Jsbedard1977
Member
Rotopax - how do you carry them? Within the racks or installed on the panniers, or top? Show me pictures please 
Rotopax - how do you carry them?
- Thread starter Jsbedard1977
- Start date
vgazer
Member
Attached to my top box.
Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk
gv550
Well-Known Member
Attached to pannier, otherwise unused space.
thughes317
Well-Known Member
I just use a Rox strap to secure it to the rear luggage rack (Altrider).
Last edited:
Jsbedard1977
Member
Good setup gv550, thanks! How do you mount it there exactly?
gv550
Well-Known Member
With screws.
JamesGang
I'm Rick James
Nice installation, @ gv55!
What size Rotopax is it precisely?
Regards,
What size Rotopax is it precisely?
Regards,
gv550
Well-Known Member
1 gallon, 3.8 litres.
This is a very tight fit and makes pannier removal a bit awkward, but the Rotopax is secure as long as the pannier is locked in place. From my photo it appears to be mounted a bit crocked, and it is. I tied the Rotopax onto the pannier tightly with a ratchet strap to position it, marked it and screwed the mount down.
The full can alone likely exceeds the carrying capacity of the pannier, but I like that the weight is lower than on the rack or seat, and close to the centerline of the bike.
This is a very tight fit and makes pannier removal a bit awkward, but the Rotopax is secure as long as the pannier is locked in place. From my photo it appears to be mounted a bit crocked, and it is. I tied the Rotopax onto the pannier tightly with a ratchet strap to position it, marked it and screwed the mount down.
The full can alone likely exceeds the carrying capacity of the pannier, but I like that the weight is lower than on the rack or seat, and close to the centerline of the bike.
DamonS
Active Member
full can is likely under 10 pounds total.. 1 gallon of gas is ~6.4 pounds, the 1 gallon rotopax is ~2 pounds.. i'd not worry about the pannier weight as much as the point load provided on the bolts going through the side
what's the material you've bolted this to? if its ABS or some variant of *TFE and not reinforced, that top bolt may eventually pull through over time on rough terrain. easy solution drop in a home depot mending plate to distribute the stress over a bigger area (at least equal to the size of the foot on the mount itself). i've actually seen a few of these sliding down the highway over the years, bracket intact, so better safe than sorry
gv550
Well-Known Member
The plastic is labeled PP-TX20, whatever that is. No sign of cracks yet and its been on there 160,000 kms, but I don't always have the panniers on the bike. Even if the plastic breaks the rotopax can't fall off, it's tight against the side of the bike. 
DamonS
Active Member
PP-TX20 is Polypropylene with 20% Talc reinforcement... so, yeah.. plenty of tensile strength and fantastic flexibility, to leave as is. premium brands use PP-TX20 for their plastic parts that may see abuse.. BMW lower lip and lower splash shields to name but one.
My prior comment was more pointed to cheaper ABS or some low glass fibre reinforcement that, as the temp drops, just cracks and splinters due to incorrect tensile strength. it's kind of nice to see the bag manufacturer for Yamaha did their research because that material is absolutely spot on, but can be costly
edit: since googling will give you almost ZERO results on this material.. PP (Polypropylene) is the base material.. TX20 breaks down to it being a Talc blend by weight(X) of 20%) .. Talc folmulations are done by people a lot smarter than myself, but can be calculated based on melt temperature crystallization, and calculations based on energy capacity (Joules / gram), among a few others.. when used in plastics like yours, by weight is adequate as the designer is simply balancing tensile strength and flexibility of material based on intended use..
*source is me: i own machine/mold shop servicing primarily construction heavy equipment manufacturing for specialty parts
Last edited:
Travex
Lost is my destination.
Long time user of these oem panniers and although I really like your setup I've talked myself out of doing the very same thing for years due to concerns of pannier load, point stress as previously mentioned, and material deformation. Nice to know these things haven't affected your great use of that space!
scott123007
Well-Known Member
I did the same thing as GV550 back in 2013. I did however attach Velcro at the four outboard corners of the Rotopax, just to help secure it, and to keep it from trying to rotate. Because of off road riding, sometimes with the panniers on, I had to slightly "bend" the brake line where it attaches to the caliper and then grind a locater tab on the caliper down a little bit, so it wouldn't hit the bottom of the Rotopax under full suspension compression. In 80,000 miles, with it full 99.9% of the time, it's never been a problem.
MattR
Well-Known Member
MattR
Well-Known Member
Dneprrider
Member
Actually both Litres numbers are correct depending on which Gallon measurement system you are comparing. A UK gallon (Imperial measuements) is 4.546L whereas a US gallon is 3.785L (4 quarts)
Back to the topic now I see that there are other look alike Roropax plastic containers available, and even cylindrical metal cannisters. With the different styles and sizes there maybe more fitment options possible. I do like how GV550 and others have mounted an auxiliary fuel tank keeping the weight down lower.
Back to the topic now I see that there are other look alike Roropax plastic containers available, and even cylindrical metal cannisters. With the different styles and sizes there maybe more fitment options possible. I do like how GV550 and others have mounted an auxiliary fuel tank keeping the weight down lower.
Last edited:
MattR
Well-Known Member
If it’s not imperial, what sort of measurement is the US gallon? Does the US use any other bastardised imperial measurements such as yards, stone, furlongs and chains? What is the purpose of these non standard units?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
JamesGang
I'm Rick James
Google search revealed;
In 1824 the British adapted the Imperial measure in which the gallon is based on 10 pounds or 277.42 cubic inches of water. The Americans had adopted a system where a gallon was comprised of 231 cubic inches of water. As a result, the U.S. gallon is 83.3 per cent of the Imperial gallon; put it another way, the Imperial gallon is about one-fifth or 20 per cent greater in volume than the American gallon.
In 1824 the British adapted the Imperial measure in which the gallon is based on 10 pounds or 277.42 cubic inches of water. The Americans had adopted a system where a gallon was comprised of 231 cubic inches of water. As a result, the U.S. gallon is 83.3 per cent of the Imperial gallon; put it another way, the Imperial gallon is about one-fifth or 20 per cent greater in volume than the American gallon.
Don't start !
Did you get water in your gallon or imperial gallon of gas?
Drain tank and refill with 22L of gasoline.
(I didn’t specify what type gas. Not going there. Steve Reno says 87 with ethanol is good. But what does he know. Only 300k miles but he may blow a motor yet!)