My bike consistently runs out of gas

[redwing]

I have run out of gas three times.
First the OBC said I had 19 miles to go.
Second the OBC said I had 20 miles to go but was not actually out of gas but simply spurting as I pulled into the gas station. I don't recall what the "miles left" were when the gas light came on.
Third the dealer adjusted the fuel strip and now my bike runs out of gas at 24 miles to go. I had to push the bike for a mile or two to get gas. .... My camp sight is sad!

It seems the bike has consistent information but the information has a curve. When the gas light comes on at 35 miles left, I reason about 11 miles before I run out of gas.

Question is ... If the failure is consistent ...I think it is... why can't the strip be adjusted to have valid information???

I looked through a page or two of a search but found nothing other than general discussion. Does anyone have experience of how many miles left when the gas light comes?

Robert

[Bob Ain't Stoppin']

Robert, I have a good 50 miles left when the low fuel light comes on ('08 model). As to strip adjustment, there is actually no physical adjustment that I know of. The strip is in a plastic retainer/holder that has a fixed top and bottom mounting point. I have heard the dealer might have a computer calibration procedure, but I don't know anything about that.

Good luck with yours.

On second thought, it would be possible that the bottom end of your fuel strip rig is not in the locator properly inside the tank. A quick pull of the juel pump access plate would show you that.

[redwing]

Do you find that your gas-light comes on at the 50 miles left mark? My R's gas-light comes on at 39 miles left. It seems that is that amount of gas or mileage on the tank is constant. If so then it should be adjustable and set-able. Where the computer gets that info seems to be related to the jets and fuel passing through them per this forum... if I have read correctly.

Robert

[angellr]

Do you find that your gas-light comes on at the 50 miles left mark? My R's gas-light comes on at 39 miles left. It seems that is that amount of gas or mileage on the tank is constant. If so then it should be adjustable and set-able. Where the computer gets that info seems to be related to the jets and fuel passing through them per this forum... if I have read correctly.

Robert

Mine comes on with about 20-50 miles left ... thats why I just reset the trip odometer every time I fill up and go about 180 or so between fill ups. I love electronics, but do not have a desire to push a motorcycle any distance because I was relying on the fuel strip. I also make a point to beeline to a gas station once mine comes on.

Rotopax http://www.rotopax.com/ makes some really nice containers you could carry on the back of your bike. I will be getting some of these before my next big trip.

[nylife]

not that this helps to answer your question, but since my fuel strip died this weekend i will chime in and agree with above post, that i always look at miles traveled vs how much gas i have and miles remaining and i fill up between 150-200 miles regardless of how much fuel is left per computer.

[jkhomes]

My owners manual says the miles left is just an estimate based on the computers history of how your ride. I would say that 20 miles off is pretty good since it is hard for the float to measure when you get down to a half gallon or so. I would just start filling up when says 40 or so.

[neener]

I am new owner and was thrilled when the fuel light came on at 180 miles on my first fill up, right on target I thought with the posts that I have read. Well, over weekend the fuel light came on at 159 miles on my 3rd fill up-dang. I was already in the habit of setting the trip meter so I was good. I work at a dealership and we see fuel guages that don't read correct sometimes, mostly on trucks. The manufacturer recommends to use a product called Techron made by Chevron to clean the sulfur off of the sender in the tank. It is a fuel additive, so not sure if can be used in the bike or if sulfur contamination could be a possibility of what maybe going on here with the range of the readings from the strip in the tank.

Here is a link that gives info on the product.
http://www.techron.com/techron-concentrate-plus/

[angellr]

I am new owner and was thrilled when the fuel light came on at 180 miles on my first fill up, right on target I thought with the posts that I have read. Well, over weekend the fuel light came on at 159 miles on my 3rd fill up-dang. I was already in the habit of setting the trip meter so I was good. I work at a dealership and we see fuel guages that don't read correct sometimes, mostly on trucks. The manufacturer recommends to use a product called Techron made by Chevron to clean the sulfur off of the sender in the tank. It is a fuel additive, so not sure if can be used in the bike or if sulfur contamination could be a possibility of what maybe going on here with the range of the readings from the strip in the tank.

Here is a link that gives info on the product.
http://www.techron.com/techron-concentrate-plus/

I usually use 91 grade fuel and sometimes hit Chevron, Phillips, and other regional stations and don't notice a difference with the exact SAME bike as yours. I also try to fit as much fuel in the tank as possible. I feel comfortable going about 180-200 miles as I assume that my bike gets *at least* 40mph. I reset the mph indicator before a ride on Saturday and averaged 50 slabbing it on mainly interstate @70-80 mph (I used my cruise control for alot of it trying to test out how well my bike would do in this category) for 140+ miles. Anyway, filled up after 185 miles with only 3.7 gallons. Hope some of this helps.

[Jed]

Do you find that your gas-light comes on at the 50 miles left mark? My R's gas-light comes on at 39 miles left. It seems that is that amount of gas or mileage on the tank is constant. If so then it should be adjustable and set-able. Where the computer gets that info seems to be related to the jets and fuel passing through them per this forum... if I have read correctly.

Mine comes on with about 20-50 miles left ... thats why I just reset the trip odometer every time I fill up and go about 180 or so between fill ups. I love electronics, but do not have a desire to push a motorcycle any distance because I was relying on the fuel strip. I also make a point to beeline to a gas station once mine comes on.

A typical commute for me is 245 miles on a single (if slightly overfilled) tank. Miles remaining varies from 5 to 20 depending on how spirited I was riding. The trip down is Interstate slabs, the return trip is state highways. I guess I should count my blessings since my fuel gauge seems to be working pretty well. I also reset my OBC each fuel fill and keep my tire pressure on the high side.

cheers,

[red baron]

By resetting the tripmeter after every fillup one will avoid most of the guessing as to how soon you will run out of gas. In my case I always fill up to the top of the rim which will assure a distance of about 180/190 miles before the next fill up. This normaly will leave a reserve of about .5 to 1 gallon. Obviously driving conditions: gas quality, speed, headwinds, temperatures, weight and other general driving conditions can influence distance. Basically the gas gauge is at best an indicator and not accurate besides my gauge malfunctioned already two times and therefore was replaced.
Peter

[deilenberger]

My owners manual says the miles left is just an estimate based on the computers history of how your ride. I would say that 20 miles off is pretty good since it is hard for the float to measure when you get down to a half gallon or so. I would just start filling up when says 40 or so.

Float? What float? We only wish we had a float.. we have a whizzy advanced computer controlled Wheatstone-Bridge fuel measurement system. It's great when it works.

OP - BMW originally had a process for setting the amount of fuel left in the tank. It involved draining the tank, and leaving it open overnight so the fuel strip could completely dry out. They then would put 1 - gallon of fuel back in the tank, and using the diagnostics computer set the light to come on with 1 gallon remaining.

The new fuel strip calibration doesn't do it this way. The new one they hook up hanging outside the tank and set the current flowing through it to some predetermined value. It saves them a bunch of time on the frequent fuel strip replacements, but leaves the "miles until walking" setting sort of up in the air.

I would take the advice of others on the forum.. set your tripmeter when you fill up, and then use IT to tell you when to get fuel. Your fuel pump will eventually fail if it's run dry too many times (it uses the fuel running through it to cool itself.)

[deilenberger]

I am new owner and was thrilled when the fuel light came on at 180 miles on my first fill up, right on target I thought with the posts that I have read. Well, over weekend the fuel light came on at 159 miles on my 3rd fill up-dang. I was already in the habit of setting the trip meter so I was good. I work at a dealership and we see fuel guages that don't read correct sometimes, mostly on trucks. The manufacturer recommends to use a product called Techron made by Chevron to clean the sulfur off of the sender in the tank. It is a fuel additive, so not sure if can be used in the bike or if sulfur contamination could be a possibility of what maybe going on here with the range of the readings from the strip in the tank.

Here is a link that gives info on the product.
http://www.techron.com/techron-concentrate-plus/

Techron is good stuff - and it will help with a mechanic fuel gauge (float attached to a rheostat) where buildups cause problems (BMW cars used to do this..) It won't do a thing for our fuel strips. It's not bad stuff (I usually run a dose of it last tankful before doing an oil change), but it won't help the accuracy of our fuel gauges.

[websterize]

I have run out of gas three times.

The fuel strip is a bag of hurt. I ignore the residual range and instead pay attention to my friend, the trip meter: ~150 in town; ~200 touring.

[Brewmaster]

I ran out of gas yesterday and had a bit of a pucker moment doing it as well. Actually, this isn't the first time it has happened either. The fuel gauge indicated that I had about a half tank left, and 140ish miles to go, so I figured I was good for my 45 mile commute to work. Well, that was not the case. About 20 miles into the trip I lost power going 80mph on the Interstate. This was not a fun moment. Thankfully, I was able to get over to the side of the road without incident. I could not get the bike to start again immediately, but after sitting for about 2 minutes it started up again. (A similar has happened twice already when I actually knew I was getting low, and my guess is that it does not like kicking over to the reserve tank). After going a few more miles it happened again, and I ended up walking the bike about 2 miles to fuel up, and i put in 5.1 gallons. My suspicions were confirmed when I was able to start up the bike and finish the commute, plus drive about another 120 miles after work.

I have been reading and know that the fuel gauge is inaccurate, but I didn't expect it to be THAT inaccurate. Lesson learned, I will only be trusting the trip meter from now on.

[spoonyfork]

Like most, I use the trip odometer on my 2008 R1200R. Personally, I start looking for a gas station when I pass 200 miles.

P.S. Your bike didn't run out of gas, you did.

[jkhomes]

Looks like we need to figure out a mod for an old fashioned petcock that we can turn another 45 degrees for reserve.

[neener]

Techron is good stuff - and it will help with a mechanic fuel gauge (float attached to a rheostat) where buildups cause problems (BMW cars used to do this..) It won't do a thing for our fuel strips. It's not bad stuff (I usually run a dose of it last tankful before doing an oil change), but it won't help the accuracy of our fuel gauges.

At least I know that Techron can be used in the bike, but why do you wait till just before your oil change? Thanks, it is a good product.

[Bob Ain't Stoppin']

Brewmaster. Please understand that there is no reserve tank or 'kick over' function. I have put 5.5 gallons or more in the tank on a normal fill up (not having run out), so my guess is that you were not actually out of gas. You might want to check to see if your tank vents are clear and working. Blocked up vents can shut you down as the tank pressure goes negative.

You also have to reset your trip odo at fill up so you know how far you've gone. A safe fill up point is 220 miles. Some will say less, some more.

It's no fun losing power in the middle lane at 80!

[deilenberger]

At least I know that Techron can be used in the bike, but why do you wait till just before your oil change? Thanks, it is a good product.

It has been rumored many places (no proof I've seen either way) that some of the Techron will stick to the cylinder walls and dilute the oil a bit - if you use enough of it. So - since I only use it occasionally - I wait until I'm ready to change the oil.

[Jedi5150]

I've had my bike less than a week (600 mile service tomorrow), and today I ran out of gas on the side of the highway (in a contruction zone with one-way traffic control ). I had 255 miles on the tank and the computer told me I had 39 miles remaining....more like zero.