Carrying additional gas in a can

TekNinja81

TekNinja81

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For those of you who do longer trips, where you may need to carry additional gasoline:

My bike has a full luggage setup with a top box (with a rack on top) and side cases, and I also carry a cargo net and Rok Straps in case anything needs to be secured. On a recent trip I brought along a 4.7L can of gas and strapped it to my passenger seat, as opposed to storing it in a side case, figuring it wouldn't be bouncing around that way and there would be ventilation for the fumes. The thought has occurred to me that in a crash or drop, the gas could end up leaking and potentially igniting, so I have a few questions.


  • Does the gas can's vent valve need to be left open while riding, or can it be closed (at least for a reasonable duration) to prevent possible leakage?
  • Assuming the passenger seat may not be ideal (riding 2up etc), where would be the best/safest location to store a full gas can? I could strap it to my top-case luggage rack, but is it safe inside a sidebag/case, or would fumes etc be a concern?
  • How long can you store gas in one of these cans when not in use? (Before gas would degrade or whatever) and again, should the vent be left open or closed?

Appreciate any input; thanks guys.
 
Before you worry about all that, where will you be riding that you need to carry extra gas?
 
TekNinja81 said:
For those of you who do longer trips, where you may need to carry additional gasoline:

My bike has a full luggage setup with a top box (with a rack on top) and side cases, and I also carry a cargo net and Rok Straps in case anything needs to be secured. On a recent trip I brought along a 4.7L can of gas and strapped it to my passenger seat, as opposed to storing it in a side case, figuring it wouldn't be bouncing around that way and there would be ventilation for the fumes. The thought has occurred to me that in a crash or drop, the gas could end up leaking and potentially igniting, so I have a few questions.


  • Does the gas can's vent valve need to be left open while riding, or can it be closed (at least for a reasonable duration) to prevent possible leakage?
  • Assuming the passenger seat may not be ideal (riding 2up etc), where would be the best/safest location to store a full gas can? I could strap it to my top-case luggage rack, but is it safe inside a sidebag/case, or would fumes etc be a concern?
  • How long can you store gas in one of these cans when not in use? (Before gas would degrade or whatever) and again, should the vent be left open or closed?

Appreciate any input; thanks guys.
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1) I find that gas cans swell when tightly sealed due to either expansion or changes in atmospheric pressure so in my service van I leave the vent slightly loose.

2) Putting a jerry can on the seat or top box sounds sloppy and adds to raising the centre of gravity. Not my choice.

3) When you fill up dump the can into the bike tank and top up both with fresh gas.

If this is a temporary one time deal do what you have to but if you have an ongoing problem (Trying to tour with a small tank sport bike) look up what the iron butt guys do for extra fuel.
 
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Have you checked out the RotoPax offerings? You can mount them to a variety of side racks so they'll be low and tight to the bike. Something to consider.
 
If somebody has to explain it to you than you probably will not understand....Just kidding, I have a fear of running out of gas every time i go out of town, 12 litre tank. I am always looking for gas stations and the best roads (aside form the 518) do not have stations. I carry fuel in the little fuel bottles from the camping stores to get me by.
 
not necessarily the most legal option, but using a 1L nalgene would alleviate the leaking problem, storage problem and explosive problem (if it was filled up)
 
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Never used it though.
You can do the 500 series twisty roads with a 9L tank with 120KM range.
 
twisted throttle sells some metal stove fuel cannisters (like mec) but also the mounting rings so you could mount 1 or 2 bottles to the rear of each side case. assuming you have a rectangular case. I don't think it would work well on a v35 or something curvy
 
DoubleJ said:
Metal camp fuel bottles from MEC.
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fyrebug said:
twisted throttle sells some metal stove fuel cannisters (like mec) but also the mounting rings so you could mount 1 or 2 bottles to the rear of each side case. assuming you have a rectangular case. I don't think it would work well on a v35 or something curvy
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This is what you need. Buy 2 bottles for 2 litres at $20 a piece from mec. That should be enough to get you to a gas station should you need them. Also they can be used to fuel a portable stove to boil water for your dried food meals. A win, win situation.

http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Hikin...lAccessories/PRD~5015-640/msr-fuel-bottle.jsp
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys, some excellent ideas here. To answer a few specifics:

matthew said:
Before you worry about all that, where will you be riding that you need to carry extra gas?
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My V-Strom has a 22L tank which gets me around 350-380KM range, so realistically I shouldn't need to; however, some of my friends have smaller tanks and generally need gas closer to the 200-250km range, so it's mostly as a precaution in case we wind up way out somewhere in the boonies. We've had a few incidents riding out in the middle of nowhere late at night where someone was well into their reserve before we located an open gas station.


mudmojo said:
Have you checked out the RotoPax offerings? You can mount them to a variety of side racks so they'll be low and tight to the bike. Something to consider.
Click to expand...

I actually have been looking at those, they look like an excellent product. I think I've seen kits that allow them to be mounted inside the Givi sidebags etc, which would be handy provided I had at least one side empty/lightly packed. That said, I'm not sure how well they'd work for me otherwise. I have the E360 sidebags (round rather than the rectangular style) so there would be some limitations I imagine.


fyrebug said:
twisted throttle sells some metal stove fuel cannisters (like mec) but also the mounting rings so you could mount 1 or 2 bottles to the rear of each side case. assuming you have a rectangular case. I don't think it would work well on a v35 or something curvy
Click to expand...

This or the ones mentioned at MEC might actually be what I end up going for, if I want to carry an emergency backup as opposed to the 4.7L can I currently have. Indeed, the round cases would make mounting an issue, but I could probably come up with an alternate mounting solution.
 
I sometimes carry a small gas cylinder with me.
Its only 1.5l but it's in a pretty much indestructible container and will fit pretty much anywere.
I know it's only 1.5l but it's better then nothing, I have yet to use it.
 
Not what you are asking, but a siphon hose is handy, and easy to pack.
 
mlc said:
Not what you are asking, but a siphon hose is handy, and easy to pack.
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The redneck credit card. :) I tried to syphon gas from my Safari van once but no luck. To be honest I didn't try all that hard. Too many safety courses.
 
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