Gas cans mounted in from of Pannier

Google MSR and many choices come up... CampMor is a good start.


The largest MSR Bottle is 33 ounce...

I ride around with my gas in a large metal container in front of me. I don't worry about it so much because if I get T-Boned I will be in pretty bad shape to begin with. But having a bunch of gas in containers that could be crushed from impact behind me, now that would make me worry. I have seen a lot more bikes hit from behind than from the side, over the past 40 years of riding. Some were at less than 5MPH while others were at a much higher speed.

I don't care how well those containers are constructed, when they get crushed, those tops will pop off and a gush of gas is going to go everywhere. It just doesn't look all that safe to me.

I understand the need for adventure riders needing more fuel, but I would be looking for a much safer method of carrying it. Putting it on the back of the bike and making them the first point of impact, well, that just does not make sense to me.

I am planning on mounting gas cans in front of the BMW panniers on my R1200GSA, similar to the picture shown (different brand of panniers of course).

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I think it's a bad idea to put anything on the front of your panniers. Here's why;

You need leg room for when you're travelling over dirt/sand/mud and need to plant a foot. Anything on the front of the pannier runs the risk of smashing into your leg as you move past a planted foot. In extreme cases, even the pannier itself will hit you. Of course if you NEVER plan on riding off the pavement, then you'll probably be fine.

I'd rather find a different place to mount my gas cans then run the risk of getting a leg injury in the middle of nowhere.

explosion risk

I would not want to be rear ended with those gas bottles mounted on the back. One guy mentioned mounting them in front of the cases which sounds a lot safer. The Iron Butt guys use auxiliary tanks but I have seen no comment from any of them on here.

ardbeglily said:

I would not want to be rear ended with those gas bottles mounted on the back. One guy mentioned mounting them in front of the cases which sounds a lot safer. The Iron Butt guys use auxiliary tanks but I have seen no comment from any of them on here.

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Lose the top box and mount a fuel cell in it's place.

ardbeglily said:

I would not want to be rear ended with those gas bottles mounted on the back. One guy mentioned mounting them in front of the cases which sounds a lot safer. The Iron Butt guys use auxiliary tanks but I have seen no comment from any of them on here.

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If you're so risk-adverse, I suggest you give up riding as that's dangerous, too.

Any mount will fail long before the bottles do. In a crash, the bottles will break off and roll away. I use MSR fuel bottles to cart around white gas when backpacking and mountaineering, and those bottles can take a huge amount of abuse. Heck - I've even used full MSR bottles as a hammer to pound in tent stakes in a pinch. We're talking about aircraft grade aluminum here. If you don't trust the fuel bottles in a crash, I certainly hope you don't fly in commercial airliners!

I just made an appointment to drop by BestRest Products tomorrow morning on my way in to work to see if the PegPacker system will work on my RTP. That seems like a great way to cart around extra fuel - and with a trip to Alaska coming up this summer, extra fuel is something I'd like to have on board.

OfficerImpersonator said:

If you're so risk-adverse, I suggest you give up riding as that's dangerous, too.

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OfficerImpersonator said:

Any mount will fail long before the bottles do. In a crash, the bottles will break off and roll away.

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Yep. The bottles are stronger than the rear (plastic) portion of the mount I use and also stronger than the pannier to which they are mounted. I'd guess than in a really bad rear-ender either the bottles would cave in the side of my Zega cases or, if not a direct hit, the mounting screws of the holder would be ripped out of the cases.

// marc

Sometimes, just because you can (and got away with it) does not necessarily mean you should.

All I am saying is that I would not do it and would not recommend it. If you want to do it, go right ahead. I cannot, and will not try to stop you. You have the right to do as you please.

I imagine somebody out there will be mounting these things to the rear bumper of their car. As most car bumpers are now plastic covering a styrofoam block, so with your logic, that would be a good thing to do. If I see that driving down the freeway, I will take the next turnoff. There is no way I want to be around when the inevitable happens. There is always somebody that has to test everything to it's limits.

OfficerImpersonator said:

If you're so risk-adverse, I suggest you give up riding as that's dangerous, too.

Any mount will fail long before the bottles do. In a crash, the bottles will break off and roll away. I use MSR fuel bottles to cart around white gas when backpacking and mountaineering, and those bottles can take a huge amount of abuse. Heck - I've even used full MSR bottles as a hammer to pound in tent stakes in a pinch. We're talking about aircraft grade aluminum here. If you don't trust the fuel bottles in a crash, I certainly hope you don't fly in commercial airliners!

I just made an appointment to drop by BestRest Products tomorrow morning on my way in to work to see if the PegPacker system will work on my RTP. That seems like a great way to cart around extra fuel - and with a trip to Alaska coming up this summer, extra fuel is something I'd like to have on board.

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Just ordered the Peg Packers for an 01 Dakar. Last time a friend checked with the Best Rest guys they seemed to think they will fit on the F650 thumpers, but were noncommittal. If you can get some more info out of them about the thumper application during your visit, I'll be glad to hear it.

I mounted mine on my cylinders:: just kidding , but get real friends ,there are risk in everything we do in this wonderful life we have just enjoy it, by the way when I go on adventures ,and where I go there is nobody to rear end me, its not like I gas up in the city and transport extra fuel for my jump into my adventure.

I'm not worried about explosion from rear mounted gas containers but "Ford Pinto" comes to mind when I see them.

I ordered 2gal PegPackers yesterday for my R1200GS. Will be nice to have for the Canada/Alaska trip this summer. Placed the order on the website and in 30 minuets I had a UPS tracking number w/ shipment confirmation.

cjack said:

Interesting stuff. Did you read how he made a deal with his friend to buy gas from his friends 11 gallon tank and post dated the check so he could stop payment on it? Not someone I would like to know.

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That's was stinky and did cause some pause for me but I still ordered the Pegpacker, it just looks like a very good low CG way to carry fuel. Kinda feel like if you run out gas and you want some help you have to make a choice and you do have one. Who carries a checkbook instead of extra fuel?

thtduck said:

I'm not worried about explosion from rear mounted gas containers but "Ford Pinto" comes to mind when I see them.

I ordered 2gal PegPackers yesterday for my R1200GS. Will be nice to have for the Canada/Alaska trip this summer. Placed the order on the website and in 30 minuets I had a UPS tracking number w/ shipment confirmation.



That's was stinky and did cause some pause for me but I still ordered the Pegpacker, it just looks like a very good low CG way to carry fuel. Kinda feel like if you run out gas and you want some help you have to make a choice and you do have one. Who carries a checkbook instead of extra fuel?

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I visited David's office this morning on my way in to work to discuss adapting the PegPacker system to my RTP. We think it will work just fine, and when I pull the trigger and get the devices, David wants to take photos of the installation for the website as I'll be the first RT/RTP to use the product.

An extra three gallons of gas will be a great insurance policy for my ride to Alaska this summer.

grafikfeat said:

They may pick up a stone in front.
Those MSR bottles are thin walled aluminum.

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They are very strong as I crashed, on the right side, at 30-35 MPH during the TAT. The bottles took a hit but were fine, the Pannier needed repair as it was severly dented. It took the weight of the bike....

BONEY said:

I think it's a bad idea to put anything on the front of your panniers. Here's why;

You need leg room for when you're travelling over dirt/sand/mud and need to plant a foot. Anything on the front of the pannier runs the risk of smashing into your leg as you move past a planted foot. In extreme cases, even the pannier itself will hit you. Of course if you NEVER plan on riding off the pavement, then you'll probably be fine.

I'd rather find a different place to mount my gas cans then run the risk of getting a leg injury in the middle of nowhere.

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If I run over my foot with this much clearance I would be wondering WTF? I usually ride the thing to the ground ,keeping my feet on the pegs unless I cannot possibly get out of the mess I am in. I ride it a lot diff than my old 175 two banger. This bike hasn't seen as much dirt yet as it is a few months old...the others had a lot more experience. The gas I carry as I said earlier is for long stretches with smaller capacity riding partners bikes,usually on the road...I try to not have the ADV tank topped off if I am goofing around and I don't need the bottles...sumbitch gets hard to pickup with all that extra weight!
My worst leg injuries have been from the pegs finding my ankle when trying to slide flattrack style and doing it poorly...that was on that danged 175 also.