Got a dommie with Acerbis tank but still reckon the range is still a bit too limited without taking a extra bit of petrol. What would you go for

* Mount 10l tanks to the side of the engine

or

* Fix plastic 5l tanks to sides of the panniers

Just wondering....

I haven't tried either, but I think most people go for the rear mount. If you do mount them next to the engine, be sure that they still provide enough airflow to cool the engine and that in the event of a fall, they don't get pushed into the engine and melt or break open, spilling your precious fuel.

Anyone else?

[This message has been edited by wbagwell (edited 11 May 2002).]

Thanks for that..

Gave it some more thought and considering the length of my legs its going to be very tight with 10l jerricans and impossible with 20l ones....

so strongly considering to go for the rear mount on panniers, which also makes the whole setup more flexible since extended fuel range is not really needed throughout whole africa...

you might squeeze an XR600's 40l tank on there! bit of over-kill most of the time, tho! how about get the XRL650 from Oz instead of the Dommie? same engine, more leg room and better suspension. check Chris Scott's site for more info.
Richard

[This message has been edited by RichLees (edited 14 May 2002).]

We are now in Australia having ridden from the U.K. on our Africa Twin (2 up).
I had 2 jerry can racks built to take a 10ltr can mounted to either side of the bike on the front and bolted to each crash bar.
The racks are strong enough to withstand a fall but not to heavy to add to much weight.
Mounting them low and forward is better than rear mounting them as it keeps the weight evenly spread.
The Africa Twin is an excellent bike, despite reading that its 'not bad'! which is a typical B.M.W. rider comment!

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Peter Bowden

I met two Hungarians in Morocco this spring, who had devised a simple method for carrying extra fuel. They took two cheap plastic 5 litre fuel cans (like you can buy from most petrol stations in the UK) and rested one on each pillion footrest. Each can was held in place with a canvas strap attached to the neighbouring aluminium pannier. Effectively the footrest took the weight, and the strap stopped them falling off the bike.

This seems like a good idea because it is cheap and quick to implement, the weight is kept low, the cans are protected during a crash, and they don't intrude on the rider's space.

Iain

Wich is exactly what I also did in Marocco on my last trip. I took 2 5l jerrycans on the passengers footpegs. I used 2 straps for each jerrycan. 1 to hold it to the bike and 1 to hold it down to the footpeg.
Have been on piste with it, no problem. And if you fall they are protected by the panniers, so no worries about ripping your jerrycans apart and loosing that extra fuel or water.

check it out:
http://users.pandora.be/pieter.maes2...es/Marocco2002


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http://users.pandora.be/pieter.maes2/

Wich is exactly what I also did in Marocco on my last trip. I took 2 5l jerrycans on the passengers footpegs. I used 2 straps for each jerrycan. 1 to hold it to the bike and 1 to hold it down to the footpeg.
Have been on piste with it, no problem. And if you fall they are protected by the panniers, so no worries about ripping your jerrycans apart and loosing that extra fuel or water.

check it out:
http://users.pandora.be/pieter.maes2...es/Marocco2002


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http://users.pandora.be/pieter.maes2/

Hi,

I've travelled with soft luggage in the Sahara a couple of times and ussualy use those plastic 5 or 10 liter cans you can buy at every petrol station. I use them the same way Iain describes: put them on the passenger footrests on a smal plateau i made. With two straps to hold them in place. Done this with 2 10 liter cans with no prblems. Other way is to use 4 five liter cans and put two of them on the foorrest and 2 beside the engine on the crashbar.
Maybe it doesnt look as 'professional' as a very big tank or reartanks (and yes, you have to stop to refuel) but is a very cheap sollution for the few times you really need extra fuel. You can even throw/give/sell them away to save space and buy new ones when you need them again. In places where there is not much fuel ussualy have lots of cans for sale.
It works perfect with my XT600, but off course works on any bike.

Peter

Thanks guys all for your input...

I really like the idea of the (plastic) petroltanks on the rear pilion steps, pretty effective for (short) periods of extended fuel range and no need to build (another) rack ($$$)... not to mention I could even make a huge profit when selling those unused tanks in africa somewhere! (i wish, just kidding)

Just make sure you can still use the kickstarter :-)) and make sure the can is very wel strapped and not against or near anything sharp.
If they are a bit in the way you can just hang them on top of you luggage when not used.
There is, by the way a even more simple way to take twee 5 liter jerrycans. Just tie together with their grips with a little slack and throw them over the saddle....

Peter