Low fuel idiot light?

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NSW, Australia
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2013 DL650/A & CX500 Euro
I had the misfortune of running out of fuel on my first tankful. I was assured by more than one person that the NT would travel 400Km+ (240miles) and when I got to 380Km I was stopped on the side of the road in drizzling rain at dusk waiting for a good freind to come and rescue me. I was literally withing 20Km's of his place and I was sure I would make it BUT I did not. My other bike is a CX500 Turbo and it has a low fuel warning light and I was expecting to get a warning light on the NT, right up until it stopped!

What I did not realise and therefore did not make allowance for, is that I had been travelling into a head wind for a couple of hours.

The next day a tankful of fuel would have easily got me nearly 500Km's (300 miles)

Seagrass
 
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DirtFlier

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Troy, OH
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When my bike was new I carefully noted how much fuel it took at 1/2 tank, 1/4, and with the needle sitting on the red E block. The 1/2 & 1/4 tank mileages were for future mental calculations if I'm xx-number of miles from my destination. On my particular bike, I can run the needle until it has a small bit of daylight beneath the red E block and there is still 0.4-0.5 gals remaining in the tank. Every bike is slightly different so do your own calculations and over the years/miles I've come to trust the fuel gauge and always give it priority over an expectation of riding xxx-miles on a tank.

ps. I always had 70 oz of fuel with me, just in case. :)
 

Warren

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O'Fallon, MO
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Early on I measured how much fuel it took to fill from 1/2 tank and it was spot on at 2.6 gal. Now when riding however many miles I have at 1/2 tank I just double for the miles until empty. According to the Honda manual when the needle on the fuel gauge enters the red zone you have .98 gal left.
 
Joined
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McAllen, Texas
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2010 Silver NT700
Wow! This is a fast growing thread!!

There is a bit of a dispute about mileage. Clay (RedNigel) lives in Texas as I do, so we both ride as Texas law permits. Almost all rural roadways - even two lane roads - have a 75 mph speed limit. On the Interstates west of the Hill Country, the speed limit is 80. I assure you, if you go 80, you will be passed by almost everyone. We even have a toll road where the legal posted speed limit is 85.

When I take long rides out west, my mileage suffers until I get into mountains. (As westerners know, the higher the altitude, the better the mileage.) When I ride east to see family, the lower speed limits in eastern states gives me much better mileage.

Anything above 70 mph, and mileage begins to suffer dramatically, As an example, when I ride the (approximately) 725 mile round trip to Houston to see my daughter, the mileage I get depends on whether I take the fastest route, or the slower, more picturesque route. On the fast route, my speed varies between 75 and 80 mph and my mileage will usually be around 48 mpg. If I take the back way on quiet two-lane roads, my mileage will be about 55 mpg.

As for me, I look for a gas station at 200 miles. I get nervous at 225, and panicky just a few miles after that. If I have really been riding fast, I'll look for fuel at 175, and get nervous at 200. I have no desire to run out of fuel out in west Texas where I-10 and I-20 intersect. (Google map that and you'll see what I mean.)
 
Joined
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Richardson, TX
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Speed limits in very rural Texas areas are routinely 75 and can go as high as 85.
Arizona has some high limits too
 

Phil Tarman

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According to the Honda manual when the needle on the fuel gauge enters the red zone you have .98 gal left.
Warren, they're wrong. On my bike, I'm pretty sure it's more like 1.5 gallons from the top of the red.
 
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The .98 is what you have when the needle hits the lowest red mark
I always put in 4.2 to 4.3 once I hit that mark and I never push more than 25 miles once I hit that mark
 

JQL

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Val de Marne, France
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2010 NT700 & 2019 FJR1300
A number of people have reported that soon after running the tank dry on their NT700, especially in warm/hot weather, the fuel pump has failed.


The reason for the failure has been blamed on the fuel pump getting too hot. The fuel in the tank keeps the pump cool, so letting the tank run dry is not a good thing! A new fuel pump is only $784.00 plus tax and shipping.

I would strongly recommend filling up before the needle enters the red zone.

I have tracked the mileage on my NT700 from the day I got her new from the Dealer. She's now done over 72,000 miles (117,000 km). The complete record (bar 3 fill-ups which I seem to have lost) can be found on Fuelly. You can view the record in US Gallons, Miles, UK Gallons, Kilometers or Litres as you wish.
 
Joined
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Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Black 2009 NT700
A number of people have reported that soon after running the tank dry on their NT700, especially in warm/hot weather, the fuel pump has failed.


The reason for the failure has been blamed on the fuel pump getting too hot. The fuel in the tank keeps the pump cool, so letting the tank run dry is not a good thing! A new fuel pump is only $784.00 plus tax and shipping.

I would strongly recommend filling up before the needle enters the red zone.

I have tracked the mileage on my NT700 from the day I got her new from the Dealer. She's now done over 72,000 miles (117,000 km). The complete record (bar 3 fill-ups which I seem to have lost) can be found on Fuelly. You can view the record in US Gallons, Miles, UK Gallons, Kilometers or Litres as you wish.
Yes John, I agree that you should avoid regularly running the fuel too low, especially in hot weather.
As I said earlier, my experiment was to find out the "usable" capacity of the tank in case I ever needed it. I HAVE, twice in 45,oookm.
Here in OZ it is not uncommon to arrive at a country location where you had planned to top-up and find that "the tanker was supposed to be here yesterday".
Also, not every supplier will have the fuel that you need.
I have had to drive around a fairly large regional city searching for fuel without ethanol.
In the most recent case it took me 30 minutes to find one.
I usually refill after 350-400km which means that I have about 1/4 tank (5-6L or 120-150km) remaining.
That is more than enough to keep the pump cool.

Macka
 

JQL

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Macka,

This wasn't a dig at you or anyone else. It was just passing information on which may help those who aren't aware of this potential problem.

My normal fill up is between 15 and 16 litres and I usually brim the tank. So, there's about a US gallon left in the tank when I fill up. From your figures, you're more conservative about filling up than me.
 
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Otsego, MI
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'10 NT 84 BMW R100RT Ural
Fuel pump getting hot is not limited to motorcycles, many trucks (seems to be GM as reported by a mechanic) when they go empty the pump dies. Fuel is the cooling agent for the pump.
 

mikesim

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I have also recalibrated my fuel gauge sender unit to more accurately reflect the true volume of fuel in the tank.


Macka
Out of curiosity, how did you recalibrate the fuel tank sending unit?

Mike
 
Joined
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Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Black 2009 NT700
Out of curiosity, how did you recalibrate the fuel tank sending unit?

Mike
Calculation and guesstimate.
When I bought the bike I found that when the gauge was showing 1/4 I could only get about 11 or 12 litres into it, so it was actually closer to 1/2 than 1/4 full.
If filling from 1/2 on the gauge it would only take about 8 litres.
Obviously the gauge was reading much too low.
I don't believe that anyone had fiddled before me as it only had one PO and 18,oookm on it when I got it.
I removed the tank unit and simply bent the float arm down a bit to make it read higher.
I was pretty happy with my first attempt as the readings are as I stated before but the problem that I had was that the float sits on a bit of an angle and after the bend it would occassionally jamb against the side of the tank and give a false reading until it freed itself with vibration or sloshing fuel.
I had to remove it again and bend it sideways a little to get correct clearance on both sides and at both ends of the stroke.
Since then it has been fine and I am happy that the gauge is quite accurate from 3/4 down to 1/4 which is where it spends most of its time.
If I had not got it close the first time I would have been happy to make further attempts as I dislike inaccurate instruments and I was sure that I could improve it.
I knew that it would never be truly accurate as it is a very cheap instrument working in a harsh environment.
The error in the fuel consumption readout consistantly rubs me the wrong way but so far I don't know what to do about it.
I am fussy but not pig-headed or stupid enough to let it detract from the pleasure of riding a great bike.

Macka
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2010
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Houston, TX
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According to the manual, when the fuel gauge pegs on E, there is one gallon left in the tank. When I ran a steady 65 -70 mph I could get 50 mpg. At 80 - 85, mileage dropped to 35 mpg or so. This is important on a long trip.

On my SS1000 ride I came VERY close to running out of gas. I departed a gas station in deep west Texas showing a little over 1/4 tank on the gauge with sixty miles to my planned fuel stop, at night. In about five minutes the fuel gauge pegged, one gallon left. I coaxed 60 miles out of that gallon by driving slow and steady, rolling down hills etc. Made the planned stop and pumped 5.9 gallons into a 6 gallon tank.

The gauge does behave "differently" in that it wont move for along time then drops like a stone. The key I s that it is accurate where it counts, near the bottom.

Also, the mpg is very inversely related to speed.

Happy trails,

Chuck
 
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. . .On my SS1000 ride I came VERY close to running out of gas. I departed a gas station in deep west Texas . . .
And that, my fellow Texan, is why I have done some fuel planning for an upcoming Bun Burner. When flying over West Texas, crows have to pack a lunch. There ain't nuthin' out there in The Big Empty.

I'll be riding at 80 mph as a minimum (legal speed limit) and 85 mph most of the time. I know my mileage will be terrible at that speed. For that leg of the trip, once I leave Kerrville heading towards El Paso, I will refuel when I can. In one case, that will only be 108 miles. The longest leg will be 153 miles from Ft. Stockton to Sierra Blanca. I expect to be needing fuel when I pull into Sierra Blanca, especially if I have a headwind.

By the way, Chuck - now that you're on a Gold Wing, you going to try another IBA ride?
 
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Yes, I learned a lesson from that. Buy gas BEFORE you need it. Now, I would not ever leave a stop in west TX without a full fuel tank, even if I had only gone 50 miles.

I would like to do another SS1000 on the 'Wing. My 500 mile day back in January let me know I am out of shape for that sort of thing right now. You should be fine if you get fuel at each stop. Also beware, as fatigue sets in judgment gets weird. I rode who knows how long trying to hold a bar end weight on with my fingers. Never occurred to me to just take it off and put it in the tank bag. Yes, it eventually fell off. Cheap to replace though.

The 'Wing has been a great buy. It is surly a fat pig to get out of the garage in the morning but once under way it is a pure joy.

When are planning to make your ride? What is your planned route?
 
Joined
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I hope the fuel stops you expect are open. Once, in Montana, I was very low on fuel and exited the interstate at 6:30 PM only to discover the one gas station there had closed at 6PM!
Yep - you are spot on! That's one reason why I planned the trip so that I am riding through West Texas in the daytime, even with the heat.

By the way - I know what you mean about Montana - riding through the state last summer, and came to appreciate how very rural it is.
 
Joined
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McAllen, Texas
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2010 Silver NT700
Yes, I learned a lesson from that. Buy gas BEFORE you need it. Now, I would not ever leave a stop in west TX without a full fuel tank, even if I had only gone 50 miles.

I would like to do another SS1000 on the 'Wing. My 500 mile day back in January let me know I am out of shape for that sort of thing right now. You should be fine if you get fuel at each stop. Also beware, as fatigue sets in judgment gets weird. I rode who knows how long trying to hold a bar end weight on with my fingers. Never occurred to me to just take it off and put it in the tank bag. Yes, it eventually fell off. Cheap to replace though.

The 'Wing has been a great buy. It is surly a fat pig to get out of the garage in the morning but once under way it is a pure joy.

When are planning to make your ride? What is your planned route?
I would think a Wing would be ideal - just turn on the cruise control, a little 70s rock music on the sound system and roll down the highway. :D

I did an SS1000 last year while coming back from Florida. Frankly, I found it was much easier than I thought it would be. I had some weather problems to deal with - lines of thunderstorms - and had to pull over twice, once on the east side of Houston. I have a daughter who lives in Houston, and she was quite upset when she learned I rode through Houston on US 59/I 69 with flood warnings out. Nonetheless, I still did the ride in 18 hours.

I'll ride from McAllen to San Antonio then El Paso and up through Albuquerque (where I'll get some sleep) then on the Denver where I have a brother. Interstate the whole way, and high legal speeds. Since all I need is to average 41 mph, and I'll be traveling twice that speed, I should be make it fairly easily, barring some difficulty.

I still haven't figured out why I do these IBA runs. NOrmally, I eschew the slab for quite rural roads and little towns. Must have something to do with having met Phil Tarman - he infected me.
 
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