Increasing fuel capacity of a sportbike?

4087 Views 19 Replies 17 Participants Last post by Emmanuelnollan, 2 mo ago

lawnchairpuff

Discussion Starter · May 18, 2005

How do increase fuel capacity of a liter bike. I've heard of hardcaore sport tourers increasing fuel capacity of their bikes. I would think it would involve an after market tank. I'm thinking about increasing the fuel range of a 954. Anyone have any experience with this?

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Gixster

· #2 · May 18, 2005

lawnchairpuff said:
How do increase fuel capacity of a liter bike. I've heard of hardcaore sport tourers increasing fuel capacity of their bikes. I would think it would involve an after market tank.

It exactly entails adding an aftermarket tank.

Warchild, who is probably one of the more well known distance riders out there, has done his fair share of mods to support serious distance riding.

This linky is to the setup on his previous steed, a Blackbird..

Aftermarket Fuel Cells

ZXLNT

· #3 · May 19, 2005

You could change the gearing to lower the rpm at cruising speed. That will help out your mileage some..

Hawker

· #4 · May 19, 2005

Buy another stock tank, and take both tanks to a fabrication shop. between the two tanks, they should be able to increase the capacity of the tank. This is probibly an expensive option, but endurance racers have been doing this sucessfully for years.

SprintST

· #5 · May 19, 2005

Hawker said:
Buy another stock tank, and take both tanks to a fabrication shop. between the two tanks, they should be able to increase the capacity of the tank. This is probibly an expensive option, but endurance racers have been doing this sucessfully for years.

Just make sure to leave yourself room to move the bars full lock, such as it is on modern sportbikes

cbr1k

· #6 · May 19, 2005

I thought for sure I would look in your sig and find out you have a SuperHawk. The only reason I haven't bought one is the fact that you have to stop every 5 miles to gas up!

Honda? Are you listening??

:laughing

Steel Chicken

· #7 · May 19, 2005

yeah SH range is poop, no doubt
they make some carbon fiber tanks, but way too much money

tikki50

· #8 · May 19, 2005

You could buy one of those camel packs some are larger and just carry gas around. Just don't drink it. Im half way joking.........

Then we could call you a Camel Jocky!

Swan

· #9 · May 19, 2005

I suppose something could be designed and built so that it bolts on where the fuel filler is (using a gasket/seal to join the two, of course), and sits on top of the stock tank like a hard-sided tank bag for two or three extra gallons. You could even shape and pad the back of it to give you something comfortable to lean on while you go those extra miles.

Or perhaps a hollow plastic dummy shaped like a passenger that sits behind you. Plumb a hose from the dummy's, uh, "lower regions" through a pump to your tank. Fill the dummy up with gasoline (through the filler in the top of its head) and you're 2-up for the long haul! When you're low on fuel, just pump some out of the dummy. Thank you, Gas Buddy!

Or maybe a hollow harpoon attached to a pump. Just find some truck or SUV where the driver is immersed in an all-important cellphone conversation, roll up behind, puncture their tank, and suck their fuel into your bike! It's in-flight refueling for bikes!

Or perhaps the solution is to burn less gas. You could fab-and-fit a special set of intake manifolds on two of your cylinders that, when a switch is thrown, pull air from a separate filter instead of through the carbs. With just the flip of a switch, you'll be riding a frugal twin instead of a thirsty literbike!

-Swan (who dropped out of college when he found out there was no degree offered in the field of Mad Science)

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Krypt Keeper

· #10 · May 19, 2005

buy a bike with a bigger tank :redflip

I ride the Exxon Valdez 6.34 gallon tank :thumb

s4m222

· #11 · May 19, 2005

how about stripping the trunk area, combine it with a seat cowl thing, make it water/gas tight and have a line leading into the stock fuel tank?

u could have it be part of ur tank or have it be like a reserve and turn it on and it lets all the fuel into the main tank... i dunno i think this would be the least evasive and stealthy...

lawnchairpuff

Discussion Starter · #12 · May 19, 2005

Thanks for the posts. Went to the guys website and looks pretty interesting. I had actually thought about taking two tanks and fabricating them into one but not sure how that would look and how much it would cost. I'm thinking about just straping on an extra 2 or 3 gallon fuel cell to my bags when I go long distance riding as a reserve. If anyone has anymore ideas let me know! Looking for a permenant solution.

TwoWheeldTerror

· #13 · May 19, 2005

Ummm...buy a sport-tourer? :nanana

Berry

· #14 · May 20, 2005

ZXLNT said:
You could change the gearing to lower the rpm at cruising speed. That will help out your mileage some..

or just change your sprokets

Aquarello

· #15 · May 20, 2005

On a lot of modern sportbikes, half your "fuel tank" area is taken up by the airbox. You could do some creative plumbing and an external air filter to recover some of that "lost" space and keep all of your gas in the gas tank.If I did this with my SV, I could probably gain another gallon and a half.

Gixster

· #16 · May 20, 2005

Berry said:
or just change your sprokets

Um, that's what he said.

skim

· #17 · May 20, 2005

They sell aftermarket tanks with larger capacities as well as fuel cells that you can connect to your primary tank. Of course there's the cheap ass penny pincher way is to carry fuel in an MSR camping fuel bottle.

lawnchairpuff

Discussion Starter · #18 · May 20, 2005

I like that idea the most. To get a fuel cell with a manual lever w/ a bracket it costs about $800. I'm sure if you were to do most of the fabrication yourself you could cut costs significantly. For rolling around the usa though it would probable be sufficent to just have 2.5-3 gallon container straped to the back and pull over and fuel up the tank when need. I was looking on the summit racing website and was considering using a fuel cell for dragsters. Alot of cheaper if anyone is thinking about making a second gas tank system.

RahulShah7931

· #19 · Jan 4, 2022

Gixster said:
Um, that's what he said.

Make sure you start to purchase Premium Air to put into your tires…

It’s a little expensive but it’s so worth the money.

See? I take care of my vehicles

Emmanuelnollan

· #20 · 2 mo ago

Increasing the fuel capacity of a liter bike like the 954 can be achieved through several methods, including installing an aftermarket fuel tank with a larger capacity or adding a fuel cell to the existing tank. However, it's important to keep in mind that modifying the fuel system can be a complex process and should only be done by experienced professionals or individuals with advanced mechanical skills.

Before proceeding with any modifications, it's important to carefully consider the potential impact on the bike's weight distribution, handling, and overall performance. Adding additional weight to the motorcycle can affect the bike's balance, especially during cornering and high-speed maneuvers.

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