“Acerbis is the king of aftermarket large capacity fuel tanks for motorcycles. They’re exceptionally well-made, high-quality, fit seamlessly and work perfectly. They’re a must for long-distance motorcycle travellers.”
By Andy Davidson
Mad or Nomad - RTW motorcycle travellers
Snapshot
- Price: £320
- Time tested: 4 months
- Miles tested: 8,000 miles
- Testing conditions: USA and Canada
- Functionality: 5/5
- Durability: 5/5
- Value for money: 5/5
- Total score: 5/5
- Where to buy: acerbis.com
Acerbis Large Fuel Tank Review
The stock Honda CRF300L fuel tank is a measly 7.8L. That’s fine for a quick commute or weekend trail ride. But for anything else – and especially for long-distance motorcycle travel, it’s nowhere near enough.
The easiest and most effective way to increase the fuel capacity (especially in our case where we’re using our bikes every day) is to go for a larger fuel tank and Italian brand Acerbis are leaders in aftermarket tanks.
The new Acerbis fuel tank comes in at 14L and can be swapped in place of the OEM tank without having to make any modifications or remove or cut any fairings.
The tank itself is plastic and impact and abrasion resistance and surprisingly narrow.
Changing the tanks over was a simple and easy task. We cleaned out the new tank by swilling petrol around inside to pick up any debris from manufacturing and emptied that into a throwaway container. The fuel pump was unscrewed from the original and reattached to the Acerbis and then it was bolted into place.
The only other modification we made was to buy Acerbis locking caps (£23.95). These don’t come with the tanks, instead a screw on cap with an affixed breather hose that attaches to the charcoal filter came with it (we have removed our charcoal filters).
The locking caps are already vented, and we went for them so we could lock the caps if needed, but more because we didn’t want a huge breather hose poking out of our tanks.
We’re now able to get around 450km from a full tank of fuel and when filling can brim them to around 13.8L. If we fill the tanks too much, fuel will pump out of the cap.
Overall, we’re very happy with the increased range of these tanks, how easy they are to fit, how little impact they have on the shape and design of the bike and how subtly they integrate. The huge increase in capacity is well worth the price tag – and a must for long distance travellers.
Mad or Nomad is reader supported. We may receive a commission, at no cost to you, if you purchase products using affiliate links on our site. We’re not sponsored, are completely impartial and don’t run ads. So this helps us keep the site running and free. Thank you for your support.
Read more on motorcycle gear and reviews
Thanks for checking out our Acerbis Large Fuel Tank review. We hope you enjoyed it! Here’s a few more reviews and articles on motorcycle gear that we recommend you read next.
Try these next…
Do you have any questions, tips or suggestions? Let us know in the comments below.
Hello, just found you guys online. I bought a CRF300L recently. I was wondering where you got the black plastics on one of your CRF300L builds. Thanks.
Hi Anthony, great to hear you recently bought a CRF! Congrats! We had the plastics painted black at a car body shop. They’ve lasted incredibly well, especially with the amount of off-roading we’ve done.
We explained it – as well as every other modification we’ve made to our bikes in the Honda CRF300L Adventure Bike Guide. You might find that interesting!
Cheers
Andy
You have the words “fit seamlessly” in the same sentence. Says to me that you don’t know what you’re talking about. The mounting points are slightly too far apart. Your fairings will not stick to the tank with provided velcro sticky pads. Acerbis vent locking cap won’t even thread on.
Hi Jess, thanks for your comment.
We have two Acerbis tanks – both fit well. I’ve since removed and reattached them multiple times – all was fine each time.
Mounting points were fine and locking cap screwed on fine too. I didn’t even bother with the velcro because who needs that.
Shame to hear you’ve had trouble with yours.
Cheers and all the best!
Andy
TRANSLATED: If anyone has it in white, I’d like to see it mounted on a motorcycle. Thanks.
ORIGINAL: Alguien que lo tenga en color blanco me gustaria verlo montado en la moto, Gracias.
Hi, I believe they make it in black or clear only: Acerbis Clear Honda Tank
Cheers,
Andy
Hi,
Would a petite girl with limited strength notice that the center of gravity had shifted upward?
TIA,
Hi Adam,
That’s a tricky one. I’ve been riding with the Acerbis for over a year now so i’m very used to it. If I was to test ride a 300L with a stock tank, I might notice some difference as of course there’s more fuel and more weight, but it’s still well balanced and we’re not talking about those huge 20L tanks here – so i’m going to say yes, she would notice there’s a weight difference – but it wouldn’t be a problem, she’d get used to it very quickly and it won’t affect her riding.
Hope this helps,
Cheers,
Does the fuel level indicator just show full bars until it gets down to the level of the OE tank capacity?
Hi Steve,
Good question! I never rode the CRF with the standard tank – I fitted this Acerbis straight away. So i’m not sure when the OEM tank levels kick in.
The tank is 13.something litres. It runs down steadily, and the reserve light flashes when it has used between 10-11 litres.
Hope this helps,
Andy