Here are two of the tanks...
Here are two of the tanks available from Tour Tanks. The one to the right is the 2.0-gallon tank made of polyurethane, and the larger one is the spun-aluminum tank that comes in 2.0-, 3.0-, and 3.5-gallon versions. Each Tour Tank comes with all the brackets and hardware needed to mount the tank and install the gas lines to tap into the fill line from your bike.
If your bike is like mine, then you have a gas tank that holds less than 2.5 gallons and probably only gets about 65 miles to a tank with normal riding. Every time I wanted to take a trip, I needed to plan gas stops well in advance. On the last two big trips out (Hollister and Laughlin), I ran out of gas in areas where there was nothing for miles. Luckily we had a chase truck, but that's not always the case. As soon as I flip to Reserve, at about 50 miles, I know I'd better start looking for a gas station. Well, this kind of riding gets old fast-in the past I carried a gas can or a large soda bottle filled with gas, but that's not a safe way to get around the problem. One year I rigged a soda bottle with a filler hose so that as soon as I needed gas I just pulled over and flipped the hose into my gas tank the way a race team would do it, but what a mess! Then when I went to fill up both the tank and the bottle at a gas station, a cop just happened to pull in, see the bottle on my handlebars, and tell me that it was unsafe and illegal to carry gas this way.
Recently, I came across a really cool product called Tour Tank. It was just what I needed, and allowed me to carry 2-3.5 gallons of gas in a safe gas tank with a vented gas cap and a fill hose on the bottom. You can install the tank with a "T" into your gas line so that when the bike's tank runs out of fuel, all you need to do is flip a switch, and the gas in the Tour Tank will start to feed your carburetor. It can be mounted to any bike and in different ways depending on the bike's configuration. Now, I know that this is a V-Twin-oriented magazine, but when you go to the Tour Tank website you will see just about every kind of bike out there. From Baja 1000 bikes to cross- country BMWs, if you ride long distances (or want to), the Tour Tank will help keep you out of gas stations and on the road.
To get started, we needed...
To get started, we needed to cover the threads of the brass line fitting before it was installed in the tank. With every kit a small tube of Loctite 567 is included; all you need to do is cover all the threads.
Next, the fitting was installed...
Next, the fitting was installed in the bottom of the tank. With a 9/16-inch open-end wrench, the fitting was tightened down 'til the fitting stopped. The polyurethane tank had a steel sleeve for the fitting.
Then the gas line was slid...
Then the gas line was slid over the fitting with a small hose clamp to hold it in place and keep the gas from leaking out.
On my bike we mounted the...
On my bike we mounted the tank to the bars; every bike is different, and so the tank can be mounted differently. I used soft straps on this one. If I had a sissy bar on the bike, the tank could go there as well. I don't plan on having the tank on all the time, so I want to be able to pull it off and on. I used a quick-disconnect at the flow switch. When you go to the website, you can see how about 100 different guys did it on their bikes.
I routed and connected the...
I routed and connected the gas lines, but before I did that I wanted to show how the lines would go (it's easier to see off the bike). From the left side, you can see the tank fitting (A), then a small amount of line to the on/off flow switch (B), and finally a line"T" (C). At this point, one side of the line will route to the petcock, and the other will go to the fuel filter (D), then out to the carburetor.
Here is the 2.0-gallon polyurethane...
Here is the 2.0-gallon polyurethane tank with the T-bar strap mounts. This way it can be mounted to a rack or under the hard-mount saddlebag bracket. It will be up to you how and where.
As I said, there are as many...
As I said, there are as many ways to mount this cool tank as there are bikes. Here is the spun-aluminum 2.5-gallon model with the C-strap brackets. As with the other bike, the gas line was routed the same way.
Here is a cover that Tour...
Here is a cover that Tour Tanks offers. It will hold the 2.0 up to the 3.5-gallon aluminum tank. It has a hole for the drain line, a zipper cover for the fill cap, two extra O-rings to strap things such as jackets, and two side pockets for things like your camera, sunglasses, gloves, and whatever other small items you might be carrying. It also has a strip of reflector tape to help with nighttime visibility.
The cool thing is that the...
The cool thing is that the tank looks like a bedroll; most people won't know what it is. When I'm ready to head out on my trip to Colorado, I'm set, and the Tour Tank will make my next Sturgis trip a little easier as well.