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Managing your fuel supply on long dry stretches
- Thread starter richardus
- Start date
I think this is about more than simply conserving fuel. Taking a trip like the Trans-Labrador Highway requires a lot of planning, and a lot of experience. Sure, you might get lucky and do fine with just one year of riding, but I'd be practicing on a lot of much much shorter trips in the local area before considering anything like this. Forums like ADVRider will have others who perhaps have made the trip before. I'd check with them as well.
From just a quick search, it appeared like the longest stretch was about 180 miles. That's within range of many touring bikes.
Chris
guenner
Member
Managing your fuel supply? Pretty easy nowadays to plan ahead.
Once I have decided where to go and the roads I want to take I use my GPS/Navigation System/App/Internet to find out in advance which places on my way may have fuel.
E.g. I found a nice app from Shell Canada which made it very easy to do my planning going through Canada.
There's just one thing to remember...don't forget to fill up at the ultimate gas station you had planned for.
Once I have decided where to go and the roads I want to take I use my GPS/Navigation System/App/Internet to find out in advance which places on my way may have fuel.
E.g. I found a nice app from Shell Canada which made it very easy to do my planning going through Canada.
There's just one thing to remember...don't forget to fill up at the ultimate gas station you had planned for.
PGlaves
#13338
Here is an example. Good or bad. 
Voni and I pulled into the station. She says she said - I should gas her bike because she wanted to check out the new city sponsored public internet on her IPad. So I gas my bike. Hers. Nada.
We get 40 miles from the gas pumps, about 13 miles from home. She coasts to the side of the road. The bike won't re-start. I go home to get the trailer. I mess around getting the Explorer, hooking to the trailer, etc. Suddenly a car pulls in and there is hitchhiker Voni. She says we need a gas can, not the trailer.
She thought I gassed her bike. I didn't. It ran out of gas. We took a gallon back and she rode the bike home.
This is how not to manage fuel supply - remote locations or on the way home the 53 miles from town.
In more remote locations I am happy with the 3.5 gallon fuel cell in my Jesse topbox.
Voni and I pulled into the station. She says she said - I should gas her bike because she wanted to check out the new city sponsored public internet on her IPad. So I gas my bike. Hers. Nada.
We get 40 miles from the gas pumps, about 13 miles from home. She coasts to the side of the road. The bike won't re-start. I go home to get the trailer. I mess around getting the Explorer, hooking to the trailer, etc. Suddenly a car pulls in and there is hitchhiker Voni. She says we need a gas can, not the trailer.
She thought I gassed her bike. I didn't. It ran out of gas. We took a gallon back and she rode the bike home.
This is how not to manage fuel supply - remote locations or on the way home the 53 miles from town.
In more remote locations I am happy with the 3.5 gallon fuel cell in my Jesse topbox.
lkraus
New member
Managing your fuel supply? Pretty easy nowadays to plan ahead.
Once I have decided where to go and the roads I want to take I use my GPS/Navigation System/App/Internet to find out in advance which places on my way may have fuel.
E.g. I found a nice app from Shell Canada which made it very easy to do my planning going through Canada.
There's just one thing to remember...don't forget to fill up at the ultimate gas station you had planned for.
If the GPS/app shows only one station at the refueling point, call ahead to be sure it will be open/still in business, and carries the fuel you need. The databases often do not reflect reality. I've found stations that had been closed for years, and whole communities that offered only a choice between 87 octane or diesel.
PGlaves
#13338
That "call the station" idea might work in Ohio but out here in the vast west, often not so much. Cell phone coverage can be really spotty. By the time a person gets cell coverage they can usually see the town, and maybe the gas station.
shortythorne
shortythorne
This could vary with different electrical systems on different bikes, but Paul & I have experienced between 3-4 mpg less when running our heated gear (jacket liner & gloves).
akbeemer
SURVIVOR
We've lived in Alaska or Montana for the past 23 years. We've ridden extensively throughout Alaska and the Yukon Territory, explored the Montana region from BC to New Mexico and made a dozen or so trips between Alaska and Montana. The one and only time we ever carried fuel was on Annie's F650GS (single) on one of our trips on the Dalton. Our trips between Alaska and the states were made with me on an R12RT or R12R and Annie on a F650GS (single) or F650GS (twin); all with stock fuel capacity. We have never run out of fuel, I"ve never called ahead about fuel availability and I do not do detailed planning on where to get fuel. We did have a few white knuckle experiences that were uniformly as a result of a poor decision by me. Annie on Sena radio: There's a gas station, we should get gas. Me: Naw, we'll be alright. Later.... Annie: my fuel light has been on for 30 miles. Me: Silence. I do carry a small siphon hose (fish tank tubing) and a one gallon Starbuck's coffee bag that folds up quite nicely, and we do tend to ride on the top half of our tanks. My experience tells me you do not run out of fuel because of fuel availability or capacity, you run out of fuel due to poor decision making.
Oh, and that one time we carried fuel on the Dalton led to another poor decision that almost left us without fuel. Heading south at the Coldfoot fuel point Annie needed fuel. I was on a GSPD a with 9+ gallon fuel tank and was good for getting to the Yukon River fuel point another 115 miles down the road. I sagely tell Annie not to get fuel but instead to put the two gallons she was carrying in her PegPackers in the bike. I was confident she could then also get to the Yukon River and we would both refuel there and she would be rid of the spare fuel. Good plan until we arrived at the Yukon to findout they were out of fuel and "might" get a delivery later in the day. We were saved by Aerostitch. One of their tours was on the road that day and they had a chase vehicle with a friend who was a local mechanic driving, extra fuel and a trailer. The chase vehicle went by us while we were stopped at the Yukon and Annie and I were in pursuit. A few miles down the road they stopped at a construction point and I availed myself of some Aerostitch fuel.
Oh, and that one time we carried fuel on the Dalton led to another poor decision that almost left us without fuel. Heading south at the Coldfoot fuel point Annie needed fuel. I was on a GSPD a with 9+ gallon fuel tank and was good for getting to the Yukon River fuel point another 115 miles down the road. I sagely tell Annie not to get fuel but instead to put the two gallons she was carrying in her PegPackers in the bike. I was confident she could then also get to the Yukon River and we would both refuel there and she would be rid of the spare fuel. Good plan until we arrived at the Yukon to findout they were out of fuel and "might" get a delivery later in the day. We were saved by Aerostitch. One of their tours was on the road that day and they had a chase vehicle with a friend who was a local mechanic driving, extra fuel and a trailer. The chase vehicle went by us while we were stopped at the Yukon and Annie and I were in pursuit. A few miles down the road they stopped at a construction point and I availed myself of some Aerostitch fuel.
I pulled into Okanagon a couple years ago. As a kid, I'd heard of it a lot mostly in terms of being great deer hunting territory. On the map, it is in bold face type and seemed to indicate a large town. So at about 4 pm, I pulled in, needing gas. The main gas station had run out about 15 minutes before and was turning off the lights. There was a Chevron station down the road a mile that was now charging about $1.50/gal more.
Last summer, I pulled into a really tiny town that looked like it had six gas stations. Maybe the two stations had changed owners a few times, but instead of six stations, there were only two. I missed one station on the way into town. On the way out of town, I finally found it. It looked like one pump in the middle of a construction business off the road. The only other one was two pumps sitting on dirt. Luckily, it did take credit cards because no one could be seen anywhere.
Each night on my trips, I figured out my route using Google Maps. I'm not thrilled with supporting the "evil empire", but the street view is valuable when you're comparing two roads. Once I had the route picked, I turned to Bing maps which had a way to show gas stations (and prices). I'd program my route in my GPS based on gas station stops. In the west, there are places where you fill up early when you can...because the next stretch of road won't have a gas station within your range if you don't start that section with a full tank.
I carried spare fuel on last summer's trips. Never used it. Planning worked just fine. If you have aluminum cases, there are brackets that will attach to the cases and are designed to carry fuel safely.
But there's no way I'd consider carrying a fuel bottle in an enclosed space. That's an explosion waiting to happen.
You can try to economize and get better fuel range, but now you're taking the fun out of riding...and that strategy should be used only as a last resort when you find that station in Podunk Utah is closed.
Chris
Last summer, I pulled into a really tiny town that looked like it had six gas stations. Maybe the two stations had changed owners a few times, but instead of six stations, there were only two. I missed one station on the way into town. On the way out of town, I finally found it. It looked like one pump in the middle of a construction business off the road. The only other one was two pumps sitting on dirt. Luckily, it did take credit cards because no one could be seen anywhere.
Each night on my trips, I figured out my route using Google Maps. I'm not thrilled with supporting the "evil empire", but the street view is valuable when you're comparing two roads. Once I had the route picked, I turned to Bing maps which had a way to show gas stations (and prices). I'd program my route in my GPS based on gas station stops. In the west, there are places where you fill up early when you can...because the next stretch of road won't have a gas station within your range if you don't start that section with a full tank.
I carried spare fuel on last summer's trips. Never used it. Planning worked just fine. If you have aluminum cases, there are brackets that will attach to the cases and are designed to carry fuel safely.
But there's no way I'd consider carrying a fuel bottle in an enclosed space. That's an explosion waiting to happen.
You can try to economize and get better fuel range, but now you're taking the fun out of riding...and that strategy should be used only as a last resort when you find that station in Podunk Utah is closed.
Chris
When I first started riding with the local Beemer crowd, learned quickly that West Texas and most western rural routes fuel stops are far and few between and the gas station there last year is no guarantee.
I use the gas station feature on the Garmin, but it is not flawless. When it shows multiple stations ahead, that's a good sign.
We have held our breath more times than I care to admit. When different bikes have different ranges, it is easy to underestimate . So, we fuel early and often as my internal tank is around 200 miles anyway when I am properly hydrating
I carry a QC hose to use my GSA as a tanker if needed and have.Have a few pictures of buds with water bottle and siphon hose in hand who did not top off their 5 gallon tank when we stopped
Fill the tank, do not let it click and stop...or pay a price for missing even a half gallon of capacity.
We added a MSR bottle in a tool tube to H's 390 Duke this past Fall when we were ridge running the Ozarks as we found that 2.9 gallons really doesn't go too far the previous years trip. It is possible to run out when you avoid major highways even in Arkansas!
Our worst reality check of riding in eastern Canada was the scale of the map didn't click until 230 miles and no station in sight on H's R12R. I had spare fuel, but wondered if I could make it if I shared. The station she coasted into wasn't on the Garmins list and brand new...lucky for us.
I use the gas station feature on the Garmin, but it is not flawless. When it shows multiple stations ahead, that's a good sign.
We have held our breath more times than I care to admit. When different bikes have different ranges, it is easy to underestimate . So, we fuel early and often as my internal tank is around 200 miles anyway when I am properly hydrating
I carry a QC hose to use my GSA as a tanker if needed and have.Have a few pictures of buds with water bottle and siphon hose in hand who did not top off their 5 gallon tank when we stopped
Fill the tank, do not let it click and stop...or pay a price for missing even a half gallon of capacity.
We added a MSR bottle in a tool tube to H's 390 Duke this past Fall when we were ridge running the Ozarks as we found that 2.9 gallons really doesn't go too far the previous years trip. It is possible to run out when you avoid major highways even in Arkansas!
Our worst reality check of riding in eastern Canada was the scale of the map didn't click until 230 miles and no station in sight on H's R12R. I had spare fuel, but wondered if I could make it if I shared. The station she coasted into wasn't on the Garmins list and brand new...lucky for us.
52184
GTRider
There’s another factor to consider if riding in Oregon, especially eastern OR. Since Oregonians and their guests are not allowed to pump fuel into their own vehicles, it is quite possible to run into a town with multiple gas stations yet no gas availability at night when all the help goes off-duty. That leaves the rider with the option of gambling on the next town down the road or settling in to wait until next morning’s station opening. Been caught that way in Lakeview, OR once.
Oregon passed a law that allows stations in counties with under 40k population to install self-service pumps (effective today), but there are operators who are unwilling or fiscally unable to bear the cost of upgrading to CC-capable pumps for self service—even tho sundown-to-sunup self service has been an option for stations since 2015. So, it will still be possible to hit a rural OR station at night and be SOL for fuel.
Yet another kink in the fuel management line...
Best,
DG
Oregon passed a law that allows stations in counties with under 40k population to install self-service pumps (effective today), but there are operators who are unwilling or fiscally unable to bear the cost of upgrading to CC-capable pumps for self service—even tho sundown-to-sunup self service has been an option for stations since 2015. So, it will still be possible to hit a rural OR station at night and be SOL for fuel.
Yet another kink in the fuel management line...
Best,
DG
The only times I've almost run out of fuel was due entirely to the idiot who happened to be riding my bike at the time.
When in doubt about fuel supply for a selected route, I now use the Gas Buddy app on my phone. Hasn't disappointed me yet.
I've also found that judicious modulation of the throttle bears astonishing results.
When in doubt about fuel supply for a selected route, I now use the Gas Buddy app on my phone. Hasn't disappointed me yet.
I've also found that judicious modulation of the throttle bears astonishing results.
Anyname
Active member
I hear you on the 390 Duke. At highway speed mine probably won't go much more than 120-130 miles. On back roads, it gets close to 70 MPG, although KTM insists on giving the mileage in miles per liter. I have a MSR 800ML bottle to carry on mine too.
BTW, I put a National Cycle Deflector windscreen on mine. It was cheap and is amazingly turbulence free.
managing fuel supply
Starting with the petcock in the "Run" position enables the rider to switch to the "Reserve" position as the bike starts to stumble from lack of fuel. My /2 only has one petcock with one chance at changing to reserve. My /5 thru my 88 RS have two petcocks. I usually change one petcock to reserve when the motor stumbles, leaving the second petcock reserve as a "last chance" to find gas.
If you start off with the petcocks in "reserve" and run out of gas, you are now stuck in the "walk" position. Remember, you can ride a bike farther in 5 minutes than you can push it all day long.
Friedle
Starting with the petcock in the "Run" position enables the rider to switch to the "Reserve" position as the bike starts to stumble from lack of fuel. My /2 only has one petcock with one chance at changing to reserve. My /5 thru my 88 RS have two petcocks. I usually change one petcock to reserve when the motor stumbles, leaving the second petcock reserve as a "last chance" to find gas.
If you start off with the petcocks in "reserve" and run out of gas, you are now stuck in the "walk" position. Remember, you can ride a bike farther in 5 minutes than you can push it all day long.
Friedle
I have also managed my diminishing fuel reserve by coasting. Was heading down to Valdez on a brand new R80 and didn't gas up at Tonsina. Hit reserve a bit later but wasn't sure I could make it back to Tonsina, so I coasted much of the remaining 40 miles to Valdez. Not to hard to do, as it is mostly down hill.
Always a fun game to play on buds...just not as common as it was on pre - FI bikes
It took me a long time to stop reaching down at stops to turn them on/ off, but still automatic on the Airheads.
I had a '59 VW with no fuel guage and a knob below seat...one dark stormy night in the fuel rationing year with lights visible in the valley 10 miles away I reached down to turn on the reserve...already on
roamingbeemer
roamingbeemer
Excellent!! This is the best response of the bunch... a snippit of genius hiding in the mundane.
jagarra
Gerard
Many years ago we had a rally call the Nevada 1100, goal was to complete the ride in under 24 hours. There was a stretch which had to be done in the middle of Nevada in the middle of the night with the distance between gas stops just over 210 miles. The only thing you saw out there, was black hulks of cattle laying on the edge of the asphalt for the heat. I was riding a Z1 and was getting about 30 MPG at speed, carried a couple extra gallons, bike had about 3.7 gal capacity. I forced myself to ride at 55 MPH, made it to next gas stop with fuel to spare.
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