10L Portable Fuel Bladder Review

Riders who tour on bikes with smaller fuel tank capacity should definitely read this. Because there are times when they have to carry some extra fuel to go on those long stretches which extend the maximum riding kilometers the fuel tank of their bikes can deliver. If you are going on a ride to Leh and if visiting places such as Pangong Lake or Nubra Valley you are definitely going to face this problem as while returning back from these places you will need that extra fuel.
Talking about solutions to this problem, you can carry extra fuel in jerry cans, plastic bottles. If you are riding in a group with a back-up vehicle then it will carry these for you otherwise you have to mount it on your bike and thus are exposed to lot of shaking. I have even heard of cases of these jerry cans leaking. Hence I was not really keen to use these options for my ride to Leh and nor the option of fitting a ‘Ladakh Carrier’ on my Duke 390. I had noticed this small fuel bladder on Facebook profile of Deelip Menezes and since that time it had caught my attention. So about a month ago before my ride, I ordered this product from my Aliexpress.com. Now stuff from this website usually takes 30-40 days to arrive India under free shipping mode. So my fingers were crossed if it will reach in time or not. Fortunately it arrived in 20 days of ordering so I got plenty of time to test this product too before my ride. The link to order is given at the end of this review.

I had ordered the 10L variant of this fuel bladder, a 7L version is also available. The edges are sharp and you can clearly see that the border is sealed across the perimeter upto an inch, making it leak proof. There is a handle to hold this thing and a lid which is attached to the neck. The thread on the lid-opening is pretty strong so that there is no chance of the thread breaking when you are trying to close the lid too tight, which you must when you are carrying the fuel. It also comes with a flexible pipe with nozzle like opening in one end, which can again be thread locked to the opening of the bag for easy pouring of fuel in the tank. This is a very handy feature of this product.




Tests I performed:
  • I filled almost 90% of this bag with water and left it on the floor upside down overnight to check for leaks. Of-course I put the lid on :P No leaks
  • I put this fuel bladder inside the Viaterra Claw (inside which I was planning to carry it), mounted it on the bike. I also packed other stuff in the Claw to make it more heavy and close to real conditions. Rode the bike like this on little bad roads too. I found no leakage at all.

So during the ride I first got the opportunity to use the bag while I was about to ride to Turtuk (Nubra Valley).  Before that I just folded the bag from the center and packed in the Claw. Now to ride to Turtuk and come back, I topped-up the fuel tank of my bike and carried 6 liters of fuel in the bag. Again I packed the bladder with fuel inside the Claw. I must have ridden on roads of all conditions while riding to Turtuk. When I took this fuel bag out to refuel my bike, I was absolutely happy with the product as there were no leaks and not even the smell of petrol stinking all over the bag.

While riding to Chang La pass I had to carry 7 liters of petrol in the bag. This time I decided to keep the fuel bladder above the Claw and secure it with bungee cords. I faced bad roads, no roads, snow fall but this fuel bag refused to move from its secured position on the bike and did not let even a drop of petrol leak out of it.




So if you are deciding to buy this product be assured that it will perform absolutely true to its purpose. The manufacturing quality of the product is also good. It’s a must have for touring long distances for the KTMs and other bikes which have a smaller fuel tank.

Price: Rs. 4720


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29 comments :

  1. Nice product! Thanks for the review!!

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    1. Thanks for reading Naveen! Do follow on Twitter @MotoStoriesIn. Cheers!

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  2. One issue I faced whilst carrying fuel in the side pocket of the Viaterra Claw was keeping the bag horizontally balanced. If the fuel bladder is full, I keep tools in the other pocket. But if the bladder is empty, I cannot keep heavy stuff in the other pocket otherwise the bag tips over.

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    Replies
    1. When the bladder was empty I kept it inside the Claw itself. I also realized you can simply tie it over the claw with bungees and that will work too.

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  3. nice review. Can you please post the product url i.e. the specific one in AliExpress.

    Alternate query - did you change the tyres on your duke for the trip?

    Thanks in advance
    regards
    Ronald

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    Replies
    1. Hi Ronald.
      The link of the product is where it says-Click Here to Order this product in the end of the article.

      I did not change my tyres but I suggest that you do to a pair of on-off road tyres available (brand vee rubber) for mere Rs. 5000 approx a pair. This will last for a trip or two like a ride to Leh. Thanks for dropping by and do share your ride stories on this blog!

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  4. Hey - Thanks for the detailed post. Wanted to check with you on the Vee Rubber tyre. I am aware that the rear is available for around 3K or thereabouts at Karol bagh. What about the front (asking since you mentioned "pair"). Other have employed the Sirac for the front, but I just don't like that tyre

    Thanks!

    Karan

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    Replies
    1. Some of them I know also have used only the Sirac for the front. And the combination has worked good for them. If you are able to get hold of Pirelli MT60, nothing like it!

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  5. Hi friends ,

    I am planning to delhi to leh via jammu, leh , manali to delhi by this 1 july to 15 july by royal Enfield 350cc and pulsar ns 200.

    Please guide me if I need some ting which will help me in tour.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi friends ,

    I am planning to delhi to leh via jammu, leh , manali to delhi by this 1 july to 15 july by royal Enfield 350cc and pulsar ns 200.

    Please guide me if I need some ting which will help me in tour.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Chetan. Aditya has written a complete story of his Leh ride in detail. You can read the day by day account of his ride and the problems/adventures you guys might face. It will be surely useful to read this to have some insights before the ride http://www.motostories.in/2016/03/the-enchanting-trails-part-i.html

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  7. I think it is illegal to carry petrol like that. Read Petroleum Act 1934: "Petroleum Class A possessed without a licence under this section shall be kept in securely stoppered receptacles of glass, stoneware or metal which shall not, in the case of receptacles of glass or stoneware, exceed one litre in capacity or, in the case of receptacles of metal exceed twenty-five litres in capacity."

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  8. Hello Friends,

    i have also buyed this product for my ladakh trip in 2014 and 2015 but unfortunately in my second trip 2015 some had stolen it near udhampur my bad luck :(
    This is really good for this kind of trips.
    So those who are buying this product i have an idea for you all regarding storing of empty bag safely with you tools in stores and bags. I have already used this idea and its great for bag safety.
    So, just roll the bag and check the length and diameter of bag. According to the measurement buy a PVC pipe and the caps for both side. It will save your bag from any type of cuts and puncture via sharp thing and you can easily store it any place.

    Ride Safe

    Regards
    Piyush

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  9. Hey, that's a well written review. I don't like to carry jerry cans on my Duke, so this looks like a perfect alternative. Unfortunately, it no longer available in ali express and i did a google search to see if it is available elsewhere, but no luck. Do you know of any other place where i can buy this or a similar product? Thanks in advance

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    Replies
    1. Oh yes I just checked again too and its no longer available on Aliexpress. I will keep looking for an alternate link and share here/

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  10. Thanks for the review. As someone about to begin touring on my Duke 390, I wanted to check how easy/difficult is it to get a petrol pump fill up the bladder instead of the tank? Generally speaking I have found petrol pumps reluctant to give petrol in anything but the vehicle/motorcycle itself.

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    Replies
    1. On highways there is no need of this bladder because you will always find petrol pumps wherever you go. For routes which are famous for lack of petrol pumps, on such routes petrol pumps will always fill up your cans and bladder because thats the regular practice there. So be assured

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  11. I'm basically impressed by the way you detailed out just about almost everything. It's definitely going to assist me a fantastic deal. Thanks for sharing your thoughts so clearly.
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  12. New product link 10 litre (open link via mobile)
    https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/32811397825.html

    ReplyDelete