AUX. FUEL CELL

[101stpathfinder]

While mounting on a newly purchased aux.fuel cell, I began to consider what farkles are needed items

and what farkles are "nice" to have. I have been certificate riding for a year and a half. My last ride was

the R.A.T. (Ride Around Texas) and I had the privilege to ride with many great riders, many IBR vets, and

the percentage of riders with aux fuel cells AND radar detection devices was 75% or more. I enjoyed being

around other riders and having the same destinations, meeting up at fuel stops and even riding some distance

with a few riders. I really think I want to rally in the future.

So now as I ponder drilling into my tank, I have to ask the many rally vets that frequent this forum some

questions. Please forgive my ignorance:

* Are aux. fuel cells NEEDED?

* Detection devices?

* Hydration system?

* Aux lights?

I have pretty much figured out what I need for comfort through certificate rides, butt I know to rally is

a different venue. Each IBA event gives me a chance to view others choices (Spy), but in this off season for

most, I would like to take the bike down and add some "Stuff".

In a rally do you have to fuel every 350 miles? Are Aux. lights a must have item? I wanted to keep the bike

simple but when I find myself lacking a needed farkle- I add it. BEFORE I try to rally I would like some advice

and the "Whys" of what is needed.

Thanks

 

[SkooterG]

You don't NEED any of the above devices if you are a casual rallyer. However, if you are serious about it, and/or want to be competitive, than ALL the items you list are NECESSARY. It's that simple.

 

[Peter Murray]

+ 1 on what skooterG said... the 350 mile deal is a must for IBA certs, does not apply to the IBR. rally masters may or may not support the IBA 350 deal.

Good Luck !

 

[BIODSL]

As much as it kills me to do so, I have to +1 SkooterG as well. :blink:

Of all the items you mentioned, the first thing I'd add is a hydration system.

 

[101stpathfinder]

As much as it kills me to do so, I have to +1 SkooterG as well. :blink:

Of all the items you mentioned, the first thing I'd add is a hydration system.

I think I just found a solution to my hydration system... I found Custom TankBags by Linda T.

I can have a 1 gallon insulated water bottle with drinking tube and bite valve added to a cover

for my aux. fuel cell... sweet....https://www.customtankbags.com/

What do I need that I did not list?

* Laptop or netbook?

* dual gps?

* ???

 

[Joe2Lmaker]

* Laptop or netbook?

translation: hard drive or SSD ?

 

[user 213]

Not to stir the pot, but just to rally you don't need any of it. I would strongly urge you to set up the hydration system though. Especially for rallies in the West. After that, IMHO, it comes down to what you use and how you ride. If you want to rally to win, get it all like SkooterG says. If you're just ralling to have some fun and experience the event, the area, the places the sick bastards Rally Masters send you, then the Hydration system is all you really need. It's pretty nice to not stress about fuel all night. It's pretty nice to use Aux lights for that 10 minutes you can before the next car comes or you run up on someone else. It's pretty nice to know there is a LEO in the area before you see disco party lights behind you, but that's moot if you ride at sane levels.

The hydration system can be cheap. An insulated 1/2 gallon jug from anywhere, some food grade clear tubing and a bite valve. Drill a hole in the top or near the top on the side, stick the tubing in, run some electrical tape around the tub on both sides of where it goes thru the cooler so it doesn't slide in or out, then strap it to a foot peg or the back of the bike and you're good.

Spend a little time thinking about where you're going to put a rally flag or how to clip something to the bike for photos. Bring some Duct tape, like the mini rolls they sell at many hardware stores. Practice with your camera so you know how to take shots w/o the flash, how to get good pics of reflective signs at night, etc.

FWIW, I've done maybe 8-10 rallies. From 12 hours to 10 days. Still don't use a radar detector, aux lights or a lap top and only used the GPS for the 10 day, then sold it the day I got home. Hydration system? Yep, use that on any long ride. Fuel cell? Yep, use the hell out of that. Aux lights? Not so far, but I did upgrade to HID in the stock headlights and do have a low beam HID aux light that I will probably add this winter if I find the time in the garage. GPS? Hell no, it's just a plastic box. They are often wrong. Never, ever trust one for a route. They can be a damn handy tool, but you need to know where you are for them to be really useful. Good situational awareness will help you a lot better than following 'Jane' and the blue line. I only used to to find my way back to the interstate from inside a strange city. I always knew the route in to the bonus from maps before I got there. The GPS just helped to avoid getting turned around in a strange area on the way out.

YMMV and hey, this is just my opinion.

 

[pmspaul]

Tony,

I am far from a rally vet. But as I continue to setup my bike, I find myself trying to balance between need and want. I guess my questions are, how serious do you want to be, how much money do you have? I want to be competitive, but I'm mostly about having fun and the adventure at this point.

Hydration is a must for me. I run a single gps, I can see the benefits of a dual setup, but I still need/want other things. I take my laptop with routing software. I don't run a detector, I don't intend to. I didn't have aux lights for the first rally and regretted it. I got them for the second and would never do one again without them. I've been able to work around the aux fuel cell so far, so I have it in my want category.

I don't think you NEED a lot to get going. All I had for my first rally was a gps, laptop and my spouse. We had a blast.

What rally(s) are you considering?

 

[101stpathfinder]

Tony,

I am far from a rally vet. But as I continue to setup my bike, I find myself trying to balance between need and want. I guess my questions are, how serious do you want to be, how much money do you have? I want to be competitive, but I'm mostly about having fun and the adventure at this point.

Hydration is a must for me. I run a single gps, I can see the benefits of a dual setup, but I still need/want other things. I take my laptop with routing software. I don't run a detector, I don't intend to. I didn't have aux lights for the first rally and regretted it. I got them for the second and would never do one again without them. I've been able to work around the aux fuel cell so far, so I have it in my want category.

I don't think you NEED a lot to get going. All I had for my first rally was a gps, laptop and my spouse. We had a blast.

What rally(s) are you considering?

Nice to hear from you! I hope your father received his 50CC cert. this week?

I am set up for long distance rides fairly well. I have put almost 50,000 miles on my FJR in the year and a half

that I have owned it. I still have some certificate rides that I want to do. ie Great Lakes, UCC, B2B2B... but now

after finally riding with others, I think rallying would be fun. I am competitive by nature, but if I can't screw-up

and be able to laugh about it afterwards and just have fun, I wont rally. So to answer your question- yes I would

like to compete... but no I do not think I will be up with the big boys.

I am doing all Great Lake rides (In 1 week) and jumping on a 50CC to get out west to do a B2B2B and probably

do a Why/Whynot ride back east. I love riding in the west and hate riding the N.E. coastal cities. So I will probably

try a western rally in 2012. I was invited up to a fun rally in Georgia this year, and thinking of popping my cherry

on that one. B.I.T.E would be nice, but not ready yet. Do you have any suggestions? The Minnesota 1000 rally would

be on my home turf (Being from N. Iowa) I am up for advice for a starter rally... Would like something simple before

tackling a complex maze of routing. I missed out on last years 10 in 10 rally. That would have been great for me.

Time to figure my route, off the clock- Hope there is another one like it someday.

 

[pmspaul]

Nice to hear from you! I hope your father received his 50CC cert. this week?

I am set up for long distance rides fairly well. I have put almost 50,000 miles on my FJR in the year and a half

that I have owned it. I still have some certificate rides that I want to do. ie Great Lakes, UCC, B2B2B... but now

after finally riding with others, I think rallying would be fun. I am competitive by nature, but if I can't screw-up

and be able to laugh about it afterwards and just have fun, I wont rally. So to answer your question- yes I would

like to compete... but no I do not think I will be up with the big boys.

I am doing all Great Lake rides (In 1 week) and jumping on a 50CC to get out west to do a B2B2B and probably

do a Why/Whynot ride back east. I love riding in the west and hate riding the N.E. coastal cities. So I will probably

try a western rally in 2012. I was invited up to a fun rally in Georgia this year, and thinking of popping my cherry

on that one. B.I.T.E would be nice, but not ready yet. Do you have any suggestions? The Minnesota 1000 rally would

be on my home turf (Being from N. Iowa) I am up for advice for a starter rally... Would like something simple before

tackling a complex maze of routing. I missed out on last years 10 in 10 rally. That would have been great for me.

Time to figure my route, off the clock- Hope there is another one like it someday.

I'll have to ask him if he's gotten the 50cc cert yet. That's an impressive list of rides you have planned for next year!

I think rallying is a lot of fun, and surely with the kind of riding you do it'd be right up your alley. I took dad to the Void rally with me in October and he seemed to really enjoy it. BITE is on my list for next year if schedules allow. I would like to get out west for one. The Utah 1088 has a 12hr, 24hr and 3day all running at the same time next year. The one that I may take the wife and do next year is The Good, The Bad & The Ugly rally in Big Sky, MT. I've found that everyone at the rallies I've been to has been so nice and helpful it might be hard to go wrong wherever you decide to start. One you might consider is the Cape Fear Rally. It is a multi-location start rally. This year they had a Lake Placid, FL start location, with all 3 start locations ending at the same place in NC. One nice thing since you mention route planning is that they email you the rally book a couple days in advance of the rally start, so you get some time to plan "off the clock" as you put it. That one is in April and fills quickly.

Perhaps actual rally vets can recommend more. I found this site LINK with a list of rallies on it, plus the IBA Calendar.

 

[stryg8r]

What do I need that I did not list?

* Laptop or netbook?

* dual gps?

* ???

Moose whistle

 

[stryg8r]

BITE is on my list for next year if schedules allow.

If your at all serious about the BITE get your registration in soon. This rally needs riders before FEB or it will be canceled, and that would be a crying shame.

 

[rickcorwn]

All good responses so far, well except for that darksider guy I'll disagree that a GPS isn't as useful as he portrays. It's a tool and you need to be proficient with that tool you need to know it's advantages and it's limitations and that can take some time I had my 2730 for about 3 months before the BL IIII in 2006 and now I know so much more about how and when to use/depend on it. Also contrary to OCfjr I feel auxiliary lighting is a must have if your riding extends after dark.

Hydration isn't a rally need it's a riding need, everyone should have it

Multiple GPS, I'll bet most are because of a GPS upgrade and there's some feature that Garmin left off the new unit (which they seem to do regularly) that the one old has. But redundancy has it's advantages.

Radar detection kind of depends on your intentions. With greater use of instant on and laser by LEOs the radar detector is becoming less useful. One thing to consider with a radar detector mounted in plain sight, if you do get stopped your less likely to get off with a warning.

Auxiliary fuel is a big plus. You can get by without it especially with a bike like the FJR but late night and rural ridding can be tough to find fuel sometimes.

Any rally that's not a multi day event can be a good starter rally. I understand that getting the bonus locations early makes rally rookies feel more comfortable but that shouldn't determine what rallies you enter.

FYI, the MN1000 is on slightly different dates that usual July 29-31.

Don't forget there's an 8 hour rally at CFO again this year.

If you thought ridding Long Distance was fun you'll love ridding rallies. The fun factor and the challenge is much higher.

 

[fljab]

Hey T, you need some help with any installs you decide on??

 

[101stpathfinder]

Hey T, you need some help with any installs you decide on??

Jim,

I've got a bunch of farkles to add. I need this Christmas season to be over, working at the PO this time of year

sucks. Then on top of it, I earned myself a nice probation period for my sick calls. Seems they do not understand

that when the LD bug bites... time off is needed! :lol:

Been tinkering with the fuel cell mounting- think this weekend I'll finish that. Butt the bulkhead, drilling that may

have to be left to someone who knows what they are doing. I have now got a pretty good idea of what I want to do

and need some time... or a tech weekend? I want to get some of the stuff out of the way first, so I do not feel in a

rush to get everything done in just one weekend. Looks like you found the mystery owner of that jax fjr?

Next month tech day(s)??? Once the tank checks out, it looks like Linda T's cover will solve my hydration issue.

Now to order highway pegs/plates and sliders........................The lights will have to wait (-$)

 

[fljab]

Hey T, you need some help with any installs you decide on??

Jim,

I've got a bunch of farkles to add. I need this Christmas season to be over <snip>

Been tinkering with the fuel cell mounting- think this weekend I'll finish that. Butt the bulkhead, drilling that may

have to be left to someone who knows what they are doing. I have now got a pretty good idea of what I want to do

and need some time... or a tech weekend? <snip again> Looks like you found the mystery owner of that jax fjr?

Next month tech day(s)???

I can get down your way also after the holidays and get a gameplan. Tech day at my house? Didn't get alot of response, but yes, I'd still do one; I got the room and shop for it.

Yes, I did find the owner of the Jax FJR; Joel Rappoport. He's gonna shoot some pics over the holidays of that mounting system and send it to me; I like his setup for my uses and need a better idea of how he did it. I think with that I can do a "modular" system and use any of my aux tanks I want depending on my LD needs (4-5-6 gl tanks).

Lemme know; wifey & I are headed to Key West Christmas Eve to New Years Day; no bike, just the van and some bicycles!

 

[pmspaul]

So, what style, brand, type of fuel cell are you adding? Got pics?

 

[101stpathfinder]

So, what style, brand, type of fuel cell are you adding? Got pics?

Here is the cell unmounted https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php?showtopic=134135

I will remount and take photos this weekend. I am very pleased with it at this stage! I have a

Yamaha trunk and it operates fine with the cell on. There is nice spacing surroundind the tank

which means a Linda T's cover should fit nicely.