Month: December 2020

Camel tank Part 2 Your mileage WILL vary!

The plan for the experiment was to run to empty….for meat pies😋. I started the day with 4.2 gallons in the main tank and 1.3 in the Camel ADV Camel Tank for  5.5 total gallons. An extra rotopax with 1 gallon was packed for when I ran out of gas on the side of the road. My goal is to hopefully reach 300 miles on the main and Camel tank combined.  That was the plan, and as with most experiments that’s not exactly how the day turned out… it’s called science! 🤓

I met up with my cousin David and his lifelong friend Wayne who are both long distance Harley riders for a day loop up to Natchitoches Louisiana for their famed meat pies. Because finding out how far I can go on a tank just to eat is the perfect idea for ride! 

With the Camel tank installed, Cory at CamelADV did say that I’d show full for a long time as the fuel feeds from both tanks simultaneously. Well, it wasn’t until the 130 mile mark that the first of 6 bars went out on my dash.  Our route had been planned to take backroads all the way and to stay off the freeway but that didn’t happen. We had gotten on the road a few minutes later then planned so we needed to make up some time to meet up with LtCol Christopher Ritter in Natchitoches. Chris has ridden down from Ruston on his FULLY farkled T-700, complete with a Camel ADV wrap! 

Natchitoches was at the 177 mile mark and you’ll notice I’m down 3 bars on my gauge, Most likely from the 50 miles of  freeway riding in a headwind at 75-80MPH 

After lunch of meat pies and seafood gumbo we said good bye to Chris and headed back south on a mostly different route.  Thanks Chris for meeting us! 

The reserve light started blinking at the 211 mile mark and pleased to know that I can get 60 more miles on the tank before it starts to sputter. So many riders don’t know how far they can go on reserve, this is the way to actually find out! Some may call it extreme, but now I know! So, 273.3 miles on 5.5 gallons is a 49.7 MPG. While not terrible, I sure was hoping to hit 300. I quickly added the 1 gallon from the rotopax and found a gas station about 7 or 8 miles down the road and sure enough, it took 3.2 gallons. 

We made it back after dark for a total of 351 miles for the day.  Thanks David, Wayne and Chris for a fun day! 


Final thoughts….

After posting my results on social media, it was suggested by Longhaul Paul Pelland that I try using regular unleaded fuel to see if that makes a difference. He is getting about 45 MPG with regular 87 octane (on 6 gallons of fuel) then what I got on super 92 and he’s running much faster speeds(80MPH average) over the 25,000 miles now on his loaded T-700! So YOUR MILEAGE WILL VARY! All this adds up to GET OUT AND LEARN YOUR BIKE!

CamelADV Camel Tank (Pt1)

Check out Cory’s videos on the story of the 1.3 Gallon/ 5 Liter Camel tank for the Tenere 700 and it’s install.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qnxy5s2TVFg

With these instructions, I headed over to Monty’s garage where Whitney joined us to mount the Camel tank. Rolling up with 2 lbs of Billy’s Smoked boudin and a 6 pack of beer didn’t hurt either.😉 I got to work removing the R&G tail tidy that got taco’d( most likely from the taller 140/80/17 Heidenau Scout tire I’m running) while riding off-road and turn signals from Cyclops Adventure Sports.
I highly recommend using the Camel ADV tail tidy, it’s made for the Camel tank and keeps the license plate farther away from the tire. 


Monty and Whitney watched the install video and got to work soon thereafter.

The tank goes on really easily, it took me longer to get the tail tidy wired and on then it took Monty and Whitney to get the Camel tank mounted and plumbed. That goes to the simple design of Cory’s tank.  


While I was still fighting with the tail tidy swap, they also installed the R&G case cover from Twisted Throttle that protects the water pump. It was a pretty straight forward install also.

With the weather not the best this weekend and holidays next week, I’ll be postponing the long distance test ride. Expect another blog post when that’s done. It will either be a 300+ day up to North Louisiana and back or an IBA “Saddle Sore” 1000 “iron butt ride” Not quite sure yet, but it will be an adventure! Everyone have a Merry Christmas!
A huge thank you to Monty Chustz and Whitney Granger! That would have been a much longer install (with cussing and yelling, if not a few bloody knuckles) without the well equipped shop and tools. Monty, you have the shop I’d like to have one day! We will have to get out again soon for another ride like the last one. Hopefully with less mud! 😉