tank range

[karnevil]

And you think running the bike dry once is an accurate way of telling how far you can go?

You ride your bike the same way on the same roads at the same speed every time you take it out huh?
Get real fella.

Works for me I know what my bike will do fully dressed and touring,where tank range is important.I aint worried about a little ride around Wales.

 

[AdamA]

Works for me I know what my bike will do

You carry on believing that fella.

 

[Owen Snell]

Ever tried filling up in France on a Sunday at an automatic pump with a Brit credit card?It aint always that easy.The first thing I ever do with any new vehicle be it bike or car is find out how far I gan go on one full tank.

Same problem in Italy earlier this year. Machine wouldn't accept UK cards, only cash in notes in advance, so it is a good idea to know roughly how much will go in before paying.

 

[Wingit]

My 08 12GS is averaging 54 mpg whilst being used medium hard. When were pootling through Holland at 60mph in June (traffic restrictions) the bike was sipping a mere 62mpg. Amazing I thought.

 

[spencetj]

I had thought of carrying a spare tank of fuel and running the bike dry to see how far it would go, but haven't dared try it. The manual advises against it because apparently it may cause misfiring and damage the engine. Likely? I would hope not, you might actually run out of petrol unintentionally some time and I would hope that's not enough to wreck your engine, but you never know!

The whole fuel gauge/distance/range thing doesn't seem to add up. The bike (08 GSA) is supposed to have a 4l "reserve" which I think just means that the warning triangle comes on at that point. I wasn't sure if this reserve was included in the displayed range and fuel gauge, but i guess it is?

When I fill up (usually on side stand so not absolutely to the brim I suppose) the range says something like 330-350 miles, but by the time the range is down to around 60 miles I have only covered around 220-240. The mpg readout says 47 quite consistenntly but when I worked it out myself once is was a bit under 45, which doesn't seem that great since I think I ride fairly gently.

I commute 60 miles/day mostly dual carriageway but some twisties at either end so in theory 300 miles/week could be done on a tank, but I have never dared find out, especially as the range readout seems to drop quicker than the miles go up!

 

[DanielM]

Why wait to fill it up?

Silly question really, why wait to fill up, potentially running out of petrol???? Surely, if you reset the trip each time, you will know how many miles you've done, and if you fill up to the top, you will know how much fuel you've put in.

This reminds me of one of the Top Gear episodes, where Clarkson plays a game on how far he can hold out until having to stop for fuel. Slightly easier when you have a spare can of fuel in the boot.

I ran out of fuel once, and started to look for the reserve tank widget (I was used to my CG125), distressed to see that widget is automatic, and had been used. Fortunately it was almost outside a petrol station, and I had this site as a brilliant reference that there wasn't a widget/thingy.

 

[Brian ROSEN]

Wot i rote

'(08 GS, c.4000 miles) seems to have a huge variation in tank range.' Of course there are an enormous number of variable factors to be considered and whatever answer you come up with will only apply to YOu on one particular journey, at a CERTAIN weather condition and pPARTICULAR traffic conditions. Oil temperatues & viscosity, tyre pressures and condition, luggage, weight carried, height of rider/pillion. Thus we see variations from 32 mpg to twice that!

I will add to this (which was written six months ago when the world was a different place) There is also the question of image..... if i tell everybody that I can get 72.5 mpg from my bike and my tyres wear out after 18,900 miles the response will be 'why not buy a scooter.' If i say I get through a set of tyres in just under 4,000 miles and never get more than 37.8 mpg ...the response will be 'buy yourself a Fireblade;' Why is everyone obsessed with mpg? I have done a fair bit of travelling over a good many years - for many years we had two taps - and when you went onto reserve you started looking for a garage;sometimes at night when you found one you had to ring the doorbell and wake up the owner - a normal procedure; Now we have flashing warning lights, computer countdowns etc.......and our GPS will tell us the distance to the next garage. If you do run out, well just use your telephone and summon recovery. .You will be more careful the next time. Pushing a motorbike to the next filling station has never been a reasonable alternative;

 

[spencetj]

Silly question really, why wait to fill up, potentially running out of petrol????

Belive it or not my 300 miles/week does not actually go past a petrol station, except parhaps for the overpriced ones on the A14. I have to take a detour to fill up which is inconvenient so if I knew I could do the whole week on one tank it would be one less hassle.

And I would like to know whether I can trust how many miles the computer says I have left.

Why is everyone concerned with mpg? MONEY! At least is not £1.20/litre right now but it still ain't cheap and it all adds up. Plus it makes me feel like I am destroying slightly less of the environment!

 

[luckylucian]

If you only do short day trips then how far you can travel on one tank is not really relevant, fill up to start and just go.

But if you are making progress across Europe, being able to plan fuel stops is a great idea, a longer distance between stops equals more fun per hour IMHO

 

[Brian ROSEN]

If you only do short day trips then how far you can travel on one tank is not really relevant, fill up to start and just go.

But if you are making progress across Europe, being able to plan fuel stops is a great idea, a longer distance between stops equals more fun per hour IMHO

Sounds alright in theory - but with a GSA and a full tank can you (or should you) really go non-stop until you are on reserve?

 

[AdamA]

Sounds alright in theory - but with a GSA and a full tank can you (or should you) really go non-stop until you are on reserve?

No. But it does mean your stops don't have to be at a petrol pump, so your route can avoid civilisation for longer.

 

[Deleted account LB]

Blimey....I'll typically fill up after 170-180 miles with 20 or 30 miles range showing if I'm lucky. it usually takes 17-18 litres of the 20 litre tank at this point. Typical mpg reading on the computer is 47-48 though I have managed to see as low as 35mpg on an "Autobahn" run. Am I the only one getting under 200 miles range? My bike has done 4,000 miles so I expect it will improve a bit...

After 1800 miles in six weeks on my 09 GSA I have averaged 43mpg !! - I think there may be a problem with my throttle.

Just as telling though, over this last weekend which included a big variety of A, B roads and motorways I did average 58 mph for the whole trip.

Just glad I got the big tank !!

I have just fitted a set of remus headers which have made the motor feel so much smoother with great low rev pickup and a more liner power feel through the revs without the "stepped" pickup at around 5k revs.

I will keep an eye on fuel and see if it makes a difference

 

[Brian ROSEN]

mpg

"..... I think there may be a problem with my throttle.".....Yes, we all get it at times when we feel there are no radar traps around.

 

[Dennis the Menace]

On 04 bike i could get 21 lt in tank when run to 0 milles.

On 08 bike can only get 18 lt in tank when run to 0 milles.

Is there a mod which can be done to fuel sender, ie remaping. Anyone else had same problem.

 

[AdamA]

On 04 bike i could get 21 lt in tank when run to 0 milles.

On 08 bike can only get 18 lt in tank when run to 0 milles.

Is there a mod which can be done to fuel sender, ie remaping. Anyone else had same problem.

Was the 04 bike new when you got it? If not it may have had the filler modified to allow more fuel to go in.

 

[Big Nick]

I normally fill my 08 GSA around the 300 mile mark by which point the fuel light will be on

Computer says I average 47mpg and its a 7 gallon tank so I should get 329 miles to empty so that seems about right.

 

[Brian ROSEN]

That sounds reasonable

I normally fill my 08 GSA around the 300 mile mark by which point the fuel light will be on

Computer says I average 47mpg and its a 7 gallon tank so I should get 329 miles to empty so that seems about right.

That would mean about 5 hours non stop in the UK (if you are lucky) and about 4 in France on the autoroutes. That is why I regretfully could not justify to myself that I 'need' a GSA rather than the basic GS.;

 

[slojon]

I can get reasonably close to 600km out of my '09 GSA, which according to the computer is 5.7L/100km. That is at a reasonably steady 100/110km through winding/undulating country. Strange to say my '05 GS got according to my maths about 5L/100km. I think the extra 0.7L of fuel is because the bike has only 2000km on the clock, the extra weight and the extra power the newer engine generates.

 

[nedflanders]

Average just over 200mile to a tank on a 06 GS, I'm not surprised the GSA is getting less mpg if the tank is being filled everytime, all that extra weight must be costing abit, wouldn't it make more economic sense to fill up with less fuel if a 300mile range isn't achievable in comfort anyway , so it looks like if your not Charlie Mcgregor a GS is more economical, faster and better looking after all, makes me glad I didn't buy the bus after all

 

[Dennis the Menace]

Was the 04 bike new when you got it? If not it may have had the filler modified to allow more fuel to go in.

Yes new, i did the fuel filler mod, when i fill 08 bike up its right to the top, ie cant get any more in.