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How to Mount Fuel Canisters to Bike? How to Mount Fuel Canisters to Bike?
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Equipping the Bike - what's the best gear? Anything to do with the bikes equipment, saddlebags, etc. Questions on repairs and maintenance of the bike itself belong in the Brand Specific Tech Forums.
Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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  #1  
Old 1 Jun 2008
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why not make a rack so you can tie them to the side of the existing gastank?

not a very good picture, but the yellow veggy oil cans you see on the sides of the bike are my spares (little used though, but that is another discussion)

a guy in ecuador made up the racks in half a day and it is nothing fancy. on the plus side this solution also protects fanrelay and other voulnerable stuff under the tank.

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  #2  
Old 1 Jun 2008
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Just for heavens sake don't leave Zoey straped there.....
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  #3  
Old 1 Jun 2008
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As funny as it see people riding around with there gear straped down like that dont do it you did say mounting so I hope you use the mounting system. Cabela's -- Kolpin ATV Fuel and Water PacksHere is another idea Kimpex Atv Gas Can Carrier, Atv, Kimpex at Sportsman's Guide
or
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  #4  
Old 2 Jun 2008
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whats wrong with straps? Cheaper, lighter, easier to fix than 'proper' racks... plus it makes you look more approachable/less worth robbing! My personal fav for carrying extra fuel is old plastic bottles and duck tape
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  #5  
Old 2 Jun 2008
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I cant see that strap holding a that much gas the way its sitting there any length of time. You want better way and still on the cheap and looks it. ok get an old milk crate and some nuts and bolts and if your keen a old Aluminum yard stick (cheaper than raw aluminum for some reason). Bolt threw the crate to the rear rack using chunks of the yard stick on both sides (heps spread the force of the bolds and holds the mess together) get a small gas can at a gas station toss it out in the sun and rain to weather a bit month or so will do. get out some paint and spray paint hit it hear and there drip a bit of paint on it. Toss it out another month and presto you look the part. Drop something at the bottom of the crate so the bolt heads dont rub in to the gas can, plastic sheets old 3 ring binder stuff to the inside of the crate and a tarp on top and you have a grate way to hold things did this on a old bike I had worked grate till some one stoll all my stuff in it.
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Old 2 Jun 2008
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I've been thinking about the same thing....

Agreed, under the panniers looks like the easiest option, but in a crash on dry tarmac, it'll be right next to the panniers and there's gotta be sparks....so not convinced!!

With the front of the panniers, could there be issues getting your legs trapped under them and trying to bend things that aren't meant to...ie. your shins?

I like behind the panniers the best - i know its going to add weight to the back and extra stresses, but how much off a difference will there be? I think 1.5 gallons is around 7.5 litres, so 15 litres all up, guess that is around 15kg.....thats not that much in the grand scheme of things, and relatively low centre of gravity. Surely it can't make too much difference?

J
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Old 2 Jun 2008
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I also want to add some extra fluid storage. I think your panniers are the 9" Happy Trails like mine? I am thinking along the lines of getting a local TIG welder make me me two small racks to bolt to the rear of the panniers. Then make two small cans of approx 10l each which can slide in these small racks, they can then be locked in with padlocks etc. One with water, near the exhaust on my DL650 and one with fuel on the other side. Water is 10kg, fuel will be around 6.5kg. It still adds weight behind the axle, so that is a worry, but they do not have to be full all the time.

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Old 2 Jun 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by J1mbo View Post
I've been thinking about the same thing....

Agreed, under the panniers looks like the easiest option, but in a crash on dry tarmac, it'll be right next to the panniers and there's gotta be sparks....so not convinced!!

With the front of the panniers, could there be issues getting your legs trapped under them and trying to bend things that aren't meant to...ie. your shins?

I like behind the panniers the best - i know its going to add weight to the back and extra stresses, but how much off a difference will there be? I think 1.5 gallons is around 7.5 litres, so 15 litres all up, guess that is around 15kg.....thats not that much in the grand scheme of things, and relatively low centre of gravity. Surely it can't make too much difference?

J
Yeah, for in front of panniers, seems like if you're riding through rough conditions and put a leg down and the road catches your leg, it could hurt very easily with not much maneuvering room. I'll scratch in front of panniers and yeah, under just seems too risky and since most of our riding is on pavement (70% on, 30% off in most cases), crashing on dry pavement has to be considered.

So, sounds like rear of panniers is the best (safest) option and will just take the weight penalty and monitor the sub-frame to see if it's being over stressed.

But this particular canister is still going to protrude from the pannier, so I think I might make a lightweight aluminum shield to help the canister slide in the event of a crash and not wear through the plastic container.

Quote:
Originally Posted by TravellingStrom View Post
I also want to add some extra fluid storage. I think your panniers are the 9" Happy Trails like mine? I am thinking along the lines of getting a local TIG welder make me me two small racks to bolt to the rear of the panniers. Then make two small cans of approx 10l each which can slide in these small racks, they can then be locked in with padlocks etc. One with water, near the exhaust on my DL650 and one with fuel on the other side. Water is 10kg, fuel will be around 6.5kg. It still adds weight behind the axle, so that is a worry, but they do not have to be full all the time.

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TravellingStrom
Yup, mine are the 9" panniers. A rack sounds like a good idea, regarding safety during a crash, but as you said, weight behind the axle...

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Originally Posted by AliBaba View Post
Canisters are a mess.
I used to store my full canisters in front of the alu-boxes (resting on the rear pegs and secured with straps). As fast as possible I emptied them into the tank and moved them to the rear of the boxes.
IMHO it’s not a good solution but it worked for me. In two different occasions I have experienced that full tanks broke, once in a crash and one was punctured by thorns. That’s not nice because you carry the petrol for a reason…

I think the best way to go is to have a large tank or maybe mount some kind of rear tank (like the rally-guys).
Yeah, sounds like bigger tank is just the simpler way to go, but it just costs way too much. Being in the US, the Aqualine Safari 9 gal tank is like $550 from Australia. If it was $300, I'd take it.
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Old 2 Jun 2008
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peter-denmark View Post
why not make a rack so you can tie them to the side of the existing gastank?
That sounds like a very good idea. Moving the weight forward, but I guess time is not on my side this time. I'm leaving in 10 days for Alaska.

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Originally Posted by stevesawol View Post
Just for heavens sake don't leave Zoey straped there.....
Haha, yeah, wish I could take her along. Maybe a sidecar when I'm older for a doggie companion...

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Originally Posted by DLbiten View Post
As funny as it see people riding around with there gear straped down like that dont do it you did say mounting so I hope you use the mounting system.
Yeah, I was just using the straps to see how the cans would fit on the bike. I have the mounts from Kolpin. Someone else asked me that too.
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