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Touring bike with best miles per tank?

DonTom

New member
I might be looking for a new touring bike.

Gas tank size, rather miles per tank has always been the very first thing I look at. Which decent BMW touring cycle gives the longest distance on it's STOCK gas tank?

I know the K1600GTL has a seven gallon tank and should go close to 300 miles on a tank. That's great, but can any other BMW stock touring bike do even better?

-Don- SF, CA
 
I can fetch over 300 miles/tank on the '07 RT, and the '07 GSADV is in the ballpark of 400 miles.
 
My RT gets somewhere around 240 miles to warning light, and I have never run it totally dry to see max range. Gas capacity is generally not the range limit. The bladder, on the other hand...
 
I can fetch over 300 miles/tank on the '07 RT, and the '07 GSADV is in the ballpark of 400 miles.
With your info., I checked the specs on the web.

I see the R1200GS ADV has a 8.72 gallon tank and gets 38.56 MPG average or 336.25 miles per tank.

The RT has a 7.13 Gallon tank, 39.0 average MPG, or 278 miles to a tank.

Thanks for the info.

-Don- SF, CA
 
My RT gets somewhere around 240 miles to warning light, and I have never run it totally dry to see max range. Gas capacity is generally not the range limit. The bladder, on the other hand...
Gas capacity is the only issue when there's a couple of hundred miles between gas stations, as I've seen in some parts of Texas.

BTW, what's the longest anybody here has gone between gas stations?

-Don- SF, CA
 
If you're looking at LD riding, why not focus on the bike you really want and then add an aux tank or just carry some extra gas on the bike?

I don't think I can get 300 out of my K1600GT even running it dry. I'm avg less than 40 mpg and even on those long highway stretches, about 42 mpg. It goes up a bit if I keep the speed under Mach .14
 
If you're looking at LD riding, why not focus on the bike you really want and then add an aux tank or just carry some extra gas on the bike?

I don't think I can get 300 out of my K1600GT even running it dry. I'm avg less than 40 mpg and even on those long highway stretches, about 42 mpg. It goes up a bit if I keep the speed under Mach .14
I have a big hang-up about carrying gasoline in such ways, besides it takes up room for other stuff. Seems BMW has many bikes with large stock gas tanks that I like.

But I think my dream bike is still the K1600GTL, but for almost 30K, I will consider some other options, or at least know a bit about the others.

The GTL, according to the specs, has a half gallon larger tank than the GL. So 40 times 7=280 miles, seems like quite a reasonable range. But the more the better, but there are some other things to consider too.

I especially like the way the front brake controls the rear, which should be very helpful if stopped up hill on a San Francisco style street.

-Don- SF, CA
 
personally, i like the max range of 280 miles i can pull out of my F800GS... and then can only manage to put in 4 gallons!! yeah, that's a max of 70 mpg! (actually, a recorded 71, but why quibble about one mpg?) As gas prices continue to rise, THAT is money in the bank, boys!

carry on.
 
I have a big hang-up about carrying gasoline in such ways, besides it takes up room for other stuff. Seems BMW has many bikes with large stock gas tanks that I like.

But I think my dream bike is still the K1600GTL, but for almost 30K, I will consider some other options, or at least know a bit about the others.

The GTL, according to the specs, has a half gallon larger tank than the GL. So 40 times 7=280 miles, seems like quite a reasonable range. But the more the better, but there are some other things to consider too.

I especially like the way the front brake controls the rear, which should be very helpful if stopped up hill on a San Francisco style street.

-Don- SF, CA

The space argument has some merit. Everything is a tradeoff. From a safety standpoint a good installation poses no issues. My auxiliary tank is constructed of aluminum which is more than three times as thick as the BMW gas tank, and is enclosed in a top case that is itself thicker than the stock tank. Unlike the stock tank, the auxiliary tank is baffled to prevent slosh. There are no fragile plastic disconnects like supplied OEM when I bought the bike. The fill cap is firmly threaded in place, unlike the pot metal hinge and latch on the stock tank.

My auxiliary tank is far more secure than the OEM setup.
 
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If range is your motivation

I can't believe that you could exceed the range of the R1200GSA. Especially the newer ones. From everything that i have heard from friends, the camhead ('11 and '12 i think) get routinely 50mpg or better. Of course, all that weight up high can be a real handful.

But i too am one of those who's stops are driven more by bladder than by a need for fuel.... :cry
 
I can't believe that you could exceed the range of the R1200GSA. Especially the newer ones. From everything that i have heard from friends, the camhead ('11 and '12 i think) get routinely 50mpg or better. Of course, all that weight up high can be a real handful.

But i too am one of those who's stops are driven more by bladder than by a need for fuel.... :cry
You cannot always find a gas station where you need one. But out in the boonies, when far from all services, the other problem usually isn't much of an issue

-Don- SSF, CA
 
Just did a trip on my RT. roughly Toronto international airport to Dulles International, near as dammit.

Started with full tank. Fueled in northern PA when light came on. Fueled near Dulles.
Same on return.

This through a variety of weather, roads, throughways, hills, etc. stopped more than that for rest and food.

Would not need a bigger tank for touring. Could use a younger/bigger/better bladder...and knees.
 
I haven't pushed it to the limit for fear of sucking dirt from the tank bottom, (and also from having owned a R1200C and CLC, which has the fuel pump inside the tank and it needs to have fuel around it to keep cool), but my 2011 RT always gets at least 51 MPG and I have gone 300 miles on a tankful.
 
My '09 GSA averages 42-45 MPG, 45 if all highway speed. With nearly 9 gallons of fuel, it will travel nearly 400 miles. I have ridden it twice to just over 350 miles between fill-ups. That being said, I do not recommend you travel that far without a break. Iwill normall stop every 100 - 150 miles for a drink and drain of the main vein. It also is a great excuse to visit with a local person or two. Which is part of the fun of traveling - meeting other people.
 
Miles/Tank

You cannot always find a gas station where you need one. But out in the boonies, when far from all services, the other problem usually isn't much of an issue-Don- SSF, CA

I agree with you - I take some routes through Kansas and Colorado where the gas stations are sparse and you can not even depend on them to be open. I don't like to have to be tied to a specific route based on the spacing of the gas stations.

I cringe every time BMW releases a new bike with less fuel capacity.
 
I do not recommend you travel that far without a break.
Taking breaks has nothing to do with this. Ever have to ride 20 miles out of the way to get to a gas station, but you really wanted to go the opposite direction where the next gas station is 150 miles? I usually prefer the roads away from the major freeways and there are MANY routes in the USA today that are 100's of miles between gas stations, even more sometimes if you ride at night.

There might not be a gas station where I need it, but I can take a break every 20 minutes on the route if I want to.

IMO, miles per tank is very important, at least to me. If you only ride from one town to the next, it usually isn't much of an issue, but even then there are a few rare exceptions.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
I cringe every time BMW releases a new bike with less fuel capacity.
I remember in 73 when the smaller toaster tank came out. I was so happy I bought my BMW in 1971, when they claimed it was 6.3 gallons. But later, I discovered BMW lied, as every cycle manufacturer did back in those days about almost everything. My 71 BMW stock gas tank is 5.8 gallons, but all their books, advertisements and service & owner's manuals claim it's 6.3 gallons. It's impossible to get even 6.0 gallons in it even if bone dry. But it was still the largest tank out there back in those days.

Prior to that, I ran out of gas several times on a Honda CL350 that I used to own. Ever since those days, gas tank size has been the very first thing I check into on a new bike.

The only reason I bought my 84 Yamaha Venture (5.3 gallon tank) was because I got a special deal on it where I saved $2,000.00. Or else I would have bought a bike with a larger tank.

It seems BMW now has the largest tanks out there, so I am checking into BMW's first again.

Seems BMW has really changed since 71. Back then they were low tech compared to most other bikes and only had a few models. Now, it seems to be the opposite. But back then as well as now, they have large fuel tanks, with the exception of the toaster tank in 73 or so. I would not consider BMW in 73 for that reason alone, if I were looking for a new bike then.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
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