Bike fuel and water capacities
 

Hi,

Am planning a trip to north africa and am about to weld up a rack to carry two 20 litre jerry cans, one fuel, one water, on my XT600. Please can anyone advise if this is a good capacity to have for exploring the sahara. I already have an acerbis 23 litre tank. Am planning to throw the rest of my luggage above the jerry cans in panniers and dry sack.

Many thanks, Finian

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Could you be a bit more specific on 'exploring the sahara'? What distances do you plan? What time of year?

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The best planning is to go!

hi finian
with this fuel capacity you're looking at abt 550km +100km reserve. I recommend a soft luggage system in which you can stow 2 10ltr fuel jerry cans and 2 10ltr ortlieb water bags; you want to keep your weight as low as possible. by the time all your fuel is in your tank you can switch the havier stuff to a lower position on your bike. there are pretty strong saddle bags these days which can be strengthened and fixed to a sideframe at the rear of your bike. this extra weight 20ltr fuel + 20ltr water is abt the max one can bear when setting off in the sand. you normally won't need that much water; only in the summerperiod in which it's not (very) wise to travel the sahara. you'll be out of fuel much earlier anyhow.
ciao
filip

Hi,

Am hoping to head to Atar in Mauritania and then down to Nema via Tidjika and maybe Tichit/Aratane. I might have to hook up with other people for some of these stretches as they're quite long. Would like to have a capacity that allows me to do as much as possible without overloading too much.

Thanks for the info, Finian

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