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Tank tunning KLE500, anyone? Tank tunning KLE500, anyone?
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  #1  
Old 7 Mar 2007
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Tank tunning KLE500, anyone?
Hi,

I am planning an overland trip London-Cape Town and unless I work out a way to increase fuel capacity I will have to abandon the bike, which I used for two 5000+ miles trips and get a XT600 Tenere?

Has anyone done that before?

Regards,
Wicjo
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Old 7 Mar 2007
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There is someone on this forum somewhere (which I can't find, sorry), who expanded their tank to about 17 or 18 litres. Unfortunately, as far as I'm aware, there is no larger replacement tank commercially available.
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Old 7 Mar 2007
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Tank
Theres an interesting thread on here by marlin.45 where he had altered a tube on the tank so the reserve comes in a bit later.

I think I may give that a look myself, seems theres quite a big reserve for such a small tank.

If I take it steady, I can get about 130-140 miles before moving onto reserve. If I boot it though, I only get 100-110miles before the bugger starts coughing!!!.

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Old 7 Mar 2007
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I know that there are no comercial tanks for this bike, but there is some guy on the net who did trans-siberia on a KLE with some other tank. Unfortunatly he is not online anymore and I can't work out what tank it is from the photos.

I make similar millages to yours on mine, but 300km just is not enough for Africa in my opinion.

Regards,
Wicjo
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Old 7 Mar 2007
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KLE tank
Hello Wicjo.

I did a 500km trip between pumps on my KLE. I took 3x 5L plastic bottles with that I carried in the bottom ammo box on the carrier. (see KLE pics thread).
That sorted my problem with the range. Having a bigger tank is more convenient, but if you have a good fall and get a hole in the tank, you may loose all the fuel. Better to keep it separate. If you are going to carry side panniers it would also make the COG lower if you keep the fuel there. The 3 plastic cans are freely available, and would costs a lot less.

If you travel down, I have a contact for you to stay in Dar Es Salaam Tanzania, and you are welcome to come and visit me in Cape Town.

Regards
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Old 8 Mar 2007
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Cheers for the invite, I will definitely stay in touch and let you know how my plans are getting on.

My bike currently looks like this:
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I'm thinking of attaching some jerry cans directly to pannier racks.
If I decide to take aluboxes as well, you think its better to have some bottels inside them? I a bit worried that the whole thing will explode if a crash?

Are plastic cans better than the metal ex-military ones you reckon?

Could you please send me an email to wicjo (aat) irc (doott) pl.

Regards,
Witek
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Old 8 Mar 2007
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As they demonstrated in this months Ride magazine (available in the UK), petrol is very hard to ignite. They demonstrated this by filling up with a lit cigarette and being generally sloppy. Apparently, it's something to do with spot temperatures and volumetric density. I didn't entirely understand, but basically, I'm no longer scared of petrol exploding.
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Old 8 Mar 2007
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Petroltanks
Hello Wicjo.

I see you have been around.

The metal cans will be better. The plastic ones can cause static, with the resulting sparks being no good. The metal cans might only be available in 25L though. a bit big if you do not counter balance it with something on the other side. As you use the fuel, the fuel side will become lighter than the balanced side again. If you can get 2 smaller metal ones, one for water and one for fuel, might work out better. maybe 15L each. Or maybe 2x 10L for fuel either side. It all depends how you are going to pack. a few smaller ones will be better than one big one, as the fuel will start sloshing around as you start emptying the contents. It is like having a passenger that keeps shifting around. No fun.

I have travelled through Tanzania, Uganda, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana (4x4) and a 200 to 300 km range there would be enough. In Zimbabwe you would need enough fuel to ride right through the country, might be similar in other countries. You would need to carry extra fuel, and in depending where you go, even 40L might not be enough. If you stick to civilization though, 30L will be OK.

Regards
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Old 8 Mar 2007
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KLE travelling
Hello Wicjo.

Just go and check out the KLE tips tricks etc.. thread for some niggly issues with the bike.

Regards
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