Is the fuel clean?

You can never be sure if the fuel you put in your tank is clean. It may contain water or particles in different sizes.  This can be really problematic on new motorbikes due to the injection system. On the XRV there are less problems because carburettors can work in very bad conditions.
But particles in fuel do not only mean that your motorcycle may stop running, they also increase the wearing. This is very important to me. I've never had troubles on my trip with carburetors that get stuck or jetting that seize up.
In other places like the Morocco's desert or Central Asia fuel is available from sources that are not trustworthy: cans or very old fuel stations.

So I found on the internet an italian producer of fuel filter: Guglatech.
http://guglatech.it/en/

This producer has various products, from specific ones to other that fits most motorbikes.
I got an 8 magnets - 15 microns fuel filter ( http://guglatech.it/en/products/M12002 )  because I saw an other XRV 650 rider who fits one on the original tank of the motorbike.

I talk to the owner of Guglatech and he asked me to try a new 15 micron filter matrix during my coming trip to Spain and I accepted.

Then he also gave me an Adventure Kit ( http://guglatech.it/it/adventure-kit ) for the upcoming trip to Balkans. The Adventure Kit is made of a 15 microns filter and a 0 microns one. A dual stage fuel filter can be obtained by putting the 15 one into the 0 one: this should be the ultimate fuel filtration system. This filter is used directly on the cans or fuel pistols.
I will test them on my Balkans trip.

Following is the 15 microns fuel filter. On top there are the magnets for the fixation on the tank.

This is how the filter looks when fixed into the tank. Let's see how much dirt there will be inside after the Spain trip!

UPDATE 12.07.2017

After around 7000 km of use, I've removed the filter and there was some particles trapped in it. I didn't clean it as the particles improve the effectivness of the filter. I'm really curious to see it after the Balkans.

UPDATE 02.08.2017

Depending on where you are on the Balkans, the fuel can comee from less reliable sources (Like a simple pet bottle or a very old and rusty fuel pump). For the modern bikes with fuel injection it is very important to have a clean fuel.
For the golden oldies like the Beast there are not the same issues as the engine runs on carburetors, but the cleanest the fuel, the happier the Beast is.
You can compare this to a person eating some food, even if the food is full of dirt, the person will survive and be able to go on, but it will be mostlikely be pinned down on the toilet for a while. Nobody likes this.
Thank you Guglatech!

More specific information:
http://blog.guglatech.it/en/

Find the product for your bike here:
https://guglatech.it/en/

#cleanfuel

New plans for 2017

Cow adventure 2017 here I come.
Friday 16th of June I will leave direction Farini (PC), I will have some mud fun on the way down along the Val Nure, juster after a heavy lunc in Veggiola. Then the Cow Adventure will start.
Sunday 18th of June on the Evening I will be back in Farini and another big journey will start: exploring deserts in Spain.

I will ride along the road on the attached image. I will sleep in a tent on the top of Colle della MAddalena at around 2000 meters over the sea level! The sky should be clear, so the stars will be amazing up there. Then Monday Evening I will be in Vers after a chill day of Riding on Vallée/Gorges du Tarn, etc. There I will meet with my father. Tuesday we will have an easy ride down to Sádaba, in Spain, where we will sleep for 3 nights. Bardena Reales awaits me. The beast is seeking for some freedom. After this we will go to Andorra for the famous San Juan Festival. 2 nights of it, no idea what will await me. Leaving Andorra will be easy as the beast wants to feel sand and stones under its feet. After two days we will reach Las Negrass, near Almeria, where we will stay for 5 nights. Desierto de Tabernas, Sierra Nevada, Oays Mini Hollywood and a lot of sun are the main attractions there. The beast is gonna sufer and I'm going to suffer even more. After the sea we will head to Granada, two nights there in a city that will be almost empty. After 2 days of chilling touristic stuff, we will be ready for the Marathon, the last test for the pilot and the machine: Granada to Ventimiglia in 3 days with a lot of gravel fun through Parque Natural Sierras de Cazorla, Parc Natural de la Tinença de Benifassà, Serres de Cardó-el Boix, etc.
In Ventimiglia we will spend 2 nights and on Saturday 8th of July we will ride north along the famous Via del Sale, then direction home.

That's it another trip this year!

Nope, that's just half of it.

 Back home I will change tyres, do some maintenance and leave for the Balkans, again. It ain't no Summer if I don't spend some times in the Balkans. With a lightweight beast, Michelin T63 equipped, I will head down for some serious fun. The plan is as follow: First painful day for reaching Bihać, in Bosnia. Then the fun will begin. I will head to Sarajevo along some gravel roads, I will spend 2 nights for sure there. Then I will leave toward East to Serbia, I've never met the Serbs so far so I really have to do that. I will spend some days going down to Macedonia (FYROM for my greek friends). There I will for sure spend 2 nights either in Skopje or Ohrid. Then I will enter Albania near Pogradec. In Albania it will be hardcore gravel roads fun. I will visit the Gjadër Air Base, steal a couple of Mig at the Kuçovë Air Base and visit Porto Palermo. Then Montenegro, Kotor and Budva are must. Some other gravel roads fun, the famous Kapetanovo lake and the up to Žabljak, where I will ride into Bosnia without passing any custom on an isolated gravel roads. Back in Bosnia I will hit Mostar, then ride again on the Dinaric Alps, also here I will leave Bosnia and enter Croatia without any custom. Then in Croatia I don't know, I've seen a lot of Verbot signs so I might end up riding fastly toward home. I will stop in Valdobbiadene for some nice drinking and for learning a couple of Swears from the masters of swearing (Orto Bio!). Maybe I will try some roads like the Strada delle 52 Gallerie but I will see then. I will be back by the beginning of August, rugby pre-season will awaits me!