Only get five gallons before empty

[thughes317]

No dog in this fight; I'm one of those boring souls that gasses up at the earliest convenience after the 150 mile mark or so. Growing up in an area with an extended winter season (upstate NY), the mantra "a half tank is an empty tank" is thoroughly ingrained in my psyche. Why temp fate?

 

[Cantab]

If i was going to do this, i would drain and pull the tank, then let it evaporate for a bit and then i would work on the neck.

No way would i attempt to punch a hole in the steel tank neck with a punch with gas in the tank.

That sounds like darwin award territory.


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I wasnt that comfortable when i did my 1400...had a face shield on with leather gloves and a rag to cover the filler if i needed to, it didnt take much effort to punch thru.
Happy enough with the capacity and range of the Tenere im not bothering to do this.

 

[eemsreno]

If i was going to do this, i would drain and pull the tank, then let it evaporate for a bit and then i would work on the neck.

No way would i attempt to punch a hole in the steel tank neck with a punch with gas in the tank.

That sounds like darwin award territory.


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This is how I did mine.

 

[Sierra1]

It's not the gas that blows up. . . . it's the fumes.

 

[WJBertrand]

I've put 6.1 gallons in mine once and the bike was still running when I reached the station. Running out and then only taking on 5.1 certainly sounds like something's wrong.

 

[Pole_Position2034]

Hi y'all, I'm also struggling with fuel levels a bit. I've read most places that 23 litres/6 gallons is the tank capacity. Reading this thread, it seems on average you guys are getting 19 litres/5 gallons into the tank. However, with my 2012 Sten 1200 I'm getting 15 litres into the tank and running it down. I've pushed a 750cc pocket rocket before before and sure as hell don't want to push a STen even 10 metres.

I'm getting about 300km on those 15 litres but where the hell is the rest? Is it that when the fuel gauge starts blinking "E" I still have 3 litres/1 gallon to go?

 

[Don T]

Hi y'all, I'm also struggling with fuel levels a bit. I've read most places that 23 litres/6 gallons is the tank capacity. Reading this thread, it seems on average you guys are getting 19 litres/5 gallons into the tank. However, with my 2012 Sten 1200 I'm getting 15 litres into the tank and running it down. I've pushed a 750cc pocket rocket before before and sure as hell don't want to push a STen even 10 metres.

I'm getting about 300km on those 15 litres but where the hell is the rest? Is it that when the fuel gauge starts blinking "E" I still have 3 litres/1 gallon to go?

The tank can hold 23 liters if you fill it to the top of the filler neck.
There is approximately 1.5 liters from the bottom to the top of the filler neck.
When the fuel gauge starts flashing and the count begins you still have 5 liters in the tank.

 

[Pole_Position2034]

Going on these numbers.....
23 l capacity - 1.5 l from bottom to top of filler neck = 21,5 l
21,5 l - 5 l reserve = 16,5 l so perhaps I'm a litre or 2 short.
And in that you're saying 80 - 100km (50 / 60 miles on the reserve?

 

[Madhatter]

I will throw a wrench in this , mine acts the same as all the rest at least here. at about 175 miles on the clock it will go to countdown , and I've ridden on till ive got about 220 on the clock . and when I put gas back in at least a gallon on average was still in the tank . and one time I really pushed the limit about 250 and had about a half gallon left. so that's in my neck of the woods where the altitude is around 700 ft. when I was traveling across New Mexico my bike (2012 ) was telling me my average mpg was going up around 52 (been awhile buy seem to remember even 58 mpg ) mpg displayed , and this was messing with my head . was not sure it was accurate or if I could trust it . but was saying to me 300 mile range or better . I was at 6000 ft or so across New Mexico , I would stop and it would take 2 gallons maybe 3 , when my normal was 4.5 . so how does the altitude affect you high country boys ?

 

[EricV]

You know, we never used to have fuel gauges on motorcycles... When it stopped running, you flipped the petcock to reserve and you were lucky to get 10 miles. Everyone was mostly happy with that. You looked inside your tank to see how much fuel you had before a ride. Now we have fuel gauges and you're all paranoid about running out when the light comes on, even though you have 1.5 gallons of fuel left and an easy 60 miles of riding at moderate highway speeds.

@Madhatter - High altitude generally allows for better mpg. The sea level riders, (me included), would see 40-46 on average, some a little better. But the Colorado riders easily into the 50-55+ range. Lower air pressure means less fuel is needed. It also means less power, but we have so much over what we need that most don't notice that impact. As an example, I used to drive a car with 300 rwhp and it would do 10's in the 1/4 mile at sea level, but 13's at 5000' elevation. Even turbocharged, you just can't get as much air into the engine. Less air = less fuel needed for stoichiometric fuel ratio. All EFI engines with O2 sensors are aiming for that same mix. Not true with carbs that are adjusted to a fixed setting, thus run rich at higher altitudes w/o changing jets or adjusting mixture.

@Pole_Position2034 - where is the rest of the fuel? Right there in your tank. It holds all 23 liters, you're just filling up early. The low fuel light is just that, a low fuel light, not an empty light. When you know how far you can ride to empty on your bike, with your riding style, then you have a number that's useful for you. Sure, if it's windy or you're going faster than your average speed, you'll burn more fuel and get less miles from a tank. Conversely, if you're riding slower than your average, you'll get better mpg and more miles from a tank.

If you just day ride, none of this matters. If you travel, it becomes more useful to actually know how far you can go on a tank of fuel. Put a full 1 gallon gas can on the bike and ride it to empty. That will tell you a lot. Dump in the gallon of gas and ride less than 40 miles to the gas station and fill up.

 

[Top Ten]

I test everything until empty. Cars, motorcycles, helicopters (on the ground until flameout). I then know how far I can go if I ever have to.

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Yep. I've done that with my lawn mower many times.

 

[gapmtn1]

You know, we never used to have fuel gauges on motorcycles... When it stopped running, you flipped the petcock to reserve and you were lucky to get 10 miles. Everyone was mostly happy with that. .... Now we have fuel gauges and you're all paranoid about running out when the light comes on, even though you have 1.5 gallons of fuel left and an easy 60 miles of riding at moderate highway speeds.

In your statement you have described the very logical reason for the paranoia... since many of us had the old petcock / reserve setup in the past, it is easy to associate "blinking low fuel light" to "going on reserve" and thus needing to get gas in 10 miles.

...where is the rest of the fuel? Right there in your tank. It holds all 23 liters, you're just filling up early.

Or, the fuel isn't getting in there at all. @Pole_Position2034 , have you done the neck punch mod that has been mentioned in this thread? I found that it was helpful to actually get all of the liters into the tank in the first place. Otherwise, you have a void where fuel should be.

 

[EricV]

The tank holds 23 liters from empty to the bottom of the fill neck. That space above the fill neck is expansion space. For that 100F day you fill the tank and park in the sun to go have lunch. I did the neck punch on my '12, but didn't bother on my '15. Just not worth the small amount of additional fuel, and moot for me, running a 8.2 Gal main tank and/or a fuel cell on both bikes.

 

[Mak10]

I ran mine till it died on the freeway. Going 85 into a headwind with my big panniers on. Makes a thirsty bike.

Did the old side to side dirt bike shake hoping to slosh a little gas to the fuel pump. It worked, enough to get me the 500 yards up the off ramp across the overpass and into the gas station.

I’m only going to do that once.

We have a 1932 Caterpillar D4 diesel crawler tractor. It starts with a gasoline pony motor that warms and turns the Diesel engine.

You’ll only ever run out of diesel once. It’s a BIG job of running the pony motor, while cracking injectors to prime the diesel injector pumps. After going through that process that takes most of a day, you won’t forget to check the dip rod in the tank.

 

[Boris]

I’ve done in excess of 40 miles with the fuel light flashing, on three separate occasions. No panic once the last bar disappears.

 

[PineLaneRider]

I just did 41 miles on the flashing light. Put in 5.2 gallons. No as worried as I once was, I now carry 2 litres of fuel with me for emergency.

 

[Sierra1]

Madhatter and I are pretty much seeing the same thing. My indicated mpg average is 44/45, and is about 1.5-2mpg optimistic. The more time you spend on cruise control, the more accurate it is. I pay more attention to the trip odometer, than the gauge. I use 225 mi as my limit. . . . 200 as my "normal" fill up point. I consistently put 5-5.1 gal in at that distance, and that is filling to the bottom of the filler neck, like Eric said, not worth the trouble. The math backs it up: 6 x 40 = 240 (worst case for me) 6 x 42 = 252 (closer to my avgs) So, the distances that I'm traveling. . . . at the mileage I'm getting. . . . backs up the 6 gal tank capacity, to the bottom of the filler neck.

If you're not getting 200 miles out of your tank, it's going to be connected with your conditions: speed, load, wind, etc.

 

[Tenman]

Gen 1. 75k milesWith a 20mph head wind and running 75-80 on the rolling hills. I’ve run out and coasted in the station at 180 miles. Held 6 gallons. Got 30mpg. Cruising around easy. I get 40ish. I have 11/2 gals at the blinkin light.

 

[EricV]

Sometimes you ride with more 'purpose'. Dirt Dad likely knows this... I ran out at 164 miles once in Nevada and coasted down the off ramp into the gas station. It was windy that day, but I may have been twisting the wick just a tad more than usual too. Burning up 800 miles+ in 12 hours uses fuel. The sweet spot for me if I thought I was screwed was 50 mph. That would get me as far as possible.

 

[AusTexS10]

Ok, for all us non-risk taking, heavyweights. . . . we should probably stay under 240mi between fill-ups. Using 43mpg, and 5.5gal.

I just got back from a little 120 mile highway round trip (Austin to Burnet and back) and should refill to check my mileage before tooling around town manana. The last tank, which did not have highway cruising, only netted about 31.1 mpg (filling to the hole in the well and using calculator. The bike has no mods on it whatsoever except for Arrow headers. Methinks this sounds abnormally low.