Tool Tube / MSR Fuel Bottle

[Deleted member 8387]

Hello Everyone (who cares to read my lame post),

I live in TX and have plans to take road trips out to remote areas in the West wilderness. One of the accessories I bought was a tool tube and an MSR Fuel bottle. If you zoom in closely to the attached photo, you'll see the tube nestled behind the left-rear turn signal. I figured I wouldn't need it, however I came close to running out of gas twice, on my road trip to the Southeast last week. I was in a deluge on I-20 and I missed a sign that said something along the lines of "last exit for 20 miles." I knew I was running low on gas, however I wanted to punch through the rain storm for safety reasons. The second time was in the middle of nowhere in the GA/TN/AL area where I got turned around, had no LTE signal to GPS a gas station and the road I was on didn't appear on the back-up atlas/map photo copy that I always carry with me. Knowing I had about 15-17 miles of gas in the 1 liter bottle strapped to the bike was somewhat of a nice feeling.

I encountered two issues and would feedback from anyone who has one of these setups.

1. Even though the gas isn't supposed to leak, it did a little bit. I noticed gas within the tool tube, which I attribute to the intense heat (90+ for most of the trip and near 100 degrees on my return into TX). Any thoughts on this? This is the standard position and angle that I have seen on countless YouTube videos, where the lid of the tool tube is higher than the base of the tool tube.

2. I purchased the mounting kit / hardware for this, however I failed to note that the brackets really aren't made to be put on Givi pannier racks. I could not figure out a way to use them to mount, so in the end I had zip-ties. I don't want to put the MSR bottle in my pannier, for fears of getting gas all over clothes / gear.

One last thought - those logging trees you see in the video are an incredible danger. Besides the crazy turbulence they generate when going the other direction, they drop off pieces of back and flying chips of wood. I literally had a small wooden shard embedded in my glove like a splinter on a previous trip, before I had hand guards. I can't imagine if that piece hit me in the neck.

Thanks for any feedback or comments.

Regards,

Bob

 

[melensdad]

Just be sure you use outdoor rated (UV light stabilized) zip ties. Zip ties without that will degrade in a couple seasons and become brittle. Some are stabilized and some are not.

As for your other questions, sorry I don’t know.

 

[670cc]

I have tool tubes attached to my side bag brackets. I made custom built metal brackts to attach the tubes.

I have not encountered any gasoline leakage from the MSR bottle, but then I don’t ride motorcycles in high ambient temperatures. I wonder if MSR has advice on carrying fuel in extreme temperatures. One idea might be to loosen the cap for a moment when you get in a high heat environment, to relieve pressure. If you filled the bottle with 60 degree (F) fuel from an in ground tank, when the bottle warms to 100 degrees, it probably has a lot of pressure build up.

 

[Deleted member 8387]

Just be sure you use outdoor rated (UV light stabilized) zip ties. Zip ties without that will degrade in a couple seasons and become brittle. Some are stabilized and some are not.

As for your other questions, sorry I don’t know.

Thanks for the note - I cut the zip ties off as soon as I got home. I figure I don't need it on the bike until I take my next road trip.

 

[Deleted member 5383]

I don't always like to depend on fuel stops being available, especially if I do some side trips. It can be spotty in sparsely-populated areas of Montana. I don't like filling small fuel bottles or pouring from them, or venting them. So I got a Rotopax that I can use on either of my bikes. It seems to do just fine without ever venting it, easy to fill and pour from, and carries over a gallon if I need. Which is better than depending on a liter or two to get me to salvation ; } ...It can take the hits of off-road dirt naps on my WR250R too.

2018-05-15 15;12;07 by greenboy, on Flickr

2018-05-15 15;13;36 by greenboy, on Flickr

 

[76Hawke]

Many of those fuel cylinders (I have 2 different, both have it) do have a fill line. It has always been my assumption that it is for temperature/ elevation expansion. I haven't had an issue, but my 9000 miles haven't exceeded 95ish...

 

[Deleted member 8387]

I don't always like to depend on fuel stops being available, especially if I do some side trips. It can be spotty in sparsely-populated areas of Montana. I don't like filling small fuel bottles or pouring from them, or venting them. So I got a Rotopax that I can use on either of my bikes. It seems to do just fine without ever venting it, easy to fill and pour from, and carries over a gallon if I need. Which is better than depending on a liter or two to get me to salvation ; } ...It can take the hits of off-road dirt naps on my WR250R too.

2018-05-15 15;12;07 by greenboy, on Flickr

2018-05-15 15;13;36 by greenboy, on Flickr

I am familiar with that but I have my panniers and don't want to get a tailmount. They are nice, however. I thought Red is supposed to be for gas and white is for water?

 

[Deleted member 8387]

Many of those fuel cylinders (I have 2 different, both have it) do have a fill line. It has always been my assumption that it is for temperature/ elevation expansion. I haven't had an issue, but my 9000 miles haven't exceeded 95ish...

Thank you. I was sure to not go over the fill line. I think it just has to be the extreme heat I went through.

 

[Janus]

I have read that bottles like that often benefit from the o-ring being lubricated with a small amount of oil to help maintain the seal.

 

[Deleted member 8387]

I have read that bottles like that often benefit from the o-ring being lubricated with a small amount of oil to help maintain the seal.

That is a good tip. I will research that.

 

[dduelin]

No comment on the fuel loss. I never encountered that for whatever reason. First bike had the fixed Givi flat-back racks and I just left the tool tubes in place all the time being as where out of the way and very light weight. I didn't reinstall tool tubes on the second NC. I never went anywhere I needed extra fuel on the first bike or if I did I temporarily installed a gravity feed auxiliary tank.

 

[Deleted member 5383]

I thought Red is supposed to be for gas and white is for water?

I got white before I had an NC.

2016-06-26 15;33;59 by greenboy, on Flickr

Anyway, you can carry them in a pannier or topcase, I used to. Or put a mount on a pannier or topcase. Whatever.

 

[melensdad]

I have flexible fuel bladders but found them unnecessary. Others may find them more necessary. Still, the Desert Fox fuel bladders hold 5 Liters and cost far less per liter than a 1 liter MSR bottle + Tool Tube. A Giant Loop fuel bladders is a bit more expensive per liter than the Desert Fox brand but is still cheaper than MSR set ups. I think Rotax is also cheaper than MSR/Tool Tube set ups.

 

[670cc]

I have flexible fuel bladders but found them unnecessary. Others may find them more necessary. Still, the Desert Fox fuel bladders hold 5 Liters and cost far less per liter than a 1 liter MSR bottle + Tool Tube. A Giant Loop fuel bladders is a bit more expensive per liter than the Desert Fox brand but is still cheaper than MSR set ups. I think Rotax is also cheaper than MSR/Tool Tube set ups.

I realize it’s just an innocent typo, but since I own Rotax engines, I got a chuckle when you typed Rotax instead of RotopaX.

Rotax


RotopaX

 

[melensdad]

And yes, Bombardier makes a Rotax and it’s not blow molded plastic either. My bad. But perfectly illustrates why prefer posting from a laptop and not a smartphone.

 

[TigerDude]

I've had a Primus bottle in a tube on my bike for 4 or 5 years now, and never detected a leak, including through southern summers. Maybe you got a bad one.

I did laugh at the potable water markings on the white Rotopaxes above.

 

[Deleted member 5383]

Yeah, about the time I bought that Rotopax they started doing that. The white one at that time came with a better spout BTW.

 

[Deleted member 8387]

I've had a Primus bottle in a tube on my bike for 4 or 5 years now, and never detected a leak, including through southern summers. Maybe you got a bad one.

I did laugh at the potable water markings on the white Rotopaxes above.

Can I ask did you have the bottle vertical, horizontal or somewhere in between?

Thanks,

Bob

 

[TigerDude]

Can I ask did you have the bottle vertical, horizontal or somewhere in between?

Thanks,

Bob

Horizontal, a lot like the above pic.

 

[Deleted member 8387]

Horizontal, a lot like the above pic.

Hmm. Then the only thing I can really chalk it up to is just the intense heat. Oh well. It was minimal leakage and the day I arrived back in TX it was over 100, so who knows. It didn't explode, so that's a win in my book!