Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Ok I know i'm such a newbie and I know someone has asked this probaly a million times but I couldn't find it on the search

How do you know how much you have left in the tank if theirs no gauge?

sorry guys
thanks in advance

look inside. also reset your trip meter after each fill up or note your odometer. you shoulkd be able to get a feeling for how much fuel will go how far.

also, give your bike a shake when you sitting, should be able to hear how much is sloshing around, although prolly not the most accurate way.

Just make sure you are not smoking or on the cell phone when you open up the cap to look in

pinger05 wrote:Just make sure you are not smoking or on the cell phone when you open up the cap to look in

that cell phone thing has been disproved. you cant get enough static charge off of the phone to spark an explosion, most times it is from getting in and out of your car while fueling that causes static build up.

so what are you averaging on a full tank? (semi agressive riding)

i can go at least 200kms before i hit reserve, never got it lower

depending on the year of the bike and how spirited you ride they get roughly 60-70mpg so if memory serves it's a 4.8 gallon tank so you should be able to get about 280 miles on a tank if all conditions are right. it's tough to get the full 4.8 in there so i would say it's more likely to be 200miles before you run out of gas completely.

as a general rule, i would suggest, if you run about 120miles on your trip meter, it's time to put some fuel in

You can safely figure 180 miles before you hit reserve, though I'm getting closer to 220 most of the time. Learn to use the fuel valve while riding.... when the bike starts to lose power switch it to reserve and get gas within 10-30 miles.If you are close to the 180-220 mark (you'll find out what it is for you after running it to reserve a few times) don't put yourself in any really power-critical situations without switching to reserve first.

Refuling ever 120 miles would drive me nuts... I don't think I'd be riding if I had to go to a gas station twice a day.

120 is pretty conservative, i will admit. to clarify my situation, the gas station i use is about 2 miles from home and it's on my commute route, so i just pop in anytime after 120 when i'm going past it.

That makes sense. For me it's a bit different 'cause the gas stations I prefer to use are 40+ miles from home... the ones nearest the house charge absurdly high prices ($0.20-$0.50 more per gallon than standard prices) because they are "you need it we got it how far can you push that thing -smirk-" type stations.

dieziege wrote:Refuling ever 120 miles would drive me nuts... I don't think I'd be riding if I had to go to a gas station twice a day.

Yeah it sucks man. I have a 3.6 gallon tank that lasts about 120 miles. Oh well, it does give me an excuse to walk around a bit and stretch. I wouldn't take my bike through the desert out west though.