Fuel Stops...

[funmonkee]

I _need_ to do a bit of travelling around the highlands (thats in Scotland for you Southerners)... I've got a safe range of 90 to 100 miles on the VMAX, so I need to plan carefully where I can fuel up.

Anyone know a convenient way (maybe a web site) that shows the fuel stations around major and minor A roads???

Cheers dudes
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**** Don't ride faster than your angel can fly Get this Free Space
The democratically elected Mod of the Scottish Section - The Peoples Choice[b]

[cc123]

Sorry can't help but thats one thirsty bike...or a very small tank!

I'm amazed at my bike, I easily get 140-160 miles from my Ninja (and thats usually tanking it) and I don't even hit the reserve??

When you doing this trip? Fancy a someone else tagging along?!
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[funmonkee]

Mmm wouldn't mind.... was supposed to be a solo trip
But I'm not into hitting the twisties at speed ... I'm looking at doing an Edinburgh->Dundee->Inverness->Bonar Bridge->Ullapool->Thurso... then probably 'filter' down to Edinburgh somehow...

Still need to work out fuel stops...Am willing to take a fuel container... but the VMAX has a small fuel tank and is thirsty anyway...

I'll let you know via the Scottish forum when I plan on doing it...but I'm no fair weather biker so it'll be October or November!!!
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**** Don't ride faster than your angel can fly Get this Free Space
The democratically elected Mod of the Scottish Section - The Peoples Choice[b]

[Nath]

Get a 2litre oil bottle, clean it out and fill it with petrol. You may even be able to stash it on the bike itself(under the rear mudguard i've heard is a possibility, though i'm skeptical as to how many bikes would have enough space there). This will act as a secondary reserve and will often be enough to get you to the next petrol station.

Take some plastic tubing with you, and if you ever get caught out you can flag someone down and buy some petrol off them(siphon it out their tank).


I came unstuck on the french motorways heading back up to calais, due to a pathetically small tank on my bike and the distances between petrol stations being retarded on the french autoroutes. At 10pm in the pitch black my bike started to stutter just as I was passing a parking area away from the carriageway - I dived in only to find I still had a tiny bit left in the tank, but deffinately not enough to get to the next petrol stop. This was a stroke of luck as 2minutes later a car pulled in to use the phone, and despite language difficulties they offered me a lift to the petrol station where I bought a can of petrol. They even helped me find a lift back down the motorway - With some Dutch gypsy priests!! Don't know how well these guys appreciated my bad-ass biker attire, but they played me some English gospel music and seemed dissapointed I didn't recognise it before giving me the usual religous farewells. I then ran accross the motorway to where my bike was safely parked up, and carried on my journey(albeit now too late to catch my prebooked ferry).

I wouldn't let it be a major worry tbh. As long as you've got over twenty miles on reserve you should always be able to find somewhere.
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Hard livin', hard luck.

[Robby]

I only found one filling station between skye and perth, in a valley. Don't know the name of the village, but it had a rail station.

Make sure you have a jerry can bungeed to the back seat, preferably a 10 litre one or bigger if it'll fit.

[stinkwheel]

I toured round on my MZ baghira (100 mile range) no problem. There are fuel stations in most towns, you sometimes have to fill up with half a tank left. Basically, if it is getting very remote looking and you see a fuel station, stop and fill up.

Be aware that many of them will close at 5pm and all day on a Sunday. If it is getting close to 5pm, fill up at the next station regardless. Make sure your tank is brim-full on Saturday night.

Coming back from Thurso, I can recommend going back across to Tongue then drop straight down to Lairg through Altnahara. Great little single tracker. The A9 from Thurso to Inverness is a pain in the arse.

The only real sparce bit on your route for fuel is between Ullapool and Thurso (but do go, they are the best roads in Scotland). There is a filling station in Durness, it is very erratic in opening though. There is also one about halfway between Ullapool and Durness (Scourie I think) which is more reliable and opens on sunday afternoon for a few hours. Fill up here. There is also one at Tongue which will see you through to Thurso, this also opens on Sunday. Durness definately doesn't.

You will burn a shitload of petrol on the Durness road, plan for this. If you don't stop at Scourie coming from Ullapool, I bet you go onto reserve when you hit Durness (70 miles away)
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[stinkwheel]

Oh yeah, there will often be fuel pumps outside hotels or shops. You need to go and knock on doors and stuff to find someone to fill you up. For example, at the Loch Carron filling station you have to go into the spar across the road and get someone to open up.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[funmonkee]

Good stuff stinkwheel....

Hey admin guy!!! might be an idea to have a section in this forum for advice on travellin around the UK...petrol stations best roads and helpful hints.... Is there anyone listening???

Cheers dudes
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**** Don't ride faster than your angel can fly Get this Free Space
The democratically elected Mod of the Scottish Section - The Peoples Choice[b]

[stinkwheel]

Oh yeah. As you come into Durness from the Ullapool end, if you turn left towards Cape Wrath and go about a mile out of town, you will come across an ex-MOD listening station. It is now a Hippy craft village, go in and look for the book shop, they do a cracking fry-up.

I can also recommend the Langoustine in the Seaforth pub in Ullapool, or a bucket of moule mariner. No skimping on portions there and it is fresh as a daisy, all from the loch outside.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[cc123]

[funmonkee]

[Walloper]

Have you checked rac aa web site? I don't know but might work.
W
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[J.K.R]

What setups yours running?
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[mr.z]

Out of curiosity is that the v-max with the fuel accelerator pump or without it?

5 litre petrol cans are perfectly legal to carry, allthough if you have two then its only wrong if you get caught* (petrol stations will get arsey if you try to fill up more than one can, so just fill them up at two different stations.. simple + they wont let you fill anything other than a propper can, or jerry can maybe, but then you could allways fill it off your own tank)

*Anyone know what would happen were you caught with two? a fine?



Anyways, sounds like a blast, was supposed to be "doing" scotland this year but it didn't work out maybe next year...

Have fun
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[funmonkee]

definately the full power model... vboost enabled...theres no point realy in having the VMAX without the vboost unless you like the way it looks but don't want the acceleration rush. If I have the UK model I'd fit the vboost.
____________________
**** Don't ride faster than your angel can fly Get this Free Space
The democratically elected Mod of the Scottish Section - The Peoples Choice[b]

[funmonkee]

[funmonkee]

[colin1]

I agree with nath. I have a few 5 litre discarded motor oil bottles. I rinsed therm out and they are perfect to go in panniers. A normal petrol can is too wide like a cube, so wont fit in panniers.

I sometimes get a weeks petrol from the cheap place and keep it at home, to keep me from having to make lots of tripsto the petrol station in the week.
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[Walloper]

Re: Highland tour
Has anyone found running out of petrol harmed the bike's fuel system?
Injected or carbs?
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W-ireless A-rtificial L-ifeform L-imited to O-bservation P-eacekeeping and E-fficient R-epair

[funmonkee]

[tonyyzf]

If you get in touch with myself or emszxr we could probably tell you exactly where every fuel station is on the route you've indicated, living up here in the highlands we get very used to knowing when and where we can get fuel. we have toured all the roads possible up here, both by bike and for work, ems used to be a van driver so knows most of scotlands roads like the back of her hand.

[Nath]

[mr.z]

walloper -

The risk of damage to crabs/injectors would be form any dirt in your tank, the dirt sits at the bottom, so when your feul is very very low then the dirt gets dragged though the fuel system..

When in reserve theres no problem either, most reserves have a few litres left (mines 5 afaik) so your nowhere near the cud level yet, its the last 500ml or so might be a bit iffy..

one very simple soloution is a £5 fuel filter, they might get clogged up by the crud but it will save it getting as fas as the carbs/e.t.c. Most tanks have some kind of filter..

But this also depends on your tank, if you flushed it out then your going to be perfectly ok when it runs down low!
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