Saturday, June 9, 2012

Fuel

One of the main concerns for anyone riding a motorcycle in remote areas is running out of fuel in the middle of nowhere.  If you ride a BMW R1200GS Adventure like my brother then you pretty much can go anywhere since it's got a range like a cruise ship.  My Super Ténéré with a 6.1 gallon tank has a range from 230 to 275 until dry depending on how you ride it.  I have done averages from 38mpg to 45mpg depending on the speed.  On the trip to Daytona I saw a worst average of 38mpg but we were doing speeds that I can't mention here.  On my usual rides I average 43mpg, not bad for a 1200cc engine.
On my trip to Alaska the bike will be loaded and heavy, the fuel average will probably be on the low side but I won't have any gas problems until I reach Coldfoot, Alaska, the last place with fuel until Deadhorse, aka Prudhoe Bay.  Google maps says the distance is 241 miles from Coldfoot to Deadhorse.  It would be risky for me to attempt to ride that distance, it's never good to run the bike until it's almost dry anyway.
To take care of the problem I bought a RotopaX 1 Gallon fuel container, the extra fuel will make me much more comfortable during this stretch of the trip.


RotopaX link

10 comments:

  1. One of the main reasons I chose the Road King was the 6 gallon tank. And so far I'm getting around 49-51mpg.

    yeah buddy make sure you have enough gas to make that long run to Deadhorse. You don't wanna end up as the chunky bits in some grizzly's stool.

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    1. It's amazing you can get 49-51mpg, how many cc's is the engine on the Road King?

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  2. Wow! The Ténéré has pretty good range and you'd almost make it assuming there are no problems. If weather forces you to turn around you now may have enough extra range. Did you get one of the Rotopax mounts or are you just tying it on? Those are pretty slick and probably safer than the one gallon gas can bungied to the top of the pile.

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    1. Just got the tank, it's not going to be permanently on the bike, it's just for this trip. Very sturdy tank, not like the regular 1g tanks like I have for my lawn tractor.

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  4. There is just something I love about those fuel cans. Love em and want one, but I don't have the need for it like you will. Same question as Richard, are you going to purchase the mount for it?

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    1. No mount, going to bungee it just like in the picture. A big bag is going across on the passenger seat.

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  5. Now that you have bought the RotopaX I am sure Murphy's law will ring true.

    You have it so you won't need it. You know if you didn't buy one, sure as hell you'd have run out of fuel.

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    1. Exactly, Murphy's law always works. This is just an extra level of safety.

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  6. Have you been keeping track of the road closures on the Yukon? Alaska Hwy between Watson Lake and Teslin, Campbell Hwy, Haines Junction to Destruction Bay, and others.

    http://www.511yukon.ca/

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