Do you fill up at gas station or jerry can?

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Johnny5 said:
Before i got into riding i noticed that whenever i was at gas stations in a cage i rarely saw bike riders filling up. I figured that maybe it's because riders like to fill up jerry cans and do it at home.

So now that i have a bike of my own, i'm wondering, what do you do? obviously if you are going on a long distance trip you are filling up at stations, but if you live in the city and ride around only casually do you ever just fill up a jerry can to keep at home to fill up?

That leads to my other question. If you fill up at stations and your gas cap is on top of your tank do you ever get splash over on your tank?, and if so how harmful is it to the paint/coating? I've only been riding a short time now and so far i've been too wussy to fill up at a station and just been keeping a 10 gal jerry can at home and doing it there but i guess i gotta learn to do it at the station sometime..

ok.. make fun now.. ;)
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How often did you see people filling up jerry cans?

I fill at the pump like 99.99% of every other biker out there as well.

I have splashed gas on my tank on previous bikes, not to often though. When that would happen I would just use the windshield brush thing and give my bike a quickly little cleanup.

Not sure what your problem is with gas stations or why feel the need to do it in the privacy of your home, but its something you need to get over.

Now my GSA lets me just shove that gas nozzle in like a car and fill up $40 + dollars worth before I need to pull it back and easy in the last 5 or 6 bucks worth of fuel.

As for gas cap on top, I wouldn't want it anywhere else, it only makes my rare trip to a gas station that much longer. My method. Pull up to pump, stay on bike, visa prepay at pump, pump, replace pump, gloves on, gone. Not that I am in a rush or anything, just hate stopping :lol:
 
turbodish said:
Use gas to power a bike? How archaic.
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"Between 1832 and 1839 (the exact year is uncertain), Robert Anderson of Scotland invented the first crude electric carriage, powered by non-rechargeable primary cells."

"1807 - Francois Isaac de Rivaz of Switzerland invented an internal combustion engine that used a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen for fuel. Rivaz designed a car for his engine - the first internal combustion powered automobile. However, his was a very unsuccessful design."

Slightly older tech. All sources: THE INTERNET.
 
I fill up at a gas station all the time and get off the bike before filling up. When pulling up to the pump, I try to pull up such that my bike leans towards the pump (i.e. pump on left side of bike) and also cautious not to roll my tires over automotive fuel/oil/coolant puddles that are commonly present.
I've only seen a motorcycle 'fuel-over-fill' incident once and it was in Port Perry after the same dude offered another rider advice on how to fill up a motorcycle with petrol.


... having said this, I do have some extra fuel in a jerry can from my SeaDoo that I'll be putting in my bike ... just gotta double-check that nobody mixed any BRP XP-S 2-stroke oil into the can. :-)
 
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This is my favorite post of the season!
 
Always at the gas station. I generally go to the same Shell station near my home, as someone else mentioned their pumps seem to work better for me. I ride a 250 Virago and can generally only squeeze $6.00 to $6.50 into the tank. I'm gone in under 3 minutes which includes getting off the bike, fishing for my card, paying at the pump, filling the tank, replacing the pump nozzle, putting gloves back on. I suspect that most riders don't spend a great deal of time at the pump and that's why you rarely see them. ;)

Chris
 
nakkers said:
I find Shell stations fuel dispensers offer the best nossel modulation.
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And the newer Petro-Canada stations too.

Esso has horrible modulation. It's as if it's 0%, 50% or 100% flow as your options.
Then there's a bit of splashing, a bit of cussing and then some wiping with a paper towel.

@OP: Never stick the nozzle all the way into your tank, and there should never be a need to go over 75% of maximum flow, and then as you see the gas filling towards the top, ease on the flow.
 
Why would you use a jerry can? That just seems like extra work.... Take cage with jerry can to station, drive home, dump in bike, drive back and fill it again, go home, ride. Instead of just: ride, stop at station if you need gas.
 
While in Canmore AB this summer I saw a mid '80's Yamaha Maxim with a 2 gallon Jerry can strapped to the rear fender.
I believe this was his "Reserve"

Chris
 
unL33T said:
Why would you use a jerry can? That just seems like extra work.... Take cage with jerry can to station, drive home, dump in bike, drive back and fill it again, go home, ride. Instead of just: ride, stop at station if you need gas.
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I use a 20 l jerry can. That's enough gas to last a week and half. I sometimes relunctantly fill up at gas stations. Along my route, a petro-can is over priced, the no frills gas is garbage, the esso is not convenient and always has a long line up, and there is a shell but I question the quality of that stations gas. Using a jerry can you have the choice to get gas at stations who offer the best price and the brand of gas that agrees with your bike. Oddly, I get regular gas from costco, and I find the quality excellent. Every so often, I cycle premium through my bike. I get that from a shell down the street. They have a dedicated pump for premium. I would have to fill up three times a week at a station and that would be way to aggravating. Jerry cans all the way.
 
really? if your paranoid use paper towels to catch the gas if it spills. it's not rocket science.
 
ItIsWhatItIs said:
I use a 20 l jerry can. That's enough gas to last a week and half. I sometimes relunctantly fill up at gas stations. Along my route, a petro-can is over priced, the no frills gas is garbage, the esso is not convenient and always has a long line up, and there is a shell but I question the quality of that stations gas. Using a jerry can you have the choice to get gas at stations who offer the best price and the brand of gas that agrees with your bike. Oddly, I get regular gas from costco, and I find the quality excellent. Every so often, I cycle premium through my bike. I get that from a shell down the street. They have a dedicated pump for premium. I would have to fill up three times a week at a station and that would be way to aggravating. Jerry cans all the way.
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If you are going to get premium, shell is definitely the place to get it, no ethanol (at most stations, check the pump).

Now how much money are actually saving by getting it 'at the best price'? If you get gas when it's 2 cents cheaper, you're saving 20 cents if you get 20L. Gas doesn't fluctuate THAT much, like you're not saving 20$ or something per fill up. Do you fill up you're car from Jerry cans? Probably not, but you mention the best price as one of the reasons for Jerry cans, but it's a bike (maybe 15L tank) vs. A car (probably at least 50L tank). It just seems silly.

To each their own, but thanks for making me chuckle this morning.
 
ItIsWhatItIs said:
I use a 20 l jerry can. That's enough gas to last a week and half. I sometimes relunctantly fill up at gas stations. Along my route, a petro-can is over priced, the no frills gas is garbage, the esso is not convenient and always has a long line up, and there is a shell but I question the quality of that stations gas. Using a jerry can you have the choice to get gas at stations who offer the best price and the brand of gas that agrees with your bike. Oddly, I get regular gas from costco, and I find the quality excellent. Every so often, I cycle premium through my bike. I get that from a shell down the street. They have a dedicated pump for premium. I would have to fill up three times a week at a station and that would be way to aggravating. Jerry cans all the way.
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Well my tank holds 15L but that only gets me just over 200 km. That's pretty much one or two rides so I'd be refilling a 20L jerry can a lot. Harder to track fuel economy as well filling with jerry cans. I haven't personally noticed enough difference in gas brand as far as price or quality goes other than that I often fill up at a Huskey near my work because it's cheap but a couple of cents difference doesn't make much difference in the long run so I don't really bother being picky about it. I've never experienced "bad gas" from any station so I don't worry about it. Although back when I had a diesel it ran way better (smoother) on Shell, Sunoco, and 5% biodiesel than it did on Esso or cheaper brands' fuel.

If it works for you though, to each his own. Still seems like extra work for no gain. It still takes less effort to refill one tank than it takes to fill one and pour it into another (not to mention the extra travel to take the can there and back).
 
unL33T said:
Why would you use a jerry can? That just seems like extra work.... Take cage with jerry can to station, drive home, dump in bike, drive back and fill it again, go home, ride. Instead of just: ride, stop at station if you need gas.
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I think you need a bigger Jerry can! Lol
 
We've pulled up to a gas station before (2 bikes) to the same pump. Hubby got off his bike to pump the gas into both our bikes. The attendant wouldn't authorize the gas until I, sitting on the bike parked behind the front bike (close enough so we could fill up two bikes on the same bill) got OFF my bike. I guess he was concerned mine would get filled and I would just take off? Very weird. Don't be surprised if they don't allow you to fill unless you are off your steed. Keep a paper towel within reach if you spill, that's about it. We usually put our hand under the nozzle as we transport it from pump to tank and back so the hand will catch a drop instead of hitting the bike somewhere.
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