Fuel Guage

soggybottom_imp said:
I have owned many, many motorcycles and cannot remember any that had a gas gauge that worked even close to accurate. Cars and pickups aren't much better. I always used the trip-0-meter. But inaccurate speedo's really get my goat and I don't think I ever had an accurate speedo on a bike except for a BMW K75 and a few later model Harleys, most are 3% to 5% optimistic.
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They are all a little different. I ran a Chevy S10 plum out of gas at 3 am in the morning on I75 out in the middle of nowhere when the gauge showed I had 1/8 of a tank. That was fun. :rofl: Hard to go wrong keeping a sensible odometer reading.
 
When I was preparing my CB to be shipped to Hawaii by running all the gas out of it, the Guage said it had 22 miles of fuel left in it and the tank was dry, good thing it was already in my garage. Although I think the Guage gets smarter with time, I recently refilled the tank with a little over 3 gallons with a reading of 30 miles left in the tank, so I guess all things considered this guage is better than my no guage Triumph, but it pails in comparison to my very exact Sport Touring Triumph I used to have #deepregrets.
 
UPDATE: As of lately, I think my fuel guage has indeed gotten quite a bit more accurate. That's good news I think. I guess about 6 thousand miles will do it!
 
Streetshark07_imp said:
UPDATE: As of lately, I think my fuel guage has indeed gotten quite a bit more accurate. That's good news I think. I guess about 6 thousand miles will do it!
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my bmw r1150rt was the only one that was bang on when it flashed empty you had 30 miles to fill up
 
My CB1100 speedo is the most accurate one I have had on a bike. Reads 1 mph fast over numerous gps checks. Gas gauge, not so much. I also use the odometer every time I gas up.
 
My triumph thruxton had no gauge. Just a small light. The light was useless as it usually would only come on when you had "oh sh*t" miles left.
 
I just filled up with 2.864 gallons when my last fuel gauge segment started flashing. Supposedly, I still had about one gallon left in the tank. I got very close to 130 miles on that last tank, so my mileage calculation was 45.4 mpg. That is reasonably good fuel gauge accuracy, but like most of you, I ALWAYS reset my trip odometer at every fill up as a "backup" to the fuel gauge.

Btw, I also reset my other trip odometer every time I lubricate the chain to help me remember when that should be done again, which I typically do about every 250 miles.
 
dsinned_imp said:
I just filled up with 2.864 gallons when my last fuel gauge segment started flashing. Supposedly, I still had about one gallon left in the tank. I got very close to 130 miles on that last tank, so my mileage calculation was 45.4 mpg. That is reasonably good fuel gauge accuracy, but like most of you, I ALWAYS reset my trip odometer at every fill up as a "backup" to the fuel gauge.

Btw, I also reset my other trip odometer every time I lubricate the chain to help me remember when that should be done again, which I typically do about every 250 miles.
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I lube my chain every 300 miles or so!:celebrate::banana:
 
Same issue on my 1150RT BMW. My solution was to use in trip odometer. At 200 mile I would fill it up. With the CB1100 I use 100 miles.
 
Hey, you guys want to know how to get 79 mpg? Do what I do--forgot to reset the mileage on the "A" button trip meter. :-)
I was at 204 miles and still had a quarter tank gas left. My "miles left" light had not come on. Usually fill up around 140 miles whether the light is lit or not.
 
I reset the ODO at every fill up.. Because that is how I was taught to do it as a kid..

The gauge nice, but as most bikes I've had in my life didnt have one I mostly rely on the ODO..

However I don't reset the "B" Odometer as that gives me a better "over time" mileage estimate.

-Peter
 
You can't reset odo. You can only reset Trip A or Trip B, so I am assuming you are reseting Trip A at every fill up
 
144 miles on trip meter,guage showed 1/3 tank left,put 2.5 gallons in it,and had to dribble to get that much in, so I had 1.4 gallons left. That's seems about right to me,looks like 200 miles between gas stops is doable.
 
I was sent to the forum by the head of the service department at my Honda dealer. 3 month old CB1100RS (New to Canada this year) and fuel gauge seemed wonky from day 1. Sales rep thought he had filled it when I picked it up, but gauge was showing about 1/2 tank, so he went and topped it up. That first tank, I ignored the gauge until I filled it full knowing it was FULL. I realize fuel gauges aren't perfect...top 1/4 is always the "biggest". Engine is fully broken in and mileage is stable at 4.3 L/100km. This gives me just over 300km range on a full tank (180 miles as so many of you also get). Gauge shows 1/2 tank at 200. Drops fast approaching 250, and out of the 10 or so full fill-ups I have only had the gauge tell me remaining mileage 3 or 4 times when the last block starts to blink. I rode from 250-300 (50 km commute 1 way) with the "--" on the gauge. According to the manual, this occurs with 1 L remaining. The rare occasion it displays km remaining is around 60-80 left to go - plenty for my one way ride. As this is Apparently a common issue, I'm a little torn as to whether or not to pursue this with the dealer under warranty service...could be a bottomless rabbit hole. If the error is in the sending unit or the pod itself, neither is a quick and easy fix. I mean, under warranty, not my problem. I do fully rely on the trip meter and the analog slosh of the tank, but this is nuts.
 
johnny_longhair_imp said:
I was sent to the forum by the head of the service department at my Honda dealer. 3 month old CB1100RS (New to Canada this year) and fuel gauge seemed wonky from day 1. Sales rep thought he had filled it when I picked it up, but gauge was showing about 1/2 tank, so he went and topped it up. That first tank, I ignored the gauge until I filled it full knowing it was FULL. I realize fuel gauges aren't perfect...top 1/4 is always the "biggest". Engine is fully broken in and mileage is stable at 4.3 L/100km. This gives me just over 300km range on a full tank (180 miles as so many of you also get). Gauge shows 1/2 tank at 200. Drops fast approaching 250, and out of the 10 or so full fill-ups I have only had the gauge tell me remaining mileage 3 or 4 times when the last block starts to blink. I rode from 250-300 (50 km commute 1 way) with the "--" on the gauge. According to the manual, this occurs with 1 L remaining. The rare occasion it displays km remaining is around 60-80 left to go - plenty for my one way ride. As this is Apparently a common issue, I'm a little torn as to whether or not to pursue this with the dealer under warranty service...could be a bottomless rabbit hole. If the error is in the sending unit or the pod itself, neither is a quick and easy fix. I mean, under warranty, not my problem. I do fully rely on the trip meter and the analog slosh of the tank, but this is nuts.
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This is a joke....Honda Dealer sent its client to The Forum...
So gas tank is full and meter only shows 1/2 full, every time you fill up...and how many km must be driven until meter starts dropping down from 1/2 tank....and this is happening since new until now (for 3 months)???
 
Jhonny that is an interesting one, the tank shape has changed and may play a part in how the float has room to move freely inside the ( left hand side of the ) tank.
i would suggest when you fill up to put the bike on the centerstand and slowly fill the tank until the top segment indicates it is full, see if you can see the level in the tank and remember how much fuel it takes to fill up, you need to know these things for the future so write them down.

It would really help if someone could tell his own experience with this new tank, you are the first to mention it as far as i now.

here is a pic of the complete unit;



It's a bit of an operation with some risk that something may be put back the wrong way, i would want to be confident in what the repair would be before just handing an otherwise fine bike to the apprentice, anybody?
 
Generally, yes,... it also might be mechanically stuck (interference) from 1/2 to full tank, while working OK from 1/2 to empty.
If I remember correctly, fuel pump ass-y unit has a 4 pin square black connector.
How about 1/2 - 3/4 fill and shaking CB sideways , and then top it up, as a very simple test, without electrical knowledge. I do not think meter will show changes while shaking.
So try it if you want, does not cost anything.

:beerchug:
 
peterbaron_imp said:
Generally, yes,... it also might be mechanically stuck (interference) from 1/2 to full tank, while working OK from 1/2 to empty.
If I remember correctly, fuel pump ass-y unit has a 4 pin square black connector.
How about 1/2 - 3/4 fill and shaking CB sideways , and then top it up, as a very simple test, without electrical knowledge. I do not think meter will show changes while shaking.
So try it if you want, does not cost anything.

:beerchug:
Click to expand...
I think the signal is buffered and needs time to change.

My 2014 standard is very consistent:
Each segment is about 0.6 gallon, until the last segment.

I did not follow Johnny's "issue". Did it still read "1/2" (3 segments) after completely full?
If so, float rod is likely obstructed or damaged, especially if something thrust into its path.

The dealer can probe the voltage output.
 
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