Mick's Hillbilly Hydration System

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Every time I've traveled through the West during the warm months, I've wished that I had a hydration system that I could use while ridding. I've seen some folks suggestion about using a camel back but that just wouldn'?t work for me. The air flow through my Aerostich is restricted enough as it is because of the Bohn back protector I wear. A camelback would be that much worse. An alternate commercial system I've seen has a small plastic jug and drink tube/bite valve that mounts at the spot where the passenger foot peg normally goes. It is for an FJR (http://www.skywaymotorcycleaccessories.com/store/ccp0-prodshow/personalHydrationSystem.html ) but I've no idea if it could be adapted to an ST1100. At any rate, at $135 (IIRC) it is more than I'd want to pay.

Last night I finally found the hydration solution I'd been looking for! While at Academy looking to just buy a water bladder to throw into a tail bag, I saw something I'd been looking for for quite some time... a little cooler just small enough to fit into my small tail bag. I grabbed that puppy then went running all over town trying to find everything else I needed to make it work. After four hours and 6 stores of various types, I managed to purchase everything I needed. Below is the jerry rigged, "hillbilly hydration system" I put together. It ain't purdy but I think it's a gonna work :rolleyes::

The "system" starts with a Coleman 4.5 quart cooler purchased at Academy :



I drilled a hole through the lid and inserted a plastic tube that I later attached to a drinking tube & bite valve. The end of the tube is weighted with stainless steel nuts to keep the tube on the bottom of the cooler. A zip tie was used to secure the nuts and a large zip tie was used (black) to keep the tube from being pulled out of the lid:



This picture shows the tube emerging from the top of the lid. The hole was drilled about 40 degrees from horizontal so that the tube would lay flat rather than fold over and restrict water flow. Notice that the clear tube is connected to the blue drink tube / bite valve combo (from REI) via a vacuum connector (clear 3/8" tubing & connector from Advanced Auto Parts). The drink tube as purchased was way too short so I added the 2' section of clear tube:



Note how the little cooler fits perfectly into this old tail bag I've had laying around for years:



This shot shows how the drink tube emerges from the tail bag:



Final shot shows the drink tube/bite valve attached to a retractable badge holder on my tank bag. That way I can take a drink and not have to take my eyes off the road to put it back after use. All I need to do now is fill that puppy with ice & water and GO RIDE!:


Edit 5/2014: Ran across a picture showing this system mounted and in use during a 2009 trip to Oregon:
 
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Mellow

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Nice Mick.. so what's the total cost?
 

ST_Jim

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Pretty ingenious Mick.

Now you just need to add some insulation around the tubing. With the hose that long the water will heat up before you get a chance to drink it. Or maybe a return hose and a way to recirculate... :D
 
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Pretty ingenious Mick.

Now you just need to add some insulation around the tubing. With the hose that long the water will heat up before you get a chance to drink it. Or maybe a return hose and a way to recirculate... :D
Always blow before you suck :rolleyes: Nice cool water that way.
 

ThreeWheels

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Very ingenious. Couldn't you also stop every hour or so and get a drink ?
 

Mark

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Looks like it'll get the job done nicely Mick.

I would blow water back after drinking to keep the line fluid from getting too warm.

Mark
 
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Couldn't you also stop every hour or so and get a drink ?
That kinda defeats the purpose of "LD" riding.. least amount of stops, most amount of riding.. Heading out to WESTOC this Aug/Sept and the first part of the ride is gonna be 1k in 1day.. The only time I wanna stop is to get gas, pee and maybe a snack.. 15 min stop at the most..
Then again thats me............YMMV.. Kudos's Mick... Always thinking....

mitch
 

Mellow

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Couldn't you also stop every hour or so and get a drink ?
That kinda defeats the purpose of "LD" riding.. least amount of stops, most amount of riding.. Heading out to WESTOC this Aug/Sept and the first part of the ride is gonna be 1k in 1day.. The only time I wanna stop is to get gas, pee and maybe a snack.. 15 min stop at the most..
Then again thats me............YMMV.. Kudos's Mick... Always thinking....

mitch
+1.. you can speed all day long and not make much difference in your arrival time.. it's the stops that get you.. every stop, if you get a drink, can be 10 mins minimum.. if you do that ever hr a 600 mile trip that should be 10 hrs, just throwing numbers out, ends up being ends up being 11.5+ hrs.. might not sound like much of a difference but it adds up..
 

CruisingDog

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What I do with my water drinks is to add a bit of cranberry juice. It adds taste and also a bit of sugar to keep the energy levels up a bit. Maybe some salt would be a good idea on desert runs too. Gatorade and a bucket of ice.
 
OP
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Nice Mick.. so what's the total cost?
Here's the list. You'll notice that the cooler was actually purchased at a discount sporting goods store local to Texas and some states in the south called Academy. I went to so many stores the other day (including 2 different Wal-Marts) that I got the purchase site mixed up in the initial post. I'll go back and edit the post and put in the right store:


Coleman 4.5 quart cooler --- $9.99
(purch. from Academy)

Platypus "Taste Free Drink Tube" --- $12.95
This was perfect size at 3/8" O.D.
(purch. from REI)

Packaged 2' of 3/8" O.D. clear fuel line --- $1.89
(purch. at Advanced Auto Parts)

Vacuum line connector --- $1.78
(purch. at Advanced Auto parts)

Retractable security badge holder... $0.00
(already had this laying around unused)

Stainless steel bolts & zip tie.... $0.00
(had these already in my hardware stash)

Total............................................. $26.61


As you can see, the most expensive part was from REI (surprise, surprise). If you could find a 3/8" drink tube/bite valve at any other store it would probably be 30% less.
 
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OP
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Mick
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Pretty ingenious Mick.

Now you just need to add some insulation around the tubing. With the hose that long the water will heat up before you get a chance to drink it. Or maybe a return hose and a way to recirculate... :D
Good point and not a bad idea. Wrapping some tape around the tube would probably be the easiest and would block the sun.
 

moeg

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Great solution and frugal too! And in addition to potentially reducing stops, this lets you drink more frequently. Something I believe is important any time you ride. Dehydration is something that can sneak up on you with some undesirable effects such as fatigue and drowsiness.
 
OP
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Mick
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Very ingenious. Couldn't you also stop every hour or so and get a drink ?
I could but I find that I usually don't simply because it's such a PITA stopping, removing helment, donning it again and taking off. Because of the laziness factor I simply don't get as much water in my system as I should. Now that I have this hydration system, I can just take a sip when I feel the need and keep truckin' down the road :biker:.

Concerning stopping for hydration, Mitch brings up a good point. The cumulative effect of all those stops is a lot of riding time lost. Not a big deal if one were retired and time were not a concern but I'm not and my vacation time is limited. My yearly trips are usually in the 5000 to 6000 mile range so keeping to a schedule is important in order to see and do everything I want. For instance, during last year's trip through Montana & Idaho, I did 5500 miles in a couple of days shy of two weeks. This year's will be a tad over 6000 miles and that includes a 2 day stop at a relatives wedding. Unfortunately I'll be burning up a lot more interstate this year than I normally would in order to make it work.
 
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Dehydration is something that can sneak up on you with some undesirable effects such as fatigue and drowsiness.

On my four corners trip a few years ago, I had a bad incident with dehydration on the Jersey turnpike.. We didn't realize the the "beach" traffic let out and I95 was bumper to bumper with about 90 sumpthing degrees and very humid.. I realize something was a-miss when the road curved right to left like the horizon was bent more than usual... Time for a drink.. Pulled into the next drink station and when I stopped, I promptly dropped the bike.......... just boom, down she went....... Only damage was a bruised ego..Two bottles of Gatorade later I was fine but it was real spooky and a wake up call on hydration.. Remember drink enough to pee clear.. when you are thirsty, your not drinking enough..
 
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I liked the FJR solution so I had a disk cut and welded a threaded block on the bottom that fits on the ST right passenger peg. Then I bungee the water cooler on the plated and off I go drinking through a hose and bit valve. It saves my seat for holding other stuff.

Mike
 
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