Fuel Starvation 33 mi into reserve

[SkooterG]

Personally, I find the additional 30-second delay needed to fill the tank with the full 6.6 gallons decreases my MPG unacceptably. Mostly because I am then forced to run even faster than normal to make up for the lost lap time.

And don't forget about the then shorter tire life!!!!!

What can I say? Some who know me might say I have some anal-retentive tendencies.

 

[twowheelnut]

How does that float sit/operate in the tank - parallel or perpendicular to the fore/aft centerline?

 

[SkooterG]

How does that float sit/operate in the tank - parallel or perpendicular to the fore/aft centerline?

Parallel.

 

[twowheelnut]

That 'splains that, then. Thanks.

 

[mike25]

When ever i get a new car or bike, i'll carry some extra gas (1/2 gal. on bike) and run the

sucker dry. Than you know for sure how far you can go. One of my recent cars went 5 miles

after the low fuel light went on.

 

[TexBahn]

i didn't see mentioned the fact that not all the fuel in the tank is usable. there will be some at the bottom you'll never reach.

Not to mention that the spec of 6.6 gallons in the tank is probably derived from an empty tank. I wouldn't be surprised to find half a gallon used by fuel pump, emissions crap, filler and so forth.

I've had to add as much as 6.1 or 6.2 gallons before (don't remember which) but the tank was hot. It also read reserve differently after that. When the bike was new, reserve would begin blinking around 4.9 to 5.0 gallons. It seems to come on a bit later - around 5.2 or 5.3 gallons - and thereby increases my mileage a bit.

 

[John_Dumke]

Dang, you guys ROCK!!! unk:

I opened the tread with a simple observation, and 6 hours later, I have learned more about how the fuel gauge performs on my bike than anybody could expect to learn in several life times.

And I am ok with that. Does that make me a geek? :glasses-smiley02:

 

[FJRottie]

I prefer to never go below 1 bar on the fuel gauge. In my cages, I try to never go below 1/4 tank.

Why?...some silly paradigm. I was always told and thought there is some sediment and what not (heavier/denser than the fuel) that sits at the bottom of the tank that I don't really want to push through the fuel system and engine.

IMHO of course.

Who can truly answer that? After a shit load of fuel-ups, is there gunk sitting at the bottom of the tank?

 

[teerex51]

I prefer to never go below 1 bar on the fuel gauge. In my cages, I try to never go below 1/4 tank.Why?...some silly paradigm. I was always told and thought there is some sediment and what not (heavier/denser than the fuel) that sits at the bottom of the tank that I don't really want to push through the fuel system and engine.

IMHO of course.

Who can truly answer that? After a shit load of fuel-ups, is there gunk sitting at the bottom of the tank?

FJRottie,

I fully agree with you. I don't like the idea of the fuel pump sucking the sludge on the bottom of the tank.

Having said that, due to a chain of unfavorable circumstances I ended up running the bike in reserve for 72kms a few days ago (that's 45 miles).

When I finally coasted into the gas station I knew the true meaning of relief... I must have had a little more than a pint of fuel sloshing around in the tank. That was pretty stupid :angry: but now I know that I can run 40 miles in reserve before getting seriously worried.

Stef

 

[radman]

That the heavier particles will settle to the bottom is unquestionable. But, the filter will prevent anything large enough to damage the fuel system from passing through, thats it's purpose. If you are REALLY concerned, pull the pump and drain and flush the tank on a yearly basis-but I don't really think it's necessary unless you have a known problem, rust, asshole contamination, or can actually see sediment etc at the bottom of the tank.

 

[Mike-H]

That the heavier particles will settle to the bottom is unquestionable. But, the filter will prevent anything large enough to damage the fuel system from passing through, thats it's purpose. If you are REALLY concerned, pull the pump and drain and flush the tank on a yearly basis-but I don't really think it's necessary unless you have a known problem, rust, asshole contamination, or can actually see sediment etc at the bottom of the tank.

Rad....wouldn't it also depend where you fill up?....older stations & or no name fuel stops I have heard usually have more crap in their tanks....& I've been told by some in the industry to never fill up @ a station where a truck is dropping off fuel because it disturbs the gunk in the bottom of the gas stations holding tanks....what do you think?....possible....true? or false?

 

[radman]

Rad....wouldn't it also depend where you fill up?....older stations & or no name fuel stops I have heard usually have more crap in their tanks....& I've been told by some in the industry to never fill up @ a station where a truck is dropping off fuel because it disturbs the gunk in the bottom of the gas stations holding tanks....what do you think?....possible....true? or false?

I don't fill up when a tanker is dropping a load, but then, how is one to know if a tanker hasn't just left? It's all a crap shoot, rule of thumb is to use stations that have a LOT of traffic. The fuel will be fresh, the rep good, potential trouble minimized. And keep in mind a lot of station pump filtration systems are located within the pump itself, not on the hose like some, so the fuel you get may be pre-filtered already. Also know that not all stations filter the fuel at the pump, so it might pay to ask.

 

[Mike-H]

Thanks Rad.....sorry for hijacking the thread.....

 

[fossilrider]

First bike with a fuel gauge, I still rely on the tripmeter which I reset on each fill.

 

[Bearly Flying]

I was always told and thought there is some sediment and what not (heavier/denser than the fuel) that sits at the bottom of the tank that I don't really want to push through the fuel system and engine.

Uhmmm Rottie, The fuel pump is sucking fuel from the BOTTOM of the tank ALL the time. If there's sediment in the fuel it will be sucked into the pump long before you get to Reserve. As Rad said the filter will get it

 

[moose]

Since reserve is supposed to have 1.45 gals. I thought I would avoid the gas station for a few more miles. At 45 mpg, and 1.45 gals in reserve. I should be able to go at least 60mi.
But at 33 mi on the odo. I noticed a cracking sound coming from the cat, like when the bike is warming up and too much fuel is getting dumped into the cat and causing it to burn and crackle. Then I got on it and there was a noticable fuel starvation as the bike would not pull hard like normal.

I got to the gas station and filled up the tank with 6.12 gallons of gas (measured at the bottom of the filler neck). Manual says 6.61 gals is capacity. So depending upon how they measure, it looks like I still had 1/2 gal left. Or the reserve milage isn't as accurate as I would like to think. After the tank was full, the bike pulled normally.

Anyway, I guess the moral of the story is that the FJR gets a little finicky when the gas gets low.

 

[moose]

In response to the comment that "Fuel Starvation 33 mi into reserve, FJR doesn't like being run dry"....I agree because I also noticed that from day one (when it was brand new) from my 2006 that once it reaches "reserve" on hard throttle first and second gear, the motor is starving for fuel. On two occasions, it has created a dangerous situation when trying to merge into traffic aggressively. Motor just goes flat, until I left off the throttle then re-apply throttle moderately. I hope this helps you with your experiences and curious to know how many other have the same experience.

PS. sorry about the bungled post.

 

[Dr. Joe]

In response to the comment that "Fuel Starvation 33 mi into reserve, FJR doesn't like being run dry"....I agree because I also noticed that from day one (when it was brand new) from my 2006 that once it reaches "reserve" on hard throttle first and second gear, the motor is starving for fuel. On two occasions, it has created a dangerous situation when trying to merge into traffic aggressively. Motor just goes flat, until I left off the throttle then re-apply throttle moderately. I hope this helps you with your experiences and curious to know how many other have the same experience.

PS. sorry about the bungled post.

That's because on accelarations, the fuel will move to the back of the tank (momentum) .

 

[SLK50]

Wouldn't that be inertia?

 

[wfooshee]

Five years and 3 months. Isn't that a record??!?!?!

Radiohowie, front and center!!!! Zombie pics, please!!!!!