F800GS Drinking a lot of fuel.

BenGS

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Hi Chaps,

Only had my 2008 F800GS restricted since last week and ive filled up twice in the space of this time. I looked around on the forum and noted on average people get about 200 miles+ before they fuel. As soon as i fill up, most i have ever been able to get in is 13.67 litres (Range was showing 30 miles at this point before i filled up) im only averaging about 150 miles to a tank. Surely this cant be right. :eek:

I understand a few times i have accelerated and not realised the throttle is all the way open but thats how the re-stricter works, and to be honest it works perfect as if i hold the throttle in 1 position it still accelerates the same as it being full powered. Although this is nice im not happy with how much fuel it is using, i was tempted to try and go that extra 30 miles with the fuel light already on but i'd rather not risk running out of fuel!!!

What i don't understand is even if i did run the extra 30 miles the best tank range i have had is 187 miles with 21 left. Another annoying issue is the range is a pain i hate the >112 miles rubbish just tell me how much i have!..... Anyone else had an issue with the range also dropping from 80 to 75 after a mile or if that. It seems to drop really fast to the fuel light and i never get whats expected on the computer.


Sorry this is long winded but have to voice my issues somehow :thumb

Ben
 
Many people have issues with the computer and the range. Get your dealer to see if you have all the software mods. I've often ridden mine to 'zero' miles and behond. I also manage to get in over 16.5 litres.

It looks to me as if your computer is a little pessimistic. 30 miles is about 15% of your total range, so you may aswell use it. You're filling up with 3 litres left, which would probably give you another 45 miles or so.

Having said that, you're only getting 50mpg, and you have to be really ham fisted to get that kind of consumption.

Are you filling on the side stand? If not, then you're not really filling her up.

If you're concerned about the fuel consumption, then you need to reset your trip when filling up, and make a proper check. The computer is fairly accurate though.
 
53-55 mpg is what I get ... call me ham-fisted then!

They all do the >115 thing, although I totally agree that it would be great to have a true DTE figure.

For peace of mind, fill a 5L can and just run the bike dry - you might find that the 'empty' figure is wrong, mine took me to zero then gave me another 10 miles. Doing this tells you exactly how far you can go...

G
 
Little le800GS said:
When I had mine used to get 42 to the gallon so 50 is not to bad
Click to expand...

Was yours also restricted? He's getting 49mpg from a restricted bike. I've only ever managed below 50mpg once, and that was a high speed ride back from the ferry late at night in close formation with a Pan. We barely dropped below 100mph, and were mostly up around 110-115.

Ironically, my average has gone up to 58 since riding with some quick Police bike instructors on 1200GS's.

I should point out that I never ride in town, and hardly ever get amongst slow traffic.

I'm with Greggers on finding out what your range really is. Take a can of fuel with you, and see how many miles you can go after the comp shows ---

The problem with working out fuel consumption on a bike is you're talking about relatively small numbers. The original post said 150 miles on 13.67 litres which is 49mpg. If it was 165 miles then the consumption jumps to 55. If, on filling up he squeezed even .5 a litre more in it would have a huge effect on the figures.
 
BenGS said:
Another annoying issue is the range is a pain i hate the >112 miles rubbish just tell me how much i have!.....
Click to expand...

Sounds like you're new to biking?

You're spoiled having a range reading - back in my early days it was a two position lever on the tank! When the fuel ran out you fumbled desperately to switch over to 'reserve' whist fighting to get round a right hander with no power on...

Once you've worked out the real range of your bike by strapping a spare can of fuel on the back and riding until it runs dry, you'll be much more confident about it.

Knowing the exact range when you've well over a hundred miles in the tank isn't really that important - you only want it accurate when you're down to about 30 miles left!
 
Already been said but runnig it dry will give you confidence as in not to panick as you will know whats left in the tank (whilst carrying a few litres) I did wanted to know the range which gives you confidence.

my computer reads eratic until it gets into the 70-odds light allways comes on at 29 left.

the computer is a good indicator when its getting low :thumb2

when you run it dry the fuel pump stops as does the engine (no danger of a pump running dry) and I get a lot more twenty odd.

obviously your and others fuel will allways be different depending on the ride and how you ride.

All I need to know is if I leave it that long and light comes on and I need to get fuel so I do :thumb :beerjug:
 
Cheers for the reply chaps! Appreciated, yes i am new to a GS not biking been riding for 2 years now and got my first big bike SV 650 at 18 and now just moved onto a F800.

The difference i have found is that i guess i work the engine more therefore using more fuel due to restriction. I always reset my 1. trip and leave 2 running. Also reset the average MPG which is telling me i do about 56, sometimes when i flick through on the motorway im doing about 65-70 MPG if im riding under 80mph.

I really want to try with running her out of fuel but im scared ill damage her. When it went into BMW for restricter they plugged it in and even took away my "Service" indicator as its just gone over 6000 :O so i presume if there was any updates they would of done it as they did change the computer around to accommodate my restricter.

I tried once on center stand but i can hardly even lift it up so i usually just side stand the bike now, especially for fuel as too much hassle. Another thing i must say is the splash back is rather annoying, guess down to bad designing.

Cheers

Ben
 
No full licence since June :O Im a baby to this but do love big boy bikes and i would say i have a fair bit of experience personally. :O
 
Ben, you won't damage your bike if you run out of fuel. My advice would be as follows:

Fill your bike to the very top and re set your odometer to zero. Strap a gallon can on the bike and go for a nice long ride checking your trip computor to check the range and then see what it says when you eventually roll to a stop. Put the gallon in the tank at it will start first hit of the button and proceed to a garage.

You will then know the real mpg (miles divided by gallons), the mileage you can do on a full tank and you will then get a better understanding of your range on the computor and see how accurate it is.

Some are accurate and some aren't so don't wholly trust it. I will say on my GSA it's deadly accurate and when it says 1 mile, it means 1 mile:augie
 
Ooo this might be interesting. When we do get a nice weekend hopefully ill give it a try. Fingers crossed otherwise your getting the repair bill :thumb

Ha ha :pullface
 
How's it going Ben.

Keeping the bike on the side stand for fuelling isn't a problem at all, as for the fuel splashing all over the place... well you'll figure that out yourself in time.

I've yet to run my fuel down to 0... something I've been meaning to do.
 
I got lucky as my fuel guage is incredibly accurate. Rode it until it read --- moments before I rolled into a garage. Managed to squeeze 16.4 litres in!
 
First thing I would suggest is when you next fill up.
Reset the readings on the computer for average speed,
average MPG.
Make sure you are in the correct gear for your speed.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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