Fuel Cell Recommendations

[madmike2]

You guys are killing me . The wife continues to ask when does the buying for this motorcycle ever end?
I think this winter it will be GPsuspension upgrade with a soon after valve check expense. I plan on doing at least one SS1000 and a Rally next year and perhaps after that I'll be going for a fuel cell and custom bag.

Heck, my "Farkles" are getting to cost as much as the entire bikes my buddies ride.

Dave

It's a disease, it's contagious, and we're carriers/enablers! :yahoo:

 

[jwhite518]

You guys are killing me . The wife continues to ask when does the buying for this motorcycle ever end?

It's best to be honest with your wife. Tell her "Never."

 

[Bionic Pelvis]

You guys are killing me . The wife continues to ask when does the buying for this motorcycle ever end?

The hubby & I were discussing the possibility of throwing my hat in for the '11 IBR, and he said "The good thing is your bike is all set up already, so we won't have that expense to consider."

:angel: Why yes, dear - completely finished.

Oh, this? I was just asking for a friend...

 

[Duster19]

I keep telling my beautiful wife that I actually commute each day to work with it, so most of these expenses are like buying shocks, brakes, etc.. for my truck. For some reason she still sees the FJR as a toy or hobby.

Dave

 

[ldfjr]

The Top Gun/Bill McAvan unit is about as plug-n-play as the market gets. It's total function over form and gets you to the custom 11.4 gallon mark smoothly (he builds 0.1 gallons short on purpose to account for fuel line capacity). And they're solid. One can mute the box design with more function by adding a LindaT bag. If one went this route...I'd suggest talking to me and making a special request or two when they make them.

One caution on the McAvan setup: His FJR mounting brackets interfere with a Givi five point rear rack luggage mount. I don't know what you're doing for rear luggage now, but if you're planning to upgrade to anything non-Yamaha, make sure everything fits together. (This applies to any fuel cell system.)

I have the McAvan cell and the GIVI rack. I had to modify the rack to clear the cell, but it wasn't extremely difficult--did it myself. Jerry, you can check it out at Gerlachfest. FWIW, for me, the McAvan cell is the best solution to carrying extra fuel.

Roger

 

[Canadian FJR]

E-mail of pics sent.

Canadian FJR

 

[Joe2Lmaker]

E-mail of pics sent.

I haven't received them yet.

 

[Joe2Lmaker]

Is that the result of that cardboard & duct tape mock up I saw you post in another thread?

Found the other post: <Link>

 

[Bionic Pelvis]

So Warchild, is that cell something that's available to us mortals or is that a strictly one-of-a-kind affair?

What about you guys running things like a Summit cell? I've had some great pics & PMs regarding the more "off-brand" creations, but how 'bout the rest of ya? Are you happy with your cell? Looking back at the money you saved vs. the amount of work it took to get it just right, would you still go that route if you had to do it again? How much do you think you spent, all told, with whatever bracket fab and miscellaneous whatnotage needed to be done? Or, probably a more PC thing to ask is do you think you saved enough over a plug & play to be worth while? Are you rallying with the cell and, if so, are you happy with the range increase or do you wish you had every spec of the allowed 11.5 gallons?

You guys have been a great help - keep it coming!

 

[Maura]

So Warchild, is that cell something that's available to us mortals or is that a strictly one-of-a-kind affair?
What about you guys running things like a Summit cell? I've had some great pics & PMs regarding the more "off-brand" creations, but how 'bout the rest of ya? Are you happy with your cell? Looking back at the money you saved vs. the amount of work it took to get it just right, would you still go that route if you had to do it again? How much do you think you spent, all told, with whatever bracket fab and miscellaneous whatnotage needed to be done? Or, probably a more PC thing to ask is do you think you saved enough over a plug & play to be worth while? Are you rallying with the cell and, if so, are you happy with the range increase or do you wish you had every spec of the allowed 11.5 gallons?

You guys have been a great help - keep it coming!

Hey W! If you are worried about having enough room with the BLM standard cell, you can always change the dimensions somewhat, making it taller or wider so it has the same capacity. Bill will make them up to suit. I am close enough to be able to ride to his place for custom fitting, I had mine made lower and sits deeper into the seat cavity than his previous models so I could get my leg over. If required maybe a FJR owner in Seattle can help on that. Anyway , the thing to do is make a cardboard mock up of his standard set up , see if that works, then modify it to suit, ending up with the best set up for you. My set up complete, cell, brackets, plumbing, with installation by Bill Mcavan was $1100. I made the cover myself, took a bajillion hours, but my time is worth nothing ha ha. A Linda Tanner cover, depending on pockets will add at lease $100 more. I have 11 gallons, that works fine for me, I usually fill up between 9 and 10. Others will surely differ, but my bladder capacity is what limits my stops. 11 gallons is OK by me, but I think less than 10.5 would be leaving too much on the table.

 

[jwhite518]

I have the McAvan cell and the GIVI rack. I had to modify the rack to clear the cell, but it wasn't extremely difficult--did it myself. Jerry, you can check it out at Gerlachfest. FWIW, for me, the McAvan cell is the best solution to carrying extra fuel.
Roger

Thanks Roger. My BLM setup is already dialed in with various one-off mods. Honestly, just like Wendy, my bike is ready for 2011.

:lol:

 

[Bionic Pelvis]

Hey W! If you are worried about having enough room with the BLM standard cell, you can always change the dimensions somewhat, making it taller or wider so it has the same capacity. Bill will make them up to suit. I am close enough to be able to ride to his place for custom fitting, I had mine made lower and sits deeper into the seat cavity than his previous models so I could get my leg over. If required maybe a FJR owner in Seattle can help on that. Anyway , the thing to do is make a cardboard mock up of his standard set up , see if that works, then modify it to suit, ending up with the best set up for you. My set up complete, cell, brackets, plumbing, with installation by Bill Mcavan was $1100. I made the cover myself, took a bajillion hours, but my time is worth nothing ha ha. A Linda Tanner cover, depending on pockets will add at lease $100 more. I have 11 gallons, that works fine for me, I usually fill up between 9 and 10. Others will surely differ, but my bladder capacity is what limits my stops. 11 gallons is OK by me, but I think less than 10.5 would be leaving too much on the table.

Custom ride-in fitment, eh? Hmmm... Mike HAS demanded a Russell Day Long, and it seems to me that a ride-in there is about half way to Seattle (give or take)...

Seriously, after looking at everyone mocking up their own awesome cells in cardboard, it never even occurred to me to try that for sizing up an off-the-shelf product. Thanks for the good idea!

 

[jwhite518]

Custom ride-in fitment, eh? Hmmm... Mike HAS demanded a Russell Day Long, and it seems to me that a ride-in there is about half way to Seattle (give or take)...

Thread-jack on the Russell. I did a ride-in, and I don't know that it was worth it. Sure it was a great excuse for a motorcycle ride, and the folks at the factory are really great. Butt I still had to send my seat back for an adjustment. The ride-in process isn't very different from the mail-in process. They take a couple photos of you on your bike, then send you away for a few hours. When you come back you sit on the uncovered seat, say "yeah this feels fine" and then they sew on the cover. You can't really tell how the seat fits until you put some hours on it.

 

[Bionic Pelvis]

Custom ride-in fitment, eh? Hmmm... Mike HAS demanded a Russell Day Long, and it seems to me that a ride-in there is about half way to Seattle (give or take)...

Thread-jack on the Russell. I did a ride-in, and I don't know that it was worth it. Sure it was a great excuse for a motorcycle ride, and the folks at the factory are really great. Butt I still had to send my seat back for an adjustment. The ride-in process isn't very different from the mail-in process. They take a couple photos of you on your bike, then send you away for a few hours. When you come back you sit on the uncovered seat, say "yeah this feels fine" and then they sew on the cover. You can't really tell how the seat fits until you put some hours on it.

Rain on my little parade, why dontcha. I stand solidly behind my logic that if we're riding to Shasta for him to have a seat crafted, we may as well make the meager jaunt up to Seattle so I can have a cell crafted. Hmph.

I actually did a ride-in for my seat because, due to my aftermarket pelvis configuration, I sit kinda side-saddle. They did a great job of working my seat up asymmetrically so I don't have any weird pressure points. Hubby doesn't have any such peculiarities, so we may just end up mailing his in anyhow.

But, hey - a girl can dream.