But Ogres do… no riding today. Dang it.
Learned a lot about my new bike this week. Chain tension, lube and inspection. Saddle bags can unzip off. And I learned that my bike gets 40 MPG on the dot, which is pretty good. So I learned just how far my bike can go on a tank… then shortly there after, I learned just how far I can go on my reserve tank. Which I found out was about 400 yards short of the gas station. Luckily the bike can coast pretty good, to within 100 yards. So it was not a lot of pushing, but enough to hammer home the lesson. Seriously, I need a bigger fuel tank. I heard you can get a tank off a Honda Shadow, and with some modification, make it work for the Magna. If anyone has any detailed information on that – I’d really like to hear it.
Pull the tank and measure the distance between the mounts. Then check other tanks for fit. There may be options other than the Shadow.
I used to work with a guy who would build choppers out of old Hondas, just ’cause everyone else was doing Harleys and he didn’t want to be part of the crowd. A /lot/ of the parts seemed to be pretty interchangeable, either directly or with only minor modifications.
I’m guessing you should be able to find a tank where the bolt hole either lines up, or just has to be made a bit oval to fit. Biggest thing to watch out for is the width of the tank, up front, relative to the handlebars/forks, so you don’t end up denting the tank.
You could always strap a small gas can to the luggage rack, and just re-fill the main tank as needed!
I would love a Chopper built with this V-4 engine.
Yeah, he usually did the inline 4’s, but I kept telling him to grab the engine from a wrecked V65 and build one…
Personally, I’d love to get a CX650T, just because you /never/ see them on the road.
A 1-liter fuel bottle in your saddle bag provides 10 miles of range extension and a lot of peace of mind.
I was thinking a jerry can.
That was about the only thing I didn’t like about my Vulcan: it needed a bigger tank. Yeah, if you can find some kind of jug that’ll seal well enough to go in the bags or somewhere, wouldn’t be a bad idea.
If I plan on any distance riding, I’m going to have to pack a couple 2 liter bottles of fuel. Great bike, great engine, small tank… this is a handicap.
Fill a couple of empty oil bottles with fuel and keep them in your saddlebags. Leave room for expansion. I usually colapse the bottle somewhat to get the air out so that the bottle can expand with out leaking/popping. It’s worked for me for the last 35 years,’tho in the “early days” we used metal canteens on our belts.
Yeah, I think for this bike a back-up can is the solution. Oh, and watch out after a short rain…when the oil on the road hasn’t been completely washed off.
Check out the “tour tank”
http://www.tourtank.com/TourTanks.html
Awesome. Thanks!
I like the “tour tube” that you can stow in your saddle bags George. Same site. Great find Irishman !
http://www.tourtank.com/TourTubes.html
Yeah, I’m sure those are /really/ for carrying gasoline…
Of course, if the proof is high enough, you could at least still call it “fuel”…
Rain riding, get some “Frog Togs” and a “Fog City” anti-fog face shield liner. Also keep a couple of plastic bags on hand. The weatherman lies and some rainy day the only transport you will have will be the bike.
http://www.thegearlessmachine.com/frtomosur.html
http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/1/1/69/3820/ITEM/Fog-City-Pro-Shield-Insert.aspx
Hey, I’m a Frog Togs dealers, so I can get those easy.
Worked out on the Vulcan that about the time I needed to gas up, I also needed to stretch a bit(especially with the factory seat, which sucked on a nuclear level). But having some extra range would’ve been REAL nice.