Mick's Hillbilly Hydration System

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Many years ago in a far away land I use to fly sailplanes/gliders.. We had a gent drill a plane into the ground from what was later on to find out was heat stroke.. He was tooling around with that big clear canopy and no hat on. We watched as he just did a 90? nose down and go in.........
DRINK, DRINK,pee,DRINK, DRINK,pee,DRINK, DRINK,pee,DRINK, DRINK,pee,DRINK, DRINK,pee,DRINK, DRINK,pee,DRINK, DRINK,pee,DRINK, DRINK,pee,DRINK, DRINK,pee.
m
 
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I just put the Camel Back bladder in my tank bag. In the morning I fill it with Ice and water then wrap it in a towel for some insulation. Run the hose out the top rear of the bag and it is right there to drink out of. The water will stay cold to cool all day long. When I stop for lunch, I get a full cup of ice before I get my drink and put in in the bladder to make the cold last longer. No room on the back seat as that is where the camping gear goes.

Cost and work-----nothing as I had the gear. Works for me! Very nice work though:)
 

CruisingDog

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Same thing happened to my buddy a couple of years ago after coming out of Yosemite. It was blisteringly hot and we had ridden through Death Valley the day before. basically he was extremely dehydrated and was suffering from heat-stroke. We stopped in Oakdale for liquid/shade and he started blacking out. Sensibly he decided to stay in a hotel and kept drinking and having a shower to regulate his body temperature. Looking back I should have got him to a hospital to have a saline drip and Ice packs.


Hind sight - 20/20. Now I know about rehydrating! BTW, he was fine after about 4 hours of A/C and lots of liquids. Kind of spoiled the trip though!
 
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Mick
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I'm on the road right now in Jennings, LA. Decided to take a small 2 day trip and cruise the South. Gonna head over to Mobile, then get off the slab and take small roads in AL, MS & LA back home.

I've got the hydration system hooked up on the ST and it's working as planned! Looks like a keeper. It will REALLY come in handy in early August for my trip to CA & back. Thanks for the suggestion to blow water back into the cooler first before taking a drink. That also works like a charm.
 

ST4Sal

Gone Riding!!!
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Mick,
thanks For Sharing.... Hope you don't mind If I Steal This idea?
Also whomever stated to blow before sucking. Super Great Idea
Thanks,
Sal
 
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Mick
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Hope you don't mind If I Steal This idea?
No patent pending on this idea Sal. Steal away!

The only change I made to the implementation of the design as pictured was to switch the side of the tank bag bag attachement point and run the tube on the left rather than the right. I originally put the retractable badge device on the right hand side of the tank because of the left side of my bike already being "busy" with wires, etc. running into my tank bag. It worked OK (all I had to do was reach over to the right with my left hand to grab the bite valve) but I found that the left hand side was just a tad more convenient and the tube and left side wires didn't interfere with each other after all.

It's going to be a beautiful sunny day here in the South. Gonna go downstairs and enjoy the Quality Inn's continental breakfast then hit the road.

Later.
 
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Mick, if in Mobile, check out the USS Alabama war memorial... This is one big battleship!! Also has a WW2 sub and a bunch of vintage planes.. Just off I10 on the way out of town heading east..

mitch
 
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We found out about the hydration issue on a HOT day in Southern Ontario.
Didn't make the same mistakes on our trip to Utah ...in the SUMMER!:eek:
Even if the water isn't cold, it does the trick.
Adding some salt is definitely useful .
 
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Quote by SKS
Very ingenious. Couldn't you also stop every hour or so and get a drink ?
Maybe that works in CT. It's the 8th of May and 104? F as I type this. If you wait to drink when you stop every hour or so, you won't make it far. You need more than a drink an hour to ride here. USMC minimum water consumption is listed as one ounce per kilogram of body weight per day. That's about 120 ounces per day minimum for me, and riding needs more than the minimum.

Mick, that's another great looking solution that you've come up with. I'm going to steal much of the process for one that will go on the passenger peg. Really great looking deal. Thanks a ton!
 
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Mick
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Mick, if in Mobile, check out the USS Alabama war memorial... This is one big battleship!!

I've been by the ship many times but have never stopped to check things out. I wound up not making it to Mobile this trip as I decided to turn north at Slidell, LA. and begin my tour of the Pearl River through Mississippi. I wanted to do my Mississippi small road tour in the middle of the day. Continuing on to Mobile would have thrown my timing off.

The first leg of my MS tour was the most scenic. I took a couple of small roads that run parallel to the Pearl River. The first leg was 43 just north of Picayune and ended at the town of Columbia, a very relaxing and scenic ride. The next leg was between Columbia and Monticello. This leg was scenic and very twisty and hilly.

Road conditions on the last stretch ranged from excellent to marginal (lots of logging truck traffic that wear the roads down). If anyone ever does this road, do it with caution. Mississippi doesn't spend much money on road signs. Many of the curves have no warning and it's not always easy to tell what your fixing to get into because there is basically no shoulder to these roads. It's just pavement then forest (you DON'T want to go off the road there) which means many curves are blind. Several times I came up a sharp rise only to be greeted by a sharp turn coming down... no warning. There was also plenty of sand in the road in some spots because of the logging trucks. Despite this, it was worth it and I found the ride enjoyable.

After my tour of the Pearl River, I continued on some rural roads and eventually made it to Natchez. From there I crossed the Mississippi River to Ferriday, LA then took LA 15 which runs along the Mississippi Levee for 60 miles. Along the way I got to see the US Corps of Enigneers Old River Control Structure which keeps the Mississippi River from diverting into the Atchafalaya Basin (back in 1973 they almost lost it AND the control structure during a record flood). Then I took LA 1 to Morganza (where the cafe scene in "Easy Rider" was filmed) then took a series of roads that ran along side of the bayou that runs through Maringouin. Then it was on to I-10 over the Atchafalaya Swamp with my destination being Breaux Bridge where I spent the night last night. I rolled into home base about noon only to be confronted by a lawn that needed serious mowing! :( . Fun's over!!!

As mentioned in a previous post, this trip was a good real world test of the hydration system. The only problem that I can envision is being tempted to stay in the saddle too long since there is no longer a need to stop for a drink. One should ideally be pulling over every once in a while to rest (at least at my age).
 
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One should ideally be pulling over every once in a while to rest (at least at my age).

Oh, I think the word is "pashaw"........ go for it.. Im pushing 60 and as long as Im wet and I have gas, I'm going... Practicing my craft of motorcycling..

BTW going to Westoc?

m
 
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I'm a little cynical of the need for a water tank that much larger than my bladder.

Maybe I don't want to have to re-fill the water supply *every* time I empty my bladder, but I'm quite happy with my 2 litre bag that sits in my jacket behind the back protector...

Cheers & God bless
Sam "SammyTheSnake" Penny
[2 litres is 68 US floz]
 
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Mick
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I'm a little cynical of the need for a water tank that much larger than my bladder.
If I still lived in the UK (Midlands, 1970-73), a hydration system would not be on my radar at all. In England, you've got a much different climate and towns practically every 5 miles in some areas (unless on the motorways) so you've no worry about water supply. Where I'll be travelling this summer (Nevada, Utah, Arizona), some areas will see temps n the 110F+- range and the distances between towns can be almost 100 miles. Boogying down the highway at 70 to 80 mph in that kind of heat induces quite a bit of evaporation and your body loses water quickly so there is a need for frequent water and plenty of it. Fail to get enough water at frequent intervals and you risk getting in trouble with heat exhaustion/heat stroke or becoming prematurely fatigued. You can drink a lot of water in this kind of temperature on a bike and still not have to empty you bladder very often.
 
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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
Pictures ?:06biker::06biker::06biker:
 

Capt_Gruuvy

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I'm a little cynical of the need for a water tank that much larger than my bladder.
It ain't coming out your bladder Boss ....

I've stopped, removed my jacket and could not find one spot on my T-Shirt that was still dry.

Better to sweat it out than to be dried out.

I use a two quart cooler as well. It is my goal that it be emptied TWICE before I hit the Mexico border. That is the only way I know I have kept hydrated.

I like this set up even more than the one I use now.

Nicely done.
 
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Nice set up Mick...will keep you hydrated.
As a "Northerner", I was surprised by how much water you need riding in summer heat through California, Nevada and Utah. One liter (1 US quart) an hour seemed a minimum. I have a 1 liter bladder in my HG Timbuktu jacket, with tubing, and also needed a couple of liter bottles in my tank bag between gas stops.
 
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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


Here is where Mike got the idea for his set up.. http://tinyurl.com/q9lhwn

mitch
 
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