[fatalattraction]

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My manual says the gas tank holds 6.3 gal. I usually fill up when the gauge is at 1/4 or so but only get 3 gals. in it. Are these tanks 6.3 gals. or is my gauge goofy? I haven't had the nerve to run until the reserve light comes on. Guess I should try that.

 

[exavid]

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fatalattraction wrote:

My manual says the gas tank holds 6.3 gal. I usually fill up when the gauge is at 1/4 or so but only get 3 gals. in it. Are these tanks 6.3 gals. or is my gauge goofy? I haven't had the nerve to run until the reserve light comes on. Guess I should try that.

The gauge on my bike is a bit pessimistic. When the low fuel light comes on I've got almost one gallon left. The most I've put in at one time was 5.7 gallons and I'd been running with the needle all the way to the left for some while. Sounds like your gauge is pretty similar to mine. I'd rather the thing erred on the low side than claiming you had more fuel than was actually present.

 

[fatalattraction]

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Ok, thanks.

 

[wingdawg101]

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Which bike do you have?

 

[fatalattraction]

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Hey windawg. it's right there under my name. GL1500...

 

[wingdawg101]

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Duh !!!

 

[Tonys96]

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Mike nice bike...

Identical to mine. Gas gauge is really bad, yes they hold 6.3 gallons. The yellow light comes on around 3/4 gallon left.

Notice that if you stop riding for the day with 3/4 tank that in the morning it's less than half full.

If running out of gas is a source of stree, just punch the trip meter when you fill up, should be able to get at least 200 miles before you need to refuel.

 

[fatalattraction]

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Thanks Paul and Tony. If I don't have something to worry about I'm not happy. I feel better now. I'll have to find something else to fret about now. :waving:

 

[Tonys96]

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fatalattraction wrote:

I'll have to find something else to fret about now. :waving:

Wait till it starts smelling like gas in the garage in the morning...

or when the lights go dim and it just stops...



ha,ha,ha

 

[m2102]

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i have a 2000 1500se and had the same issue.figure the fuel mileage for what you put in and figure how many miles you can go. i now take mine to the liteand when i put fuel in i have average 25-30 miles to go on what is left in tank. doing so i put in the most so far 5.5 gallons

 

[Wingsconsin]

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The fuel tank on a GL1500 is like a funnel shape...wider at the top and narrow at the bottom...the fuel guage is linear and measures the fuel vertically not for volumn...The top half of the tank is more like the top 2/3rds so when it reads 1/2 tank you are actually less than that...



The light will come on after you have burned about 5/3 gallons of this fuel and then you have about 1 gallon left....



If you are averaging 40 MPG that will be at over 200 miles....!



At 35 MPG it will be at 185.5 miles and you have another 35 miles to find fuel.



You should know the average consumption of your bike at various speeds so you can estimate how far before your are getting into trouble.



On my bike (103,000+ miles now) I KNOW that at 60 MPH I will average 42-44 MPG but at 75 MPH it will drop to about 33-35 MPG...



It pays to slow down.....

 

[Mike Hirsh]

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Wingsconsin wrote:

On my bike (103,000+ miles now) I KNOW that at 60 MPH I will average 42-44 MPG but at 75 MPH it will drop to about 33-35 MPG...

It pays to slow down.....

Mine's like that.

You can bend the arm on the fuel level sender float to help it some. I have mine where it reads close at;
Over full
1/2 tank
Empty on gauge when light comes on.


Not bad but I still rely on the odometer more than the gauge/light combo.

 

[FeButter]

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I have auxiliary fuel tanks in my saddlebags so I have run my main tank completely empty. I put in just over 6 gallons. I guess if you filled it to the max you could get 6.3 gallons in it.

 

[Duckster]

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I have an 88 and my fuel guage does the same thing. I have run it until the warning light comes on and it takes about 5+ gallons. At least the warning guage is right. I usually fill up after 200 miles of riding.

 

[exavid]

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After a long haul across Nevada on highway 50 and discovering a gas station I was depending on had closed I managed to eke out 256 miles on my '93. It took 5.7 gallons to fill the tank so I had 0.6 gallons left in the tank. My average speed was about 70mph until the red light came on whereupon I cruised at 35-40mph to stretch the range a bit. The red warning light came on with almost exactly one gallon left in the tank on that bike.

 

[JackfromCT]

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I've run my tanks dry to see how many useable gallons are really in there because I don't trust the gas gauge at all. I carry an emergency .25 gallon container to get me to the next gas station.

My VTX1300 is really bad. It is supposed to hold 4.76 gallons but only has 4.2 useable volume due to the shape of the tank. That's a lot of unusable space. It translates into about 24 mile shortage at my average 43 mpg. That's a lot of miles considering I usually refill around 140-150 miles.

The 88 wing is much better. The advertised 6.3 gallon tank has 6.13 useable gallons based on my limited experience running it dry. That only translates to about 5.5 mile shortage with my average 33 mpg. I usually refill around 160-170 miles.