Fuel light

[GedJack]

Yet another question from a new 1150 owner.
Out on a ride on the bike the other day, happened to run the bike until all the bars on the fuel gauge disappeared. ( not intentional ).

My question is should the fuel light come on before the gauge reads completely empty ?

 

[bobsnew]

Mine comes on when its down to one bar.

 

[Ian J Hartley]

The riders manual states that the fuel warning light should come on at 2 Bars. Mine generally comes on when the one bar is intermittent.

However, i generally don't allow the bike to get that low. Most people just use the trip indicator, I can go to 200 + miles and then I get twitchy, so at 180 miles I'm looking for fuel. I'm talking about the standard 22 litre tank.

Ian

 

[Cook1e]

They have separate senders, the light comes on when the switch closes, not directly connected to the RID. Mine comes on a few miles after the last bar disappears, then I know I have about 30 miles remaining, plus the "secret reserve" of about 5 miles or so. My previous 1150 would only do about 20 miles after the light came on, which was about 10-15 miles after the last bar.

Best bet is to take a can and try it on your bike (same as any other vehicle really).

 

[alanbmwgs]

Same with mine. Cookie.

 

[GedJack]

My last bar had only just disappeared when I pulled into the petrol station.
Just thought it would have come on before that.

Thanks for the info

 

[mrsroynie]

My fuel light is utter crap. I must have ridden for at least 50km the other day with no bars showing at all before the warning light came on! But then the fuel gauge never shows full either. I'm not sure whether it's worth getting someone to look at it or just carry on using the trip indicator as my gauge. What's the collective opinion? Is there likely to be a cheap fix?

 

[Cook1e]

My fuel light is utter crap. I must have ridden for at least 50km the other day with no bars showing at all before the warning light came on! But then the fuel gauge never shows full either. I'm not sure whether it's worth getting someone to look at it or just carry on using the odometer as my gauge. What's the collective opinion? Is there likely to be a cheap fix?

Take a can with you, ride the bike until the light comes on; note the mileage; continue riding it until it stops; note the mileage; lay it down on its right hand side; pick it up, re-start and ride away until it stops again; note the mileage; put the can of petrol into it and go fill it up. You will now know exactly when to start worrying and nothing need be done with your fuel sender. Simples

EDIT: the answer to your original question would be to take the sender out of the tank (best wait until next time you change the petrol filter) and bend the float arm. A few goes at this and you might improve it...