bikerskier - your condition sounds like you had your fjr on the sidestand when you started it up. In that condition, the fuel gauge will read lower than the tank really is. And will take a while to get back to normal.
Is it possible that's what happened?
Mark it down...05/05/2006....RadioHowie agrees with SkooterG.
Starting an FJR with low fuel on the sidestand (if the fuel is low enough) will fool the gauge ECU into thinking the tank is empty and after you stand the bike up and drive away, the display returns to "normal" in a block or two.
Happens to me all almost every time the fuel drops to 3 bars or less, as I almost always crank the sucker and let it warm up a few seconds while I'm gearing up -- usually at the helmet/gloves stage.
Its one of the things you don't get used to, when your fuel changes to zero and counts up from 1.1, 1.2 1.3 etc. They should make a patch where it counts down like the rest of the industry gauges.
I disagree. Remaining miles requires algorythms for fuel consumption that are seldom accurate (BTDT). I've had many bikes with a low fuel light, too. The problem is that you seldom notice the exact moment it comes on. The FJR fixes all that by letting you know how long ago the low fuel indicator came on AND by letting the most powerful computer in the world[1] estimate how far you can go until you're out of gas.
[1] the human brain.
+1000 on Bounce's response, and to elaborate further...
Let's say you hit the magic "miles to go" mark just before you start a long, uphill run in the mountains. There's no way the mileage computer can know you're about to hit a stretch of road where your mileage is going to drop because of gravity, so you run out of gas because you trusted the computer. Conversely, the "miles to go" calculation will be off as well if you hit the magic mark at the top of the continental divide and you're going to be coasting for the most of the next 20 miles. Then it would
underestimate how much gas you have left.
However, you, with the brain the size of a planet, know that your FJR, which has averaged 42 miles per gallon over the last 25,000 miles, has at LEAST 42 miles to find the nearest gas station. If you're headed downhill, as in my example above, you know you'll have MORE than 42 miles.
The count-up-the-miles feature of the FJR odo seems counter-intuitive, but in the real world, it's the smartest way to indicate your "drop dead" point.
