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!