Hey guys,

I have read the ADV thread on how to get all the fuel out of the wings of the Acerbis tank.

Klx 250/300 Acerbis tank How to get all the fuel out of it mod - ADVrider

I could use some help in interpreting what they are saying over there. I am having a hard time following exactly what the OP did.

The way I understand it, to get the fuel out of the left wing, he just extended the petcock tubing all the way down. To get the fuel from the right wing, he added a fuel pump?

I don't think I want to mess with the fuel pump and the carb overflow risk. Could I do half the mod and at least get the fuel out of the left wing? Can anyone help translate?

 

You pretty much nailed it. I have the 3.7 tank too... I even bought the pump and tubing to do the same mod, but have never gotten around to it. Just tip the bike over to the left to get the fuel from the right side to the left.

Rob

 

Rob,

If I understand this right, to get all the fuel out of the left wing only, all I have to do is get a 3/8inch fuel line and extend it from the petcock deep into the left wing? Will the carb vac/gravity take care of just sucking it out of the left wing?

If that makes sense, that would be a very simple way to get to 3.5 gallon capacity. I can live with tipping the bike to the left to get to the last .2 gallons from the right wing.

 

Almost... there's no way to connect the line to the petcock that I know of. What you'd have to do is use the stock petcock still attached to the frame, and then buy some brass fittings to go in place of the petcock on the tank itself. One coming out to go to the stock petcock, and the one up in the tank, probably a 90-deg fitting, to run down into the wing.

'Course the fun part will be actually getting that stuff into the tank and tight/leak-free.

But yeah once that's done, I think the vacuum from the engine would be enough to suck the fuel up from there.

Rob

 

I always saw that right lobe fuel as my "super secret reserve" worth another 10 miles. It was my assurance I would never be stranded.

 

I think there's a lot of excess hub-bub about the effort to get all/most of the fuel from this tank. For some years now I've gone out west to some of the riding venues that have absolutely no fuel available for many miles. I've hit right at 200 miles on this tank on 2 or 3 occasions on my '06 and did not even have to do the tilt-and-fill maneuver. I was on reserve, of course. My bike in those conditions routinely achieved 55-60 mpg...conservatively. While there was some pretty gnarly, rough, real off road sections in there, you're cruising on less challenging surfaces enough of the time to ease the fuel consumption. I know I can get 200 miles on this tank in as rough conditions as I can stand for 200 miles. Where and how are some of you guys riding? Yes, I can imagine a Dakar-like distance without support in the third world where a margin of safety might be more realistic, but then my question might be, "what the heck are you doing riding a KLX250?" I can also see someone taking a remote route that's more of pavement/dirt road trip, but then again, "what the heck are you doing riding a KLX250?'...LOL!

Now I'm obviously just having some fun here with some of my commentary, but I'd bet a nickel that most of the guys over on ADV doing the elaborate fuel line, fuel pump, and whatever other methods listed to milk all the gas out, probably don't go over 200 miles on their bikes in one filling. And think about this. You could have all this plumbing, fittings, hose, and even a pump. You could fall over and loosen or dislodge one of these fittings which could slowly or quickly lose enough fuel in a remote situation to cause an actual problem. Keep it simple. A couple of MSR fuel bottles might be a better solution for the very few and infrequent situations when you really need more than 200 miles.

 

TNC, you're right... However... I bought the 3.7 tank thinking I would get to burn 3.7 gallons of gas... And boy was I wrong. And that ticked me off. I was perpetually carrying nearly a whole gallon of gas around for nothing, it could never be burned. It only sat there adding to the weight of the machine. Not to mention the 3.7 ergonomics leave something to be desired (fatter in the knees - not as good as the slim stock tank).

I sold the tank because I didn't want to do the mod, too much effort.
Acerbis just messed up when they built this tank - I usually love their products but this tank is just a total bungle.
Sorry Acerbis - ya done goofed this time.

 

Kawi, have you ridden other bikes with large aftermarket tanks? KTM's and other bikes that have high capacity tanks spread out pretty wide as they go toward the front. I've never experienced any discomfort or odd leg position from riding with this tank. I'm 6 feet tall, so I'm not a midget. Just how tall are you?...got a 42" inseam?...and what NBA team do you play for?

Seriously though, I guess this is something that can be a personal preference. The Acerbis tank, like most of these larger aftermarket tanks is pretty darned skinny at the back. Riders probably position themselves on their bikes in different ways too that might affect preference.

 

I regularly pull an easy 150 to 170 miles out of my Acerbis 3.7 and that just isn't doable with the stocker. The extra gallon that some find difficult to use is down low so the weight, to me, is hardly noticeable. I've used nearly 100% of the tank without much effort (a little brake-acceleration to get most of the fuel on the street; one tip to the left to drain from the right wing). Mere ounces remaining when I hit the fuel station.

Some don't like it. Some hate it.

I love it!

 

Thanks for all the thoughts guys, appreciate the input.

Last question - anyone know if the acerbis tanks listed for older KLXs will fit an 07? They look exactly the same and one eBay ad even said they would fit newer bikes, but wanted to confirm before I pulled the trigger.

Acerbis Gas Tanks & Fuel Tanks | MotoSport