre tanks and abnormal thirsts.

[West Aussie Glen]

On my ride around Australia on my GL1500 with a range of a little over 300 kms I never found the need to carry fuel.
But my travelling was basically during daylight hours, riding through the night may have caused problems.

[Grumpy]

The harley thing works unless its a vrod and then it's 3 to 1

[HunterTodd]

Well I'll throw my hat in.

I regularly ride on trips with a late model Road King, Fat Boy and a Fat Bob plus a Triumph Thunderbird.

 Maybe my ST is crook but I find my fuel consumption is only marginally better than theirs and certainly nothing you would crow about. We have shown this over many fills.

[Abe]

Well I'll throw my hat in.

I regularly ride on trips with a late model Road King, Fat Boy and a Fat Bob plus a Triumph Thunderbird.

 Maybe my ST is crook but I find my fuel consumption is only marginally better than theirs and certainly nothing you would crow about. We have shown this over many fills.

My 1300 fuel light comes flashing around 460km - fill up at 475km (open roads riding) and put 24 litres in = 5 litres spare - ??? litres usable.

May test that one day??

I don't carry any fuel at this stage, but may in the future.

[HunterTodd]

Hi Abe,

I have never run the tank to empty so I don't know how much she gets but when we fill the bikes, all generally take within a liter of each other.  Mine actually tends to use more in the hard going than the Hogs I would say after a run up Thunderbolts way to Walcha.

[Bluey]

I have a portable fuel/food cell on the pillion seat......Pockey can walk off and carry back fuel and even have a spare hand for a chai latte if the need arise.
.
.

Where can I get one of those food/fuel thingys? Make mine a flat white.

[Biggles]

I have a portable fuel/food cell on the pillion seat......Pockey can walk off and carry back fuel and even have a spare hand for a chai latte if the need arise.
..

Where can I get one of those food/fuel thingys? Make mine a flat white.

Don't be hasty!  They come with "issues".

[Brock]

Hunter Todd,

You may use about the same fuel as your mates, but you carry a lot more. 28 to 29 Litres.

[johnnyYTED]

 
I always carry 5 litres, though I think I've only used it once, myself. only last weekend before my breakdown at Scone, I gave 5 litres to a young L plater on the Putty Rd. I have emptied it into a few others tank over the years.
When I'm towing I will carry 20 litres 

[Pocket STocker]

I have a portable fuel/food cell on the pillion seat......Pockey can walk off and carry back fuel and even have a spare hand for a chai latte if the need arise.

We never very far from fuel....and I like to fuel last thing in the day when touring to kick off with a near 500k run the next morning unless we smell Bacon & Eggs along the way  .....

IS THAT RIGHT  and that will be MY cup of tea that Im carrying 

[gibbo57]

I bought a 5 litre jerry, just in case.   I ride with a mate who has a V-Rod and his wife one of those little chinese 250's who gets better range than his V-rod.   I guess I carry it for him as he only gets around 260km at normal riding.   On our last ride I got 481km on trip meter and it still had 2.3 liters in the tank.
That's the last time I'll do that, don't want to suck crap out of the tank.   
Cheers
 

[Nigel]

Don`t think there would be a need to carry unless your in remote areas. As is 4wd touring. Always make sure you have enough to cover your trip is the rule of thumb. As long as you know how far your bike/car will go chances are your ok. I start looking for fuel around 300k`s but know i get 450 comfortably. So no issue. My brother had the issue with his XS1100 250k`s need fuel. OK if you need a break but no good for touring .......
Just a thought................................

[Biggles]

That's the last time I'll do that, don't want to suck crap out of the tank.   

The fuel pick-up is right in the bottom of the bottom tank, so if there's crud in the tank, it will get picked up at any time, not just at the end of the fuel. 
Many of us here have seen 550 kays out of a tank on a trip.  It obviously needs to be ideal conditions- flat country, nil wind and moderate speeds.  I did it on the Bruce Highway travelling back to Rocky a couple of years ago.

[Gadget]

I rode from Brisbane to Port Macquarie down the Pacific. I filled up in Port Macquarie with over 580 km on the trip meter and put 26.5 litres in.  I was deliberately trying to run dry and carried 5 litres just in case.

I had very strong head winds and crosswinds. So much headwind, that I had a red spot on my forehead from the pressure of the helmet pushing against me.  Side winds caused me to ride on a lean for some kms in order to maintain a straight line.

Interestingly it works out to 4.56 l/100 km but the computer was reporting 5.0 l/100 km.

I carried the 5 litres in the left pannier to keep the weight down low, and the heat from the exhaust caused the fuel to expand and seep out filling the pannier with fumes.   

Lesson learned, fill with 4.5 litres, squeeze the sides in before screwing the lid tight.  Now when it expands it just returns to normal size. 

On a long run 480 to 500 before the fuel light comes on is routine.  400  to 420 km is normal in thick traffic in Brisbane.


Quote from: Biggles on 09 June 2014, 09:15:02

Quote from: gibbo57 on 09 June 2014, 05:30:18

That's the last time I'll do that, don't want to suck crap out of the tank.   

The fuel pick-up is right in the bottom of the bottom tank, so if there's crud in the tank, it will get picked up at any time, not just at the end of the fuel. 
Many of us here have seen 550 kays out of a tank on a trip.  It obviously needs to be ideal conditions- flat country, nil wind and moderate speeds.  I did it on the Bruce Highway travelling back to Rocky a couple of years ago.

[Gatey]

I use this




and go this far 891km.




But you have to be a bit mad to want to.

[Gavo]

Thats just wonderful 

Did you knock it together yourself ?

Looks loike gravity feed to lower tank , no need for transfer pump.

[Biggles]

It's a feat of fine engineering, and the welding is amazing.
You might even talk him into building you one...