Tour Tubes? What is your opinion?

[Toledo Mark]

I am thinking of getting a Tour Tube to carry extra gas.  It is not a permanent mount but something you can carry in a saddlebag.  Here is a link.

http://www.tourtank.com/TourTubes.html

What do you think?

Thanks, Mark

[Willow]

Depending on your fuel mileage you should get between 30 and 43 miles after you go on reserve. 

Where are you planning to ride your Valkyrie that you'd be more than 30 miles from a fuel station?

(If your answer is Alaska then buy the fuel cell or three.) 

[Stormrider65]

Wow. First time I heard about this one.  I've thought seriously about the aux tank you mount in the frame.  It has the fuel pump but a few mods have to be done to mount and connect it to the main tank.  The tube sounds like a good idea.  I see that it goes all the way to 2 gallons.  I have the IS and with the larger tank and the fuel gauge, which really helps me.  I get distracted when I ride and don't pay attention till the scoot starts to stutter, then its too late.   

[Brad]

That is a good looking tank but a little pricey.  I travel the back roads of Nevada and sometimes need a little extra gas to get to the next station.  I carry 2 of these when I need to, they are 20 bucks for 30 oz but sometimes they are on sale for 15.

[alph]

$90 is quite a bit of money for that!!  Considering that it’s only ½ a gallon!!  For ten bucks more, you get a full gallon!!  I’ve got a plastic jug I bought at k-mart for about $2.  it’s red, and hold a full gallon.  Made of tough, non rusting plastic.  Comes with a handy spout too!! 

[solo1]

As mentioned above, the aluminum canisters used for fuel for camping stoves are a lot cheaper at camping stores. I bought three of them but never used them.

[fudgie]

Depending on your fuel mileage you should get between 30 and 43 miles after you go on reserve. 

Where are you planning to ride your Valkyrie that you'd be more than 30 miles from a fuel station?

(If your answer is Alaska then buy the fuel cell or three.) 

Technically, yes. I got 8 miles once I hit resv, then ran out. Other factors played a roll.

[fudgie]

solo1 has a good idea, of coarse. 
I was gonna get one but couldnt find on local. Went to wal-mart and got a aluminum water bottle, 1L in size, with a good lid and seal. Put a little gas in it and put it upside down for a day or 2. No leaks. Threw it in the luggage for our trip. Never leaked gas or odor. $3. It was a b!itch to empty it into the tank and half went down the tank. I'll carry a small funnel next time.
I saw a guy in 09 in Iowa, he was from VT, on his way to Sturgis. He had a 2.5 gal red gas jug hanging off the side of his bike. We followed him cause we were about out of gas and he knew where a station was. So thats another option.
Function over form.

[Chiefy]

That is a good looking tank but a little pricey.  I travel the back roads of Nevada and sometimes need a little extra gas to get to the next station.  I carry 2 of these when I need to, they are 20 bucks for 30 oz but sometimes they are on sale for 15.

I have a pair of these in my trike trunk.  I used them all summer in the intense Florida heat.  Never leaked a single drop, never smelled a single whiff of fumes.  To each his own, but a plastic can would make me nervous.  I bought these after reading numerous accounts of off roaders going down with no problems with these bottles breaking open.

[chip]

  I too have considered n aux. tank. So far while on my pleasure rides I have always been able to fuel up when needed. But I commute 100 miles round trip when weather permits at least 5 times a week. Stopping every other day on the IS or more often on the Standard gets old. Pay at the pump does help. My thought was to utilize the receiver hitch to keep the weight low and centered, use quick disconnects on the lines and a Small fuel pump. After about 100 miles you could pump 2.5 gallons into the main tank . I know ,might as well mount a belly tank. But then I wouldn't get to tinker as much.

[John Schmidt]

Since our fuel delivery is gravity fed, you'd need a fuel pump for anything mounted in the saddlebag. I'd be more inclined to pick up a small 1-3 gal. square or rectangular fuel cell from Summit Racing. They come with mounting brackets welded in place and you can clamp it on the back of the sissy bar. That would make it high enough to gravity feed, and easy to cover/disguise from the prying eyes of the constabulary. Just a thought.

[Hef]

I agree with Willow on this one. I set my trip meter after each fill up and once I hit about 125 miles, I'll watch for a station and if I am not sure how far the next town or gas staion is, I'll stop and fill up.
Not a problem for me because most of the time when I ride I am not in a hurry to get somewhere. The tube would take up space which could be used for gear on a long trip. As I always say... to each his own.... do what makes you happy.

[sheets]

Ditto on the aluminum camp fuel bottles. Have two of them. One in each bag for balance. I have a little funnel also, so things don't get messy. So far, never needed it. Better to have and not need than to need and not have. 

[Gear Jammer]

Depending on several factors, your MPG may not be 30-40.  If you're riding with an IS rider with his 7gal tank getting 40mpg, it's for his benefit I got this 5gal tank to allow me to go as far as him without making him stop for fuel when he still had 1/2 tank of fuel.  I only had to fuel 3 times during a 12 hr ride.
Highbinder is thinking I should have had this tank mounted in Galveston last April 

[¿spoom]

Running hard on the way to Sturgis one year I got some bad gas in addition to the um "excellent" mileage we get at 80+ mpg. Ended up getting about 60 miles on the tank before I had to go on reserve. Could've used a spare tank.
One other option is a spare tank that came out within the last year made slanted to fit into Harley hard bags. Can't remember the name of the company but those ones might fit some of our bikes. I know the soft H-D saddlebag liners are a sweet fit in the OEM Hondaline leather saddlebags.

[¿spoom]

Depending on your fuel mileage you should get between 30 and 43 miles after you go on reserve.  

Where are you planning to ride your Valkyrie that you'd be more than 30 miles from a fuel station?

(If your answer is Alaska then buy the fuel cell or three.)  

I've been close to stranded in my car/truck a few times. Seems in some parts of the Country you'll still go to hell if you sell gas on a Sunday evening after it gets dark out  
Seriously, some little burgs still roll up the sidewalks at times city slickers like myself wouldn't have anticipated. Bought a tank of gas from a farmer for the bike in MO once or I'd have been sleeping under the gas station's canopy until Monday morning. Sometimes just a 1/2 gal to get you to the Interstate is all it takes to find a station that's open at 2am.

[Garland]

I recently upgraded to the Interstate tank and it is really nice to have the extra fuel
capacity. I still carry one of the small aluminum fuel canisters in the saddlebag just in case, both for myself as well as to help out another rider.

[Hoser]

I have 3 16 oz seafoam cans full of gas in a saddlebag, they don't leak.  I carry them cause my pingel petcock has a very small reserve capacity, they don't cost anything.  Never had to use them yet.    Hoser  

[fudgie]

We where home bound from Sturgis this year. We stopped for gas and a water break. When we left we got about 10 miles down the road when we saw something odd in the other lane. When it went by we kinda looked at each other. A bike ran outta gas, I assume, and was hanging on the passengerside window of a car. They were going abour 40 mph towrds the gas station. That sux. He went by another station about 20 miles back. He shoulda got gas!

Just another option. 

[Alaskamike]

I've crossed the Yukon sxeveral times heading for the Lower 48 and back and I can say (cross my fingers) I've never run out of gass.... but its been really close more than once. 

It really does depend on where and how you ride, but I HATE having to worry if the next roadhouse will be open when I'm down to fumes.  But now I've solved the potential hassel with an Interstate tank (I was repainting anyway) and the 3 gal belly tank.

Now I have 9.8 gals to play with - 6.8 in the Interstate tank, and 3 in the belly tank.   Did not find the install on the belly tank to be very difficult.  Overkill I know.... but I get like that with touring.  I especially like the belly tank as it puts the gas at the lowest center of gravity.   Quality made too and fits like it should'a been stock.         

Almost ran out of gas in North Dakota once too.   There really are stretches out there without open stations - especially late at night.   

[RP#62]

I've never run out, but I did go 30 miles on reserve one time going from Moab Utah to Torrey Utah.  Got gas in Moab, then road 30 miles or so up to the interstate.  Figured we'd get gas on the interstate before we headed south to Bryce.  The first sign we saw on the interstate said no services next 100 miles.  We had gotten to the point where we slowed down to 40 and were powering up hills and coasting down.
-RP

[steveB (VRCC UK)]

Need a fuel guage - 52 litres on my fat girl (aluminium tank) but still manage to hit reserve/run out. Wife/navigator does not laugh. The more you have the further you go.

[Alaskamike]

Steve... that is one sweet bike!   

[Tundra]

Depending on your fuel mileage you should get between 30 and 43 miles after you go on reserve. 

Where are you planning to ride your Valkyrie that you'd be more than 30 miles from a fuel station?

(If your answer is Alaska then buy the fuel cell or three.) 

I agree with Willow... Seeing as YOU ASKED what we think. I think it's a waste of money. Know your bike, know your fuel mileage, know your reserve mileage. It appears that every Valkyrie is different, especially with different mods we have done, or different fuel valves we have added. Know your bike, plan your trip/ride accordingly. I have NEVER run out of gas, it's just not acceptable to me.

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

I've been lucky I've never ran out of gas and I hope to never do so....I stop every 100 miles when on a road-trip it just makes the miles more enjoyable when you can walk around alittle and give the twins a break as well   

[Sodbuster]

I've been lucky I've never ran out of gas and I hope to never do so....I stop every 100 miles when on a road-trip it just makes the miles more enjoyable when you can walk around alittle and give the twins a break as well    

+1 on that ....  

also, here's a nice alternative (still a little spendy)
http://www.jpcycles.com/product/721-352

[Hoser]

The empty seafoam cans are free.  Well, except for when they were full of the origional stuff!   

[R J]

I'm like Joe, stop every 100 to 125 miles and fill up.

If you are in the desert and see a gas station, fill up.

In an OVER populated area, you can run further.

In my motor riding life, I have put on over a million miles and as of this writing haven't run out of gas yet.    That includes ALL of the vehicles I've driven since I was 14 years old.

I even took a 39 Plymouth coupe across country while in the service that took more oil than it did gas.    I'd pull into a station, ask if they had any drain oil left, and if so could I get a couple or 3 quarts for my car and fill the gas tank.  Had 1 station tell me I'd ruin my engine using waste oil.    Told him it was wasted 3 years ago.   

When I finally tore it down, at the Marine Base in SF, pulled the head and could drop a butter knife down between the piston and the wall.    Yupper, it did throw out a pretty good blue trail back then.

Ended up we, Marine Corps buddies, & I put a Oldsmobile Rocket 88 with Hydramatic in it.    Think it was out of a 49, but not sure of that.  I remember we found it for $50 in the junkyard, motor and tranny.    Didn't take too much finagling to get it in.  It looked factory when we were done.    Only giveaway that it was a sleeper was the dual exhaust.    Car ended up making 4 round trips from San Fan to Iowa before I got sent to Korea.    Mom drove it while I was over there, the 2nd time I went over I had my step dad trade it for a 49 Ford sedan for me.    Should have kept the little coupe....

[Momz]

You guys need to see a 97 valk that gets a consistant 43+ MPG standard. That equals 200+ miles before hitting reserve.

Don't believe me? I'm going to have MPG Challenge at IZXI,...no slow driving, twistes, great scenery, even a winery and scenic state park. 








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[lakehunter]

Ran across this today, saddle bag tank kit, looks great if you need extended cruise range. I prefer the stop n un-kink every 100 miles method .

http://www.crstrikeshop.com/pagelinks/Accessories.html

[Ken Tarver]

I and friends took a trip to Alaska the last week of May this year on the Wing. We took the suggestion from other friends to take extra gas, so I got 2, 2.5 gal plastic gas cans and carried them on the cooler rack on the trailer tounge. Did not carry gas while in the US, when passing through Calgary, AB I put 1 gal in each can as the frequency of available gas was going to be less the further into Canada we went.
Well, carried that same gas all the way to Anchorage and never used any of it. We just gassed up at every opportunity according to need and where the Milepost book indicated gas. I poured the gas out of the cans into the bike in Anchorage and never put any gas back in them, even on the return trip.

[czuch]

I'm in the 100 mile gas and stretch club. The wife used to smoke and she wanted that time to get all stinkey and such.