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Did a ride to NM in June. I was going to be in an area that I was unsure of the availability of fuel so I packed a couple of MSR fuel bottles in my tail bag.
No panic as I went past 100 mi., still none at 120, RLOD came on at 134, still no panic. That's when I decided to always carry extra fuel when on a trip. Since the idea of fuel in my bags is less that optimal, I started to think about other ways to carry the bottles.
As with most projects there are several ways to get to the finish line. Based on the tools and materials I had available, this is the one I went with as it seemed most likely to get results in a reasonable amount of time.
The bottom end of the fuel bottles are oriented toward the front of the bike and are supported by 2 pieces of 3" X 2" long ABS pipe. They are linked together by an 1 1/2" X ~1" long piece of ABS pipe. The 1 1/2" pipe was cut with a 4" hole to achieve a curved end for a good fit to the outside circumference of 3" pieces of ABS pipe. Think making a saddle on both ends of the 1 1/2" piece. A 3 1/2" hole saw would have been better as the 4" was a little too large of a radius. That was remedied with sand paper. After solvent welding and hot air welding (probably could get away with just the solvent weld) the 3 pieces together, I drilled a hole in both of the 3" pieces at the 12 o'clock position toward what would be the forward end of the 3" pipe. Then located the assembly where I wanted it on the under tray and transferred the hole location to the under tray. This is all on the under side of the tray. Before you drill, make sure you're not go to drill into something you'll regret. The pieces of 3" ABS are fastened to the under tray with a large head pop rivets. The package says snowmobile rivet. I have no idea where I came by these, but they worked. I formed the rivet head to the inside radius of the 3" pipe. Since the heads are aluminum, it's easy to press them into shape. I did this to make sure there is clearance for the fuel bottle as there is only a small amount of space between the bottle and the inside of the 3" pipe. I didn't want the rivet head wearing a hole in the bottle. This is the point at which I had considered counter boring on the inside of the 3" pieces to allow the use of a bolt or machine screw. I decided that the rivet was simpler (which it wasn't). I suggest figuring out how to do the counter bore instead of rivets.
The cap end of the bottles are supported by a length of aluminum tubing. That tubing is fastened to brackets that were originally used to hold stock reflectors. I used a well nut in the ends of the tubing to allow a machine screw to hold the tube to the bracket. I drilled the mounting hole in the bracket and the corresponding hole in the under tray to 5/16 (8mm) to accept a splash shield fastener. That fastener is used on many Honda vehicles. I just happened to have some.
Because the under tray is asymmetrical left to right, the bottle on the left has a little more clearance. That is the reason for the short section of rubber hose under the neck of the bottle.
My ideal set up would be a rectangular aluminum container roughly 2" to 2 1/2" X 8" X 8" to 9" to fit in the same space. Those dimensions would yield somewhere around +- 3 quarts.
Last edited by xeris; 09-18-2020 at 08:08 AM.
Reason: Add photo
Would something like an aluminum bicycle bottle holder work in a similar fashion while still using the aluminum tubing as you have holding the neck of the bottles?
Also are these bottles pictured recommended for actual fuel use?
I like the idea though and could combine a water bottle holder and a single fuel holder.
Great idea for sure.
Would something like an aluminum bicycle bottle holder work in a similar fashion while still using the aluminum tubing as you have holding the neck of the bottles?
Also are these bottles pictured recommended for actual fuel use?
I like the idea though and could combine a water bottle holder and a single fuel holder.
Great idea for sure.
That is a much better idea. I had considered alternative types of mounts, one was a small fire extinguisher bracket, but that didn’t seem like it would work very well. The bicycle water bottle holder is brilliant.
I’m going to have you brain storm all my future mods.
That is a much better idea. I had considered alternative types of mounts, one was a small fire extinguisher bracket, but that didn’t seem like it would work very well. The bicycle water bottle holder is brilliant.
I’m going to have you brain storm all my future mods.
I did some looking around on the bicycle bottle holders and they would work on the 20oz fuel bottles with no problems.
The 30oz fuel bottles are 3.5 inches diameter so this makes finding a bottle holder more difficult than the 20oz setup.
Im still toying with the idea because this would work great to have a fuel bottle and a water bottle in stainless steel to have when you need either of them.
Since there would be the aluminum tubing used to further hold the bottle in place a strap would not be needed.
The cage also has a nice slotted bracket to mount to the underside of the bike with plenty of options.
I guess the price may not be as cheap as building your own but it's an option that won't rust, looks good, and will contain two fuel bottles or a combination of fuel and water bottles.
I may have to try this since I'm rebuilding the bike and have it torn down.
09-16-2020, 07:06 AM
