cabreco Posted February 27, 2012 Share #1 Posted February 27, 2012 I'm trying to ascertain EXACTLY what the range of my bike is. I feel I am getting lousey MPG since I've gone 79 miles & the gauge is dancing between 1/2 & the bar below it. So I put the petcock in the on position to see how long I can run (leaving me the reserve so I'm not stranded). So when I hit the level where I need to switch to reserve position on the petcock, what will my main LCD gas gauge show? No bars? One bar? What about the red warning light will that turn on when IN reserve? What should I consider the normal range of the 1st Gen in (average) miles? Thank for the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dingy Posted February 27, 2012 Share #2 Posted February 27, 2012 I'm trying to ascertain EXACTLY what the range of my bike is. I feel I am getting lousey MPG since I've gone 79 miles & the gauge is dancing between 1/2 & the bar below it. So I put the petcock in the on position to see how long I can run (leaving me the reserve so I'm not stranded). So when I hit the level where I need to switch to reserve position on the petcock, what will my main LCD gas gauge show? No bars? One bar? What about the red warning light will that turn on when IN reserve? What should I consider the normal range of the 1st Gen in (average) miles? Thank for the input. There will be no change on the CMU monitor as a result of changing the petcock position. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keemez Posted February 27, 2012 Share #3 Posted February 27, 2012 This is going to vary from bike to bike of course. I always run mine in reserve, no matter what. Warning light comes on anywhere from 140ish to 160ish, and I don't run out til I've gotten beyond 200. It's been pretty consistent. The rate at which the gauge drops/indicates... is voodoo at best. I don't pay much attention to what it says until I'm getting into the low range of the tank. I've consistently been able to go 40+ miles after the light came on; that's all I need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utadventure Posted February 27, 2012 Share #4 Posted February 27, 2012 The '84 I have (Alan has) from my limited time on it got in the 38-41 MPG range. That should give you about 160 miles before hitting the reserve area of the tank. Usually fills back up with around 4.3 gallons at that point. The red reserve light will come on when the final bar on the gas gauge goes off, so....each bike will be a little different as to whether you are still on the main tank or into the reserve area. Your test with the petcock in the main position should answer that question. Like many others, I run mine in the reserve position and start looking for a fuel stop (but relief stop) when the light comes on. The furthest I've gone on my '86 (1300 engine) is 175 miles before getting gas. That had me worried a bit. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabreco Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share #5 Posted February 27, 2012 I thought the LED gauge was wacky. It seems to drop slowly at 1st then real fast to 2 bars. I feel it's best to treat it like my Honda 750 & find out what my range is. If I can get at least 150 miles before I hit reserve I'm happy. Based on what you guys are saying that should be no problem. The last thing I want is to run out of gas on a bike that ain't easy to push Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dingy Posted February 27, 2012 Share #6 Posted February 27, 2012 I thought the LED gauge was wacky. It seems to drop slowly at 1st then real fast to 2 bars. The reason it takes quite a while to drop off the first bar is that the gauge float is attached to a wire wound resistor. This resistor is read by the CMU in as a changing resistance as the level in the tank drops. When the tank is all the way full, the float on the level sensor is actually submerged in the tank, thus up as high as it can go in its range. Before it starts to move at all, enough gas has to be used to drop below the floats upper bouyancy range, then enough more used, before the float starts to drop & vary the resistance reading. At the bottom of the floats range, it seems to cycle through the bars much faster than when the tank is near full. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiCarl Posted February 27, 2012 Share #7 Posted February 27, 2012 I switched out my CMU before last season. It seems to go down a bit slower than the old one. I buy gas when the red light comes on. I don't think I've ever put more than 3.5 gallons in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabreco Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share #8 Posted February 27, 2012 ...When the tank is all the way full, the float on the level sensor is actually submerged in the tank, thus up as high as it can go in its range.... Gary Makes sense, so the gauge is more of a guide than a fact. I buy gas when the red light comes on. I don't think I've ever put more than 3.5 gallons in. Good so the red light DOES come on when the bike is low on fuel. At least I know that safegard is in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiCarl Posted February 27, 2012 Share #9 Posted February 27, 2012 Good so the red light DOES come on when the bike is low on fuel. At least I know that safegard is in place. It's supposed to come on when the gauge reads "E". You can check it by removing the seat and disconnecting the sender wires at the top of the fuel tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snaggletooth Posted February 27, 2012 Share #10 Posted February 27, 2012 My gauge drops like that to but the warning light pretty is consistant at the 150-160 range. I have run it to 226 miles on the trip meter and taken just under 5 gallons at the pump. She was making gagging noises when I pulled in to fill up. One of those "had to find out" moments ya know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dacheedah Posted February 27, 2012 Share #11 Posted February 27, 2012 When my tank drops from two bars to one bar I know I am getting close to switching it to reserve. I did that one time on the road at night and almost ended up pushing her to the gas station. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedRider Posted February 27, 2012 Share #12 Posted February 27, 2012 As a test, I rode mine until empty. Was carrying a 1 Gallon gas can on the back to get me to a station. I got 211 miles (this is on a 2nd gen) from full (neck ventilated) to walk. Now, anytime I go anywhere far away, usually have the 5 gallon aux tank mounted. The tank will run down slower than my bladder will fill. Haven't had a problem since. RR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyinfool Posted February 27, 2012 Share #13 Posted February 27, 2012 On my 88 the light comes on at 160 ±5 miles and I put in 4.0 ±0.15 gallons. The book says it is a 5 gallon tank. I fill it just to the bottom of the filler neck. So theoretically I have about 40 miles left in the tank when the light comes on, I HATE that light blinking at me so I do not like to push it. That selector is so hard to turn that I like most of us just leave it on reserve all of the time. I would sure hate to break the valve, trying to turn it, out on the road somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itsan06 Posted March 21, 2012 Share #14 Posted March 21, 2012 i was riding thje other evening on my new to me 06 and the bike cut out like out of fuel....did the wiggle wiggle and she kept chugging along.....still had two bars on digital....no light came on.... switched to reserve bike ran dandy...stopped and got fuel all was fine not sure when light should come on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dingy Posted March 21, 2012 Share #15 Posted March 21, 2012 How much gas did it take to fill it? Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itsan06 Posted March 21, 2012 Share #16 Posted March 21, 2012 i was in a hurry and forgot to look.....i am going to make it happen again and will post im not a smart man.....momma said pay more attention Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted March 21, 2012 Share #17 Posted March 21, 2012 I guess I grew up in a different era without gas guages. I just start looking for a station when I hit 150 miles on the trip meter.... And way back when we didn't even have a trip meter and actually had to do a little math using the odo. All this one bar..two bar..reserve..red light stuff??? Who cares.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Posted March 22, 2012 Share #18 Posted March 22, 2012 I guess I grew up in a different era without gas guages. I just start looking for a station when I hit 150 miles on the trip meter.... And way back when we didn't even have a trip meter and actually had to do a little math using the odo. All this one bar..two bar..reserve..red light stuff??? Who cares.... Yea that!! The biggest difference between the bike and a baby is you can't ween the bike off it's formula!!!!!!!!:crackup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamamike Posted March 23, 2012 Share #19 Posted March 23, 2012 On my 88 the light comes on at 160 ±5 miles and I put in 4.0 ±0.15 gallons. The book says it is a 5 gallon tank. I fill it just to the bottom of the filler neck. So theoretically I have about 40 miles left in the tank when the light comes on, I HATE that light blinking at me so I do not like to push it. That selector is so hard to turn that I like most of us just leave it on reserve all of the time. I would sure hate to break the valve, trying to turn it, out on the road somewhere. The knob on my valve is broken off...anyone local have a spare? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Itsan06 Posted March 27, 2012 Share #20 Posted March 27, 2012 full tank...... little to no hwy miles ran 174 miles ....sputtered and switched to reserve ran 3.4 miles on reserve filled tank with 4.55 gallons down to one bar when i switched no low fuel light ever came on must be broken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motorcycle_1300 Posted March 28, 2012 Share #21 Posted March 28, 2012 I kinda go with the 160 miles look for a gas station crowd. that said remember we are riding carburated bikes, if you get 160 at sea level and then you head up into the high plains you are going to get significantly lower gas milage. It might be a good Idea to know how your bikes gas guage indicate as a back up plan. noticed my mpg dropped about 25 percent on a trip to billings Montana. 200ft above sea level to 6000 or so along the way Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Condor Posted March 28, 2012 Share #22 Posted March 28, 2012 I kinda go with the 160 miles look for a gas station crowd. that said remember we are riding carburated bikes, if you get 160 at sea level and then you head up into the high plains you are going to get significantly lower gas milage. It might be a good Idea to know how your bikes gas guage indicate as a back up plan. noticed my mpg dropped about 25 percent on a trip to billings Montana. 200ft above sea level to 6000 or so along the way Al Maybe... maybe not.. I'm at around 50' above sea level, and get 36-38mpg with the '83 around town. Take it into the High Sierras (2000'-5000') and twisties, and she'll get 50mpg. My 99RSV gets 26-28mpg...haven't got around to tweaking it yet... but when I rode up to Shell Falls with twisties in Wyoming I got 40mpg. Granted running on the slab in 5th gear at 75+mph, and I don't care what altitude your at, you're going to suck fuel.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camarojunkie85 Posted July 6, 2012 Share #23 Posted July 6, 2012 I just got my 83 venture 2 weeks ago and with very little riding on this bike, I hit 115miles and died. I guess I should have done more inspecting but didn't know it had a reserve so I walked for a gallon of gas! I've had a few bikes without reserve so I assumed this one didn't. But a 115 isn't much, you guys running regular or premium? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocket Posted July 6, 2012 Share #24 Posted July 6, 2012 I just got my 83 venture 2 weeks ago and with very little riding on this bike, I hit 115miles and died. I guess I should have done more inspecting but didn't know it had a reserve so I walked for a gallon of gas! I've had a few bikes without reserve so I assumed this one didn't. But a 115 isn't much, you guys running regular or premium? Ignored the fuel guage, or is it not working???? No reserve position on the 83, I think that was added in 84. Those valves are very stiff, so many of us leave the valve in the reserve position....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flyinfool Posted July 6, 2012 Share #25 Posted July 6, 2012 :sign yeah that: What Rocket said. Was the tank full to the top when you started your 115 mile ride? It is possible that you are only running on 3 cylinders, these bike run so good that the only way you may have noticed a dropped cylinder is the lousy gas mileage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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