Bear Tracks | Can you get yourself going if your bike stops?

Riding solo can be just as enjoyable as group riding, if not more fun... But if you plan on venturing off the beaten track, be sure you are prepared. Fuel, Fire and Air and three things to consider...

I enjoy riding with my friends. But the very fact that I feel it necessary to say that, clearly means that there are times when I don’t. Or perhaps there is a better way to say that: sometimes I enjoy riding in company and sometimes I enjoy riding by myself. I suspect most riders feel like that.

Getting out by myself is often a kind of therapy. I find that it does a number of things for me. On the one hand, it blows away everyday concerns; I can end up almost mindless, just paying attention to the road – or often the trail – and figuratively letting the breeze clear out my mind. But I can also do some serious thinking, able to get down to basics without being distracted by the mundane world. It can mean freedom and it can mean hard focus. It can mean the pure enjoyment of tracking through nature’s bounty and beauty, too.

“It can mean freedom and it can mean hard focus”…

I don’t know if it’s occurred to you yet, but none of the above involves much in the way of pedestrian common sense. A flighty ride with not a care in the world is just as likely as a serious time for thought to let you forget about practicalities. I write this because it happened to me some time ago; I had found a fire trail leading into remote parts of the Newnes plateau in the Blue Mountains and I forgot about fuel. My mind was on a deeply unpleasant duty I was going to have to perform shortly, and I was feeling rather dark.

Read previous Bear Tracks features here…

My BMW F 750 GS only carries 15 litres of the precious juice, and by the time I noticed that it was telling me that I had 65km left before the well ran dry, we were considerably more than 65km away from the nearest petrol station. Normally I would carry two litres of spare fuel in a canister attached to the back of the left pannier, but I didn’t have the panniers fitted; neither did I have my auxiliary tank on the back of the bike.

This story has a happy ending: BMW, a company that is usually quite precise about its mensuration, has been remarkably pessimistic in this case and when I pulled up to the servo in Lithgow, the bike had been indicating an empty tank for more than 20km. And I had forgotten all about my melancholy duty.

But the experience made me think. There are three things you can run out of that will leave you stuck out in the tulies (a word I learned from a Canadian friend). All of them could be serious if you’re by yourself. The most obvious is fuel. Then there’s air, as in the contents of a tyre. And finally there is electricity. Your charging system may go Watts up, and that will stop you as well. All of these things have happened to me in the 60-odd years I have been riding.

Of course I carry a toolkit, a combination of the pathetic but specific tools that come with the bike plus a high quality set sourced from Snap-On. This allows me to do any work I might want (and be able) to do on the road on the F 750, but I’m sure you’ve noted that it will not help me with any of the three painful lacks mentioned above.

Time to get serious and sort this out. Fuel is easy. The bike carries 15 litres, my canister carries 2 more and I have a 7-litre auxiliary tank from Nomad Fuel Tanks for the rack. Twenty-four litres is what the bike should have held in the first place. I am unlikely to need more. Sorted.

Fortunately, Australian Importer Rocky Creek Designs offers various ways of providing air and power. Out of its range of air pumps, I chose the small MotoPressor MicroPUMP. This is a cordless rechargeable tyre pump which is tiny, measuring 78 x 35 x 80mm. The whole kit weighs just 323g.

The pump kit costs $145.95 and is available from Pro Accessories…

“It will pump to 130PSI and will inflate a 150/70 R18 tyre twice (0-36psi) and a 90/90 R21 tyre once (0-27psi) on the single charge,” says Rocky Creek.  “You can set and save 3 pre-set pressures and the pump will automatically shut off once the pre-set pressure is reached.  Recharge from most USB adapters… The kit includes an inflation hose, USB C charging cable, Presta valve adapter, storage bag and operating instructions.” The pump kit costs $145.95 and is available from Pro Accessories, here.

Rocky Creek can also provide power if your charging system or battery let you down. Their 500A – MotoPressor Mini Jump Starter Battery will ensure that you are never left stranded. It can start petrol car engines up to 5.0L with a battery capacity of 10,000mAh and a starting current of 500A. It can also charge things like your phone or tablet. The complete kit weighs 715g and packs neatly into a carry case (184 x 140 x 70mm). It costs $219.95 from Pro Accessories, here.

The complete kit weighs 715g and packs neatly into a carry case (184 x 140 x 70mm). It costs $219.95 from Pro Accessories…

Now here’s the trick: I have managed to fit both the pump and the starter into the starter’s durable case, along with a set of fuses and basic tyre repair stuff. (I used the little Alpine bag because it was empty.) All I need to do now is slip that one case into my pannier and I can deal with shortages of both air and power no matter where I am on the road.

Nomad Fuel Tanks in Wangaratta, Victoria offers a very wide range of rugged, high-quality Australian-made auxiliary tanks for all kinds of bikes. They are well designed and come with all hoses, straps, studs, tap, filter and `T` piece. Detailed and comprehensive fitting kits are included.

Rocky Creek Designs is lucky enough to be in Dunoon on the beautiful North Coast of NSW. They have a wide range of useful electrical and other accessories, as well as parts for various adventure bikes. The MotoPressor range are distributed by our friends at Pro Accessories.