'08's -- does your fuel gauge read "FULL"?

[mrksfjr]

I fill it on the center stand. It shows all bars but haven't noticed when the top bar disappears, probably because I'm too focused on passing all the cars ahead of me only seconds after leaving the gas station.

 

[teecb]

Thanks jeff for asking the question... having mine for only a few days I thought I'd have to make noise at the dealership. I'll consider it normal.

 

[jnor]

Same here...mine only says full, for a few miles. I didn't think about it until I read this thread.

 

[uctofeej]

Do people really put faith in gas gauges being accurate? :blink:

 

[DaveInMn]

I usually get about 30 miles before the 1st bar disappears. 'Course, I trickle 'er up half way or so into the "basket" (on the kickstand) if the gas pump shutoff cooperates and will allow me to trickle some more in.

Am considering doing like I did on my Roadliner and, using a hardened awl, punch a half-dozen or so holes around the upper neck of the basket. Makes getting the last half-gallon in a lot easier. I live in the country and ride a minimum of 12 miles after gassing up, so overfilling/expansion is never a problem.

 

[BrettB]

'08, fill straddling w/ bike level, top off to where there is a little gas within the basket, first bar goes after ~10 miles. Never gone more then 20 miles on reserve, have always put in less then 5.5 gallons. I commute ~100 miles a day, so in general I just fill up every other day. I have never had a gas gauge in any vehicle that was all that accurate...

 

[sprtdiver]

Mine will read full but only for like 10-15 miles.

Same here. What the **** does it really matter? Ride the fucking thing!

'Nuff said

 

[wheatonFJR]

uhhhh. You want a full tank...take the little effort and put it on the center stand. Otherwise don't be surprised that it isn't full. :blink:

 

[Constant Mesh]

As long as it's repeatable it'll do the job. Maybe when they changed the shape of the fuel tank they didn't make a corresponding change in the fuel sender float arm.

 

[Fred W]

Do people really put faith in gas gauges being accurate? :blink:

Accurate? What is accurate?

Repeatability and reproduceability are what you want in a gauge. So long as it indicates the same way tank after tank you will be fine.

It is kind of handy knowing how much fuel you have left in the tank at various points along the gauge, especially when it hits empty. That way you'll know if you will be able to make it to the next gas station 65 miles away.

Yes, you can also reset one of the trip odometers every tank (as I do) so you'll know how far you've gone, but headwind and/or exuberant use of the twisty right hand thing can reduce tank mileage rather considerably.

 

[uctofeej]

Do people really put faith in gas gauges being accurate? :blink:

Accurate? What is accurate?

Repeatability and reproduceability are what you want in a gauge. So long as it indicates the same way tank after tank you will be fine.

...but headwind and/or exuberant use of the twisty right hand thing can reduce tank mileage rather considerably.

My point was that a gas gauge is simply a *rough* estimate, it's not a precise measurement of remaining fuel at any given distance since fill-up. Too many variables, even from one gas tank to the next.

The above questions and comments seem to suggest that the "full" mark should produce a certain amount of mileage. But as some have noted, that really depends on the position of the bike when filling up...

'08, fill straddling w/ bike level

Oh, there's just something so Freudian about that...

 

[blakebird]

Do people really put faith in gas gauges being accurate? :blink:

Multistrada owners don't... that may have been the most useless gas gauge (on an otherwise awesome bike) I've ever had.

 

[Allnight]

Do people really put faith in gas gauges being accurate? :blink:

I've been testing mine, as I'm paranoid about the other end of the scale. I really missing having the manual reserve valve! With the FJR, I have to actually pay attention to the fuel level. With my Nighthawk, it was run until the bike sputtered, flip the knob to reserve, fill 'til it'd hold no more, flip the knob back, repeat.

So, what other option do I have on the FJR, other than to trust it?

With this beast, it flips to the 'F' trip odometer, at some seemingly near random time, always when starting the bike on the side stand, but get on it, and the first bar then lights up, but the F stays on. First few times, I was nervous when it got to around 20 miles, and then only put in 5.5 to 5.7 gallons. So, I figured I should be able to get another 40 easy out of it. Well, next tank, it sputtered a little at 58 miles! Oh @#$! All I could remember was friend in high school who burned up the injectors in his car, by running it out of fuel! So I start swinging the bike back and forth and hear fuel start sloshing, and the engine picks up again. Luckily that was about a half mile from a thief, er, gas station.

Mike

(I have no idea if running out of fuel can actually damage injectors, but I don't really want to find out.)

 

[Fred W]

With this beast, it flips to the 'F' trip odometer, at some seemingly near random time, always when starting the bike on the side stand, but get on it, and the first bar then lights up, but the F stays on.

I find that if you continue riding with a solid 1st bar the "F counter" goes away after a while. When the flashing 1st bar starts and the bike is upright is when you are really on "reserve".

 

[Constant Mesh]

The fuel level float mechanism is oriented front-to-back between the centerline and right side of the tank. So it will always read lower than actual when the bike is tilted to the left on the sidestand, etc. Since the float in is the rear portion of the tank the level will read low when going down a long grade and read high going up a long grade. It must have a smoothing function where it averages a continuously updated stack of values from the float mechanism.

If the fuel level is above the blinking level once the bike is vertical, you can reset and clear the F Trip readout and/or it should automatically reset after 3 miles.