Auxiliary tanks for Spyder

[bone crusher]

I agree with everyone that the range of 150 miles is pretty crappy...however, I driven through most parts of this wonder country and it's hard to think of any places that do not sell gas at least once every 100 miles. This bike only needs 87 octane, so the fear of not having premium is not an issue...and even then, 87 or 89-91 would work...sure, the engine will 'ping' a lot and not work too efficiently, but it will still move your vehicle.

I agree with some that carrying a highly flammable liquid is not always safe. There might be some canisters that are approved to do so, but they take up room and don't extend your trip by that much.

The easy solution would be to have BRP make the tank bigger or have the Spyder get better mileage. Being we don't have that luxury, then we have to concede that the bike's range might be a factor when choosing a trip...I have a zumo on my bike so I know where all the gas stations are...maybe a great addition to everyones' bike is to equip. a zumo 450, 550, or the new 660. This way you can plan your trip and make sure there are gas stations along the way.

 

[bjt]

I agree with everyone that the range of 150 miles is pretty crappy...however, I driven through most parts of this wonder country and it's hard to think of any places that do not sell gas at least once every 100 miles.

One of my concerns is that some of those stations close after 11pm and don't open until 6am. For some of the type of riding we are thinking of doing, we may be crossing into those late night times. :conspiracy theory on: Also, if "they" create another gas crunch like we had last summer, stations being out of gas is another good possibility. :conspiracy theory off:

I have a zumo on my bike so I know where all the gas stations are...maybe a great addition to everyones' bike is to equip. a zumo 450, 550, or the new 660. This way you can plan your trip and make sure there are gas stations along the way.

I have the Zumo 450 but I haven't used it to plan a trip. Do you use the Zumo itself to plan the trip with routing near gas stations or is that part of the software (which is not Mac compatible ) on the CD that came with the Zumo?

I'm thankful for my Zumo and it has helped me a lot more than not but its not perfect. I remember the time in Valcourt, Quebec when it told me to "turn right" while in the middle of a bridge over a river. I was preparing to turn at the road I saw ahead when the Zumo says "recalculating" and "make a U-turn" meaning that it thought I should turn back in the middle of the bridge and into the river. :yikes:

Christmas 2008, we were on a trip in Florida and found that some of the businesses information stored in a Garmin GPS is out of date or just plain incorrect. We were looking for a car wash using the GPS and it took us to empty lots, buildings that looked like they hadn't been occupied for five years and addresses that had active business but no car wash in sight. :dontknow:

Or the time we were using it to find the Bushtec facility in Jacksboro. It had us going in circles (every intersection we came to, we were directed to go straight or turn right). Of course, the street we were looking for did not have a street sign at the intersection and, though Bushtec had put a small sign up with an arrow directing people down that street, some local had put up a garage sale sign over the Bushtec sign. :banghead:

 

[Stuart49]

Here is my solution. Transfers 'on the fly'. Sweet

 

[bjt]

Here is my solution. Transfers 'on the fly'. Sweet

I've been keeping your fuel cell mod in the back of my mind. If I had a little extra money in my pocket, I would attempt something like this for my long trips.

 

[mike3069]

:yikes:

Here is my solution. Transfers 'on the fly'. Sweet

:yikes:
And for those REALLY long trips you can just pop the cap and fill up from the mid route refueling helicopter!:joke:

 

[Firefly]

One of my concerns is that some of those stations close after 11pm and don't open until 6am. For some of the type of riding we are thinking of doing, we may be crossing into those late night times. :conspiracy theory on: Also, if "they" create another gas crunch like we had last summer, stations being out of gas is another good possibility. :conspiracy theory off:



I have the Zumo 450 but I haven't used it to plan a trip. Do you use the Zumo itself to plan the trip with routing near gas stations or is that part of the software (which is not Mac compatible ) on the CD that came with the Zumo?

I'm thankful for my Zumo and it has helped me a lot more than not but its not perfect. I remember the time in Valcourt, Quebec when it told me to "turn right" while in the middle of a bridge over a river. I was preparing to turn at the road I saw ahead when the Zumo says "recalculating" and "make a U-turn" meaning that it thought I should turn back in the middle of the bridge and into the river. :yikes:

Christmas 2008, we were on a trip in Florida and found that some of the businesses information stored in a Garmin GPS is out of date or just plain incorrect. We were looking for a car wash using the GPS and it took us to empty lots, buildings that looked like they hadn't been occupied for five years and addresses that had active business but no car wash in sight. :dontknow:

Or the time we were using it to find the Bushtec facility in Jacksboro. It had us going in circles (every intersection we came to, we were directed to go straight or turn right). Of course, the street we were looking for did not have a street sign at the intersection and, though Bushtec had put a small sign up with an arrow directing people down that street, some local had put up a garage sale sign over the Bushtec sign. :banghead:

You can disable u-turns on the Garmin - and also make sure to plug into your computer (and internets) every month or so to make sure your Garmin is up to date.

 

[bjt]

You can disable u-turns on the Garmin - and also make sure to plug into your computer (and internets) every month or so to make sure your Garmin is up to date.

True but my point wasn't that it was telling me to make a U-turn but that it wanted me to off-road (or on-river) the Spyder as if I had the James Bond / Seadoo upgrade.

 

[ataDude]

Kind of like my AR trip last week... on parts of the Talamena Parkway (OK to AR), the Garmin 660 had us riding about 300 yards south of the road. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
.

True but my point wasn't that it was telling me to make a U-turn but that it wanted me to off-road (or on-river) the Spyder as if I had the James Bond / Seadoo upgrade.

 

[bjt]

Kind of like my AR trip last week... on parts of the Talamena Parkway (OK to AR), the Garmin 660 had us riding about 300 yards south of the road. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?
.

Dang, I forgot that one... I had the same thing happen on the way to lamonster's house from Gatlinburg last year. We made our way to a brand new stretch of partially finished expressway and the Zumo didn't know what to make of it. It occasionally offered a course correction and showed us riding through the middle of the countryside, off-road. It still got us to his place in short order. :thumbup:

It completely failed while trying to navigate us to the restaurant that Andrew from Bushtec recommended in Jacksboro. I thought we were going to relive a few bad scenes from the movie Deliverance when the locals came out of their house cursing us and telling us to get the $&#* off their street. When we finally made it, the restaurant turned out to be great but the trip there was a bit unnerving. :yikes:

 

[Roger]

I think i remember seeing a website that will map out your route with gas stations in one of the threads.

 

[dragonheart]

Christmas 2008, we were on a trip in Florida and found that some of the businesses information stored in a Garmin GPS is out of date or just plain incorrect. We were looking for a car wash using the GPS and it took us to empty lots, buildings that looked like they hadn't been occupied for five years and addresses that had active business but no car wash in sight. :dontknow:

Or the time we were using it to find the Bushtec facility in Jacksboro. It had us going in circles (every intersection we came to, we were directed to go straight or turn right). Of course, the street we were looking for did not have a street sign at the intersection and, though Bushtec had put a small sign up with an arrow directing people down that street, some local had put up a garage sale sign over the Bushtec sign. :banghead:

We have the Zumo 550 and are traveling from TN to the BRP event in L.A. I am making note of as many GPS coordinates as possible for planned stops and am going to load those into my Favorites. Too many times the Zumo has led us astray as there are several, for example "Tenth Street"s in a city. I figure if I use the GPS coordinates, that should get us to the right spot. I have yet to find a KOA that doesn't provide you with those coordinates. Here is a link that you can use to convert the coordinates into latitude/longitude for your Zumo: http://boulter.com/gps/

 

[McGone]

I...however, I driven through most parts of this wonder country and it's hard to think of any places that do not sell gas at least once every 100 miles.

I rode the Spyder in Alaska last summer and found two gas stations in a row closed. I wish I had been carrying an extra gallon of fuel. I lucked out and coasted to a stop within site of a gas station. In Wyoming there was a sign for next fuel 35 miles and when I got there they only had diesel. The next town was 35 miles away and I did run out of gas about 20 miles from Gillette.

The $120 for a 3 gallon bladder is cheaper than the $20 30 oz fuel bottles, if you need more than 1.5 gallons.

 

[bone crusher]

I...however, I driven through most parts of this wonder country and it's hard to think of any places that do not sell gas at least once every 100 miles.

I rode the Spyder in Alaska last summer and found two gas stations in a row closed. I wish I had been carrying an extra gallon of fuel. I lucked out and coasted to a stop within site of a gas station. In Wyoming there was a sign for next fuel 35 miles and when I got there they only had diesel. The next town was 35 miles away and I did run out of gas about 20 miles from Gillette.

The $120 for a 3 gallon bladder is cheaper than the $20 30 oz fuel bottles, if you need more than 1.5 gallons.

Wow, that is cutting it rather close...you gotta do what you have to do...whereas any grade of gas will work, diesel definitely won't make your Rotax too happy!