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Fuel Gauge Accuracy


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Posting in known issues because two magazine reviewers mentioned it,
 
It seems my fuel guage goes from full on full until there is 110 miles on a full tank, it then indicates 1/3 and decreases normally to the reserve indicator. I use one trip counter to keep track of fuel but would sure like to know the 1/2 to 8/10 range while riding. It's a ST platform, not a flaky Italian Brutale and while touring this information is useful.
 
Does everyone experience this ?
 
I wonder if there is a simple tank float solution.
 
I can adjust but imagine not resetting the trip meter, discovering your range just decreased 90 miles and you are in BFE with 1/4 tank of fuel.  
 
 
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Here is my experience with the fuel gage on my bike.
There are 5 sections to the fuel gage. From F to the 1/2 way point is about 90 miles (nothing until then). From there, four segments remain. I do not see this as a problem, just an annoyance. Not a design that I would not have chosen.
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
Bikes:
2015 FJ-09, Seat Concepts seat cover and foam, Cal Sci medium screen, rim stripes, factory heated grips, Cortech Dryver tank bag ring, Modified stock exhaust, FlashTune with Graves fuel map, Cree driving lights, Aux power socket.
2012 Street Triple type R (Wifes)
2007 FJR1300 (Sold!)
 
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I SWEAR there was another hash mark in that last segment....or my friends Tenre has one...or I'm blind. I actually noticed this today while riding and wanted a mulligan on this stupid post. Thanks for clarification, don't let me count any money or load powder in bullets.
It works, not what I would have designed either.
 
Can I mention how much I miss an analog tach now? Yes I do.
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I SWEAR there was another hash mark in that last segment....or my friends Tenre has one...or I'm blind. I actually noticed this today while riding and wanted a mulligan on this stupid post. Thanks for clarification, don't let me count any money or load powder in bullets. It works, not what I would have designed either.
 
Can I mention how much I miss an analog tach now? Yes I do.
the tacho is analog, although displayed on a flat panel screen, but visually, little different to a needle sweeping across a dial
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An easily read round dial with RPM numbers can't be compared to a slow flaky LCD bar. I am used to glancing at it and feeling engine vibes as a speedo. It's visually very different and I miss the round thing.
 
Some 80's bikes displayed RPM in digital readout, that was cool for the time and I think housed in round dials. Also worthless.
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The gauge sitting on full till half a tank is a bit disconcerting. I had a Yamaha Turbo in the 80's which had an LCD display and it did the same thing - all on for about a 1/3 of the tank then the blocks vanished like money on a roulette table for the next 1/3 and then a flashing red light for the last 1/3.
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Guest dmizer
Many motorcycle tank fuel gauges work this way. It has, mostly, to do with the shape of the tank. Fat at the top, thin at the bottom. Because there is more volume and surface area at the top of the tank, it takes longer for the float to register a decrease in volume. Or in other words, the float moves linearly, but the volume does not decrease linearly.
 
Your best bet here is to learn how far you can go on a tank (total tank range) by regularly resetting your trip odometer every time you fill your tank and riding until the last pip starts flashing. That's your reserve. Look at your trip odometer when you fill up, and that's your total tank range. Once you have done that several times, then you can get a much more accurate picture of how much farther you can go on a particular tank, usually to within a few miles or so, by looking at your trip odometer. Doing this also allows you to calculate your actual fuel efficiency, which always turns out to be different from what the bike software indicates it is.
 
As it stands, I'm getting about 240 km on a tank while commuting, that's about 150 miles. Your mileage will vary from that though because your riding style, weight, road conditions and who knows what else will be different from mine.
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I just completed a 170 mile tank with a few hard sessions of high revving 2nd gear canyon running. That was +20 miles on reserve and i am not sure how much further it would have gone. I put in 4.2 gallons.
 
 
Was that 170... plus 20 on reserve?
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I just completed a 170 mile tank with a few hard sessions of high revving 2nd gear canyon running. That was +20 miles on reserve and i am not sure how much further it would have gone. I put in 4.2 gallons.
Was that 170... plus 20 on reserve?
No.  That is 170 total and 20 of that was on the reserve light.
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No.  That is 170 total and 20 of that was on the reserve light.
this is my experience too, filling the bike on the side stand 
one day I might strap a few litres of fuel onto the pillion seat and see exactly how far I can get on the reserve
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No.  That is 170 total and 20 of that was on the reserve light.
Interesting. I did 173 the other day, which included 7 miles on reserve. And still only filled with 3.8 gallons.
 
YMMV.
-skip
 
 
 
Who can better 173
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The most mileage I've done for a tank so far is 181 miles-4.264 US Gal-42.45 US MPG, or as I know it 181 miles-16.14 litres-50.98 UK MPG. I probably squeezed more in the tank than would normally do. I think I did about 20 miles on reserve.
 
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As the Tracer is meant to be a touring bike, I was curious to find out the tank range. So, over the last couple of days I have carried out an experiment.
1. Tank brimmed whilst parked on side stand
2. Rode around mostly rural roads
3. Observed fuel gauge stay at full for 112 miles
3. Did a further 67 miles until the E flashes and the F guage appears i.e. 179 miles.
4. Stuck a 4 litre can of petrol in the topbox
5. Continued to ride, & ride, & ride. I got bored when the F gauge indicted 40 miles and pulled into an Asda fuel station.
6. 17.99 litres of unleaded fuel added.
 
So, Yamaha are very pessimistic about the fuel range and give you a huge 22% extra mileage after the reserve is indicated.
 
The bike will comfortably do 200 miles to a tank - remember I fuelled up with the bike on the side stand.
 
I've no idea what the economy was for the journey as this is not a worry, apart from how it affects range. All I wanted to know is how many miles can I safely do on reserve and does this bike, claimed to be a touring bike, have a genuine 200 mile tank range. The other matter established is that the tank definitely has an 18 litre capacity and I was close to conking out before I pulled into the petrol station.
 
Note, I was using UK spec. Esso regular unleaded fuel. This is 95 RON and will contain up to 5% ethanol. When in France, where they use mainly E10 fuel I will be lucky to get 200 miles to a tank.
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