fuel guage says 40 miles,engine says....NIL!!!

[mark2jag]

Ran out of petrol on the M4 yesterday,with the fuel guage telling me I had 40 miles tank range left!!.Embarrassingly enough the low fuel warning light didnt come on until the bike had already ran out and died. I'm bloody lucky im even here at all as it ran out of petrol in the fast lane, (sorry officer I meant lane 3!!!!)BMW rescue arrived in 40 minutes took me to a garage, filled it up (me not them!!) and it ran sweet as a nut without missing a beat from then on in, HOWEVER this may not be related at all but I was sat in the dark tonight and decided to give the bike a start, as i sometimes do. After a few minutes of running i was very slightly alarmed to notice the front section of the downpipes glowing red hot!!! Surely this isnt meant to happen (and dont call me shirley!!) and does anyone know if it is a normal characteristic and i just happen to have not noticed it before as it always been daytime. Still really quite happy with it but it's not a good start on a bike with 1500 miles on...

 

[Fanum]

HOWEVER this may not be related at all but I was sat in the dark tonight and decided to give the bike a start, as i sometimes do. After a few minutes of running i was very slightly alarmed to notice the front section of the downpipes glowing red hot!!! Surely this isnt meant to happen (and dont call me shirley!!) and does anyone know if it is a normal characteristic and i just happen to have not noticed it before as it always been daytime. Still really quite happy with it but it's not a good start on a bike with 1500 miles on...

You see that book that came with the bike ?

well, see where it says that you shouldn't sit with a boxer engine running without moving?

now you know why , don't you

 

[LiquidLAN]

You see that book that came with the bike ?

well, see where it says that you shouldn't sit with a boxer engine running without moving?

now you know why , don't you

That's a long time sitting, no wonder his pipes glowed red

 

[RickG]

GS's are wise. Your bike has sussed you out and deliberately ran out of juice in order to try and protect itself from hot pipe abuse. Be nice to it and buy it some goodies and maybe it'll forgive you. Maybe.

You ever notice that Rossi and Stoner thank their bikes with a little congratulatory pat their after the end of a race? They understand the importance of a good relationship and have bonded with their bikes; it's the only reason they win, it's nothing to do with skill. . WherasToseland is rough and the bikes just chuck him off...

 

[Mr K]

The only time my fuel gauge "lied" was when the bike had been in for a service - I'm not sure if it was because the battery had been disconnected or the tank was off.
The countdown said I still had 17 miles left.
Had to push it quarter of a mile, complete with panniers and winter gear.
Filled-up and it has been fine since.

 

[Beemerman59]

My usual start the bike technique is to leave it until I'm astride the bike, start it and drive off - keeping revs down to under 4K until the engine has warmed up. The other day I started the bike up while it was on the centrestand and therefore to get on the bike safely I put it onto the sidestand with the engine running. When on the bike, I noticed the fuel guage was reading 2 extra bars more fuel than when it was running on the centrestand so it had reset the fuel guage with the bike at an angle which would give a false reading.

No problem I thought as it would readjust itself but it didn't after 30 miles or so of riding. It was only after I stopped the engine and restarted did the fuel guage go back to normal. Combined with this the fuel remaining feature of the computer gave me an extra 100 miles to go so I'm wondering if this could be causing confusion over miles left in the tank.

 

[The White Rabbit]

The same thing as Chris reports happened to me. Have you had the battery disconnected or been in for service? Use your trip as well as your fuel guage. The pipes will glow red in the dark quite quickly, especially if you are playing with the throttle. I used to do this quickly for self gratification after giving them a polish. Probably not the best idea but no different to starting it, putting gloves on, helmet on etc or being stuck in traffic a bit.

 

[Rich ZX12R]

Just dropped my bike to James Cargo at Heathrow to ship to Anchorage next week. Need less than 2 litres fuel, so have just ridden along the M25 with 9 miles to James Cargo when the range dropped to ------ Still got there no problem, but kind of glad I didn't read your post abut running out with 40 on the range until today!!!!

 

[G5RJO]

my gauge is strangely accurate....

Left Paris early on a Sunday morning and couldn't find fuel anywhere

Got on the motorway and watched the distance drop to 12 miles then saw a sign for fuel in 20km............that will be close!

Crawled at a steady 50mph and range went to ---- just in sight of the fuel stop.

Managed to put 1/4 litre more than capacity in so it really must have been on fumes.

Roger.

 

[DavidHale]

Fuel gauge? Yep, got one of those on my bike. Believe it to be accurate within 30-odd miles? Nope.

Set my trip and refuel when it say 250 miles? Yep. Have I ever run out of fuel? Nope.

 

[wheelnut]

Fuel gauge? Yep, got one of those on my bike. Believe it to be accurate within 30-odd miles? Nope.

Set my trip and refuel when it say 250 miles? Yep. Have I ever run out of fuel? Nope.

You're missing the point. If a bike is fitted with equipment is it to much to ask for that equipment to function correctly?

Why not just do away with the guage and range indicator if you need to rely on the odo?

Incidently, my GSA's fuel guage has similar issues sometimes.

 

[jimbogs1200]

My fuel gauge keeps moving from half full to full...than after 100 miles it stays at half full, until the light comes on and reads about 40 miles...
I was led to believe that the pre 08 fuel gauges can be dodgy!!

 

[Aggy]

250 miles to refill? i fill up at around 150 and from what i put in i guess i had got 3-4 litres left in the tank.... maybe im a bit heavy handed on the old go faster twisty thingy on the right

But my fuel guage seems to be accurate and the fuel light comes on with roughly the same amount of fuel left in the tank.

The only thing I would say is that the sender needs better damping as the slightest of movements or inclines will alter the gauge reading straight away. In the garage the guage will show half, on the drive the fuel light will come on due to the slope and then back on the flat road the guage will show half. Thats on a '06 GS.

 

[BeemerBaz]

Isnt it so nice that everyones bike has its own personality.

 

[Bikerjim]

I only get 150 miles before the lights start flashing ! I do mostly fast A roads and a bit of motorway on daily commute but i only get £15 max into the tank.

I need to be brave and use the odo (56 plate 20 litre tank = 200 miles ?) (no panniers or passengers)

I ran out the computer said 25 miles + late for work + twisty thing on max = RAC after 15 miles

My old Vstrom used to do 210 miles on a full tank, that probably was one of its few good bits.

Jim

 

[DavidHale]

250 miles to refill?

GSA. 31 ltrs.

 

[Snow White]

Got mine down to the computer telling me I had 2 miles left in the tank on a French auto route on a Sunday morning. That had me sweating a bit! The gauge had gone to ---- several miles before hand. But it's all part of the fun (unless i had actually run out!)

 

[Deleted account 210516001]

My fuel gauge keeps moving from half full to full...than after 100 miles it stays at half full, until the light comes on and reads about 40 miles...
I was led to believe that the pre 08 fuel gauges can be dodgy!!

Similar problem with my 08 GSA. Fuel level sensor replaced under warranty and unit calibrated by dealer (a bit of a fiddly job). Now even drop on gauge, one bar at a time. Appears to be reasonably accurate.

 

[jimbogs1200]

Aggy & Bikerjim have outlined exactly the issues that I have.... I look for fuel as soon as the light comes on; showing 40ish miles to go.....

 

[mark2jag]

fuel gauge update

Gave Bahnstormers a ring yesterday and explained the fuel gauge problem. No problem they said pop it in and we'll have a look, but can you make it this afternoon as we are a tad busy. Arrived at five past twelve, handed them my keys and 2 and a tiny bit hours later they gave me my bike back saying the wet film fuel sensor had been dried out tested and recalibrated. they did tell me it was a busy day, and that I might have to wait a while, but still better than the next nearest dealers and waiting weeks!!!.Oh and by the way Bahnstormers hot chocolate/ choccy biccies and cakes were lovely!!!
Cant remember who said it but if you have a fuel gauge then it should accurately reflect the amount left, dont you all think. Personally I think BMW should compensate me for the sleepless nights im having remembering how very very close i came to not making it to the hard shoulder,and the large lorry/GS1200 interface that so very nearly happened. Copy this to BMW and also Sue Grabbitt and Runne, my family solicitors perhaps,