Range drops by 50 miles while parked

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spencetj

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Last time I rode the bike, I rode 30 miles home from work and the Range displayed by the computer said 128 miles. Fuel gauge showed the large block at the bottom (the reserve?) plus 2 or 3 bars above. Parked on the centre stand.

After not riding for about 10 days while I was away, I switched on the ignition last night (without starting the engine) to check the bike over. The display was initially as I had left it but after a couple of minutes the computer changed its mind, the fule gauge dropped to the last big block only, the range dropped to 78 miles and the fuel warnign light came on. Where did the other 50 miles go?

While riding 30 miles to work this morning, the range moved bewtween 78-80 miles and still showed 80 miles when I parked. The fuel gaugue now shows the bikg block plus one bar. What gives? Is this normal? It makes it really difficult to work out how soon I will need petrol.

This is not the first time the range has dropped while parked, and I'm sure there isn't a fuel leak as the bike is in my garage and there is no smell of petrol or anything on the floor.
 
Range remaining will be an estimate based average consumption and level of fuel in the tank.

I don't know the exact way the level of fuel in the tank is measured but I think it's fairly common assumption that it's a rough guess rather than anything accurate. There's bound to be some averaging of the level to compensate for the movement of the bike.

I tend to go on the trip meter rather than rely on the range.
 
Thats easy to answer, the pixies stole it, allways stealing and breaking things those peski little pixies, they made my oil level glass leak and stole one of my plug covers on tuesday, yesterday they ground down my paralever bearings, lets hope they dont come back anytime soon the little bastids :(
 
Is it still Aprl 1st?:rolleyes: You know when you`ll need petrol when the bike splutters and stops in the middle of feckin nowhere:augie

How long have you had the bike? I`m guessing not long so you`ll soon get used to the guage but double check your range on your odometer. Best thing IMHO is test it by taking a gallon can of petrol on a nice ride and run the bike right out whilst checking the guage. This will give you the knowledge you need.

All these electronic gadgets are great but are pretty accurate but it`s still up to you to find the best way of working out your range.

Mine is pretty accurate and I`ve got 50 miles when the light comes on and 4 miles when it says 0 range:thumb

Nice and Fat had a good point about the sidestand because that moves the fuel across to the other side of the tank to the sensor.
 
spence,
I had exactly the same thing happen on my 06 1200.... Also, my clock keeps loosing time!!
My R850 clock kept perfect time, I suppose that's the difference between digi and analogue!;)
 
The bike was parked on the centre stand. I have had it since November, i usually get around 300 miles to the tank (GSA) but the range displayed is inconsistent. It usually show about 350 miles or more when I fill up, but I never manage to actually do that many before running out of fuel. Typically when I get near needing more fuel, the total of the miles covered since last fillup plus the remaining range is 280-300 although my riding style and journeys I do don't vary much.

But none of this explain why the range would drop by 50 miles when the bike hasn't even moved. I read somewhere that the fuel level is determined by a conductive strip rather than a float, so maybe it dries out after a while when the petrol isn't sloshing around?

I suppose you get used to it, but for £12k i don't see why BMW can't make the gauges work properly! Like the oil level warning that doesn't come on until there is no oil at all. A warning when it is half empty maybe? :mad:
 
spencetj said:
Like the oil level warning that doesn't come on until there is no oil at all. A warning when it is half empty maybe? :mad:
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Does such a thing even exist on cars? Things have moved on since I last had a car. In my day you got a dip stick, and the light only came on if somethng really bad happened. Also when the engine is running the oil sloshes all over, while at standstill it settles. I guess it could check the level before the engine was started, but you'd have to pre-warm the engine to get an accurate reading.

TS
 
The range is that calculated at current mpg. Rag it and the range drops. Start the bike up from cold (poor mpg initially) and the range drops.
 
spencetj said:
Last time I rode the bike, I rode 30 miles home from work and the Range displayed by the computer said 128 miles. Fuel gauge showed the large block at the bottom (the reserve?) plus 2 or 3 bars above. Parked on the centre stand.

After not riding for about 10 days while I was away, I switched on the ignition last night (without starting the engine) to check the bike over. The display was initially as I had left it but after a couple of minutes the computer changed its mind, the fule gauge dropped to the last big block only, the range dropped to 78 miles and the fuel warnign light came on. Where did the other 50 miles go?

While riding 30 miles to work this morning, the range moved bewtween 78-80 miles and still showed 80 miles when I parked. The fuel gaugue now shows the bikg block plus one bar. What gives? Is this normal? It makes it really difficult to work out how soon I will need petrol.

This is not the first time the range has dropped while parked, and I'm sure there isn't a fuel leak as the bike is in my garage and there is no smell of petrol or anything on the floor.
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Don't you just hate it when this happens?

I guess that it's one of life's great mysteries.

Of course more experienced riders don't need a 'range' readout nor a fuel gauge - they simply know from the handling of the bike what weight of fuel remains in their tank.

It's a skill you can easily learn - just get some black tape and tape over the range readout. After you've run out of fuel in the middle of Rannoch Moor a few times, you'll quickly get the hang of it all.

Greg
 
Greg Masters said:
After you've run out of fuel in the middle of Rannoch Moor a few times, you'll quickly get the hang of it all.
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Oh, I see you're from Ipswich.

Don't try riding to Rannock Moor without refuelling a couple of times on the way.

Greg
 
fuel range

Greg you little tinker :)

i cant see the problem, "i can only do 280 to 300", ah bless. On my 08 GS my fuel light comes on after 150 miles :augie i get to about 170 and fill up, it only takes 17 litres tho so summink aint right.

when you get to say.... 30 miles showing, take heed now, :) All you need to do is pop a small wheelie and the range goes up to about 70 miles......sorted..

disclaimer.... blah blah blah

:thumb
 
"Range drops by 50 miles while parked"

it's discount that means 50 miles less till the next breakdown.....:thumb2
 
Now we've all had a bit of a larf - further non-technical replies to the original post will be removed :thumb2
 
pathfinder said:
Can,t see why we should,nt have a larf . Who the hell is buying these bikes these days!!
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The point is, this is a technical question and really should be kept as such no matter how trivial a question may appear.

The pub is the place for the banter:thumb
 
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