2020 RT gas gauge and miles left on tank accuracy?

[joevitelli]

I have had my spyder for about 3 months. I have 1600 miles on it and I've noticed that when the gas gage is near empty, and the miles left show like 30 or so, it only takes about 4.8 gallons to fill the tank. I know the tank is full because I can see the gas in the refill hole. At a full tank, the miles left show abourt 210.

Today, I rode longer on the tank. The gage showed empty, and the miles left were showed three dashes. I filled the tank and it finally took 5.8 gallons. So I still should have had 1 gallon in the tank. When I started the bike, the miles left showed 250. I've never seen it that high. Has anyone else seen this kind of thing?

I should also say, I had 186 miles on the tank when I filled it up. I'm used to going over 200 miles to a tank with my Harley. Just seems like filling the tank every 160 miles is going to be a pain on a trip.

[Peter Aawen]

Just about all Spyder gas gauges & miles to empty/low fuel warnings work this way, altho some are worse than others & some are way more inaccurate than others.... Still, most of the gauges & fuel warnings on most modern vehicles do exactly the same (there's usually a warning in their glove box/user manuals) altho admittedly, for most that's often to a slightly lesser extent, but BRP is renowned for their dodgy gas gauges!!

Anyhow, this applies to just about ALL modern vehicles simply because you REALLY don't want to run the tank dry or even too low on fuel, as doing so risks damaging if not destroying the fuel pump &/or injection system!! That is because the fuel pump and the entire injector system on modern EFI or CRI engines rely on fresh cool gas for all the cooling and lubrication of their essential & moving/rotating parts - and that's only possible if you have about a gallon or so of gas left circulating the system & cooling once it gets back into the tank where there's still enough un-used gas left to act as a heat sink!

So, even just running the tank down until there's not enough fuel in there for it to properly cool the pump &/or injector system WILL cause microscopic damage every time the amount of gas left can no longer cool/lubricate things properly, such that minute particles of any surfaces that get close to each other can develop hot spots & eventually those microscopic lumps can be ripped off one side & welded onto the other, creating a high spot on that component that from there on in will damage everything it gets pushed up against, even if the gas tank is full.... and that damage is cumulative, progressive, & irreversible.

BTW, the 'stated volume' of your tank also includes ALL the expansion space & the deliberately left 'air gap' above the filler level, so while you might THINK you had as much as a gallon of gas left, there's a very good chance you had somewhat less left in there, possibly even not enough to have initiated that damage mentioned above! Still'n all, I'd guess that you could safely travel 200 miles on a tank (can/will anyone else confirm advise??) but once you get that far, you'd wanna be pretty sure you're able to refill fairly soon, cos anything much more than that 200 miles could be at the risk of an expensive failure! Or maybe you've already started heading down that track by running the tank so low....

Good Luck!

[ARtraveler]

Consider those "miles left to go" numbers as a mere suggestion.

Recommended is to take your A or B gauge and set it to zero each time you fill the tank. The miles you have gone is a more important number than the miles left to go one.

When you are ready to refill, take total miles driven and divide by the number of gallons used. EG: Gone 160 miles. You put in 4.8 gallons. That's 33.33 mpg. I would call that 33 mpg. Close enough. A 7 gallon tank should give you 233 miles at that rate. I don't go into 5 decimal places either. That is way overkill IMO.

Important is to fill to the same level each time. I run the gas in until the auto shutoff. THEN, carefully pull the nozzel out of the hole and carefully fill to the O ring. It will go down a bit when you stop the gas. Do it one more time and your done.

There are many other factors that affect mileage. Temps, wind, how much twist of the wrist, etc. This is not a perfect thing....but at least it will give you a ballpark of how far you will go if you have to. I usually re-fill between 1/2 and 1/4 of the tank. I would rather have too much, than not enough. Besides, after 100 miles or so, its time for a rest anyway.

The 7 gallon tanks will take most people 250 miles. I rarely wait until the refuel light comes on. My method of filling will result in miles to go of around 270.

I note this is your first post, so

[Bfromla]

& unless your attempting Iron Butt achievement enjoy the RYDE safely, take brakes, stretch regularly (not necessarily contorted yoga positions, but stretch/ walk/ adjust OFF the saddle) can lead to some interesting finds depending on choices. Truck stops may not be for everyone, but they do offer something for almost everyone. & Larger buildings to wander around in/around. Heck just reading the various bumper stickers out in parking lot

[joevitelli]

Thanks for the info. I've been riding Harley's for a long time. I never had or noticed this issue with them. I get nervous when the tank is at 1/4 normally. I have gotten a little lazy since gas gages were put on bikes. I always reset the trip counter, that's a habit I probably will never get rid of. When I fill the tank I always fill it until I can see gas near the top of the tank. That's an old habit also. I'm getting 33-35 mpg pretty consistently now. It may go up as the engine gets more miles on it. I ride with two friends with BMW's and they can go for ever on a tank. I'm comfortable with 180 to 190 miles on a tank with a stretch to 200 when needed. Thanks for the info. BTW, I'm loving the Spyder especially now I'm adjusting to it.

[MONK]

I typically start looking for a gas station when I get between 1/2 and 1/4 tank. If I'm familiar with the roads and where the next gas station is, I might wait a bit longer. If I'm unfamiliar with the roads/gas stations, I look for one sooner. Depending on wind, speed and what ARtraverler called the "twist of the wrist" (I like that), I can usually get 100 miles or so before the gauge reads 1/2. By that time, I need to get off the bike and walk around a bit anyway.

[ARtraveler]

Thanks for the info. I've been riding Harley's for a long time. I never had or noticed this issue with them. I get nervous when the tank is at 1/4 normally. I have gotten a little lazy since gas gages were put on bikes. I always reset the trip counter, that's a habit I probably will never get rid of. When I fill the tank I always fill it until I can see gas near the top of the tank. That's an old habit also. I'm getting 33-35 mpg pretty consistently now. It may go up as the engine gets more miles on it. I ride with two friends with BMW's and they can go for ever on a tank. I'm comfortable with 180 to 190 miles on a tank with a stretch to 200 when needed. Thanks for the info. BTW, I'm loving the Spyder especially now I'm adjusting to it.

Ballpark mileage for RT's is high 30's. 38/39 were pretty much our norm. Our F3's give us low 40's consistantly. 41/42. We drive conservatively, and cruising the country roads at 40-45 is a lot of our driving. On regular roads, we drive the posted limit plus 5. That gets us safely past the speed monitors. We did one yesterday at 49 in a 45 and he did not say boo.

[ARtraveler]

I typically start looking for a gas station when I get between 1/2 and 1/4 tank. If I'm familiar with the roads and where the next gas station is, I might wait a bit longer. If I'm unfamiliar with the roads/gas stations, I look for one sooner. Depending on wind, speed and what ARtraverler called the "twist of the wrist" (I like that), I can usually get 100 miles or so before the gauge reads 1/2. By that time, I need to get off the bike and walk around a bit anyway.

Our "normal" daily rides are 100. We fill every other day. At 200 miles its down to the 1/4 or slightly less.

I have not had a refill light go on for me yet on the F3's. At 200 + miles on a tank, I am happy. We used to be happy on the 998 RT's if we could get 180 miles on a tank. So, this is a big plus for us.

I have not beta tested the F3's, but am guessing 250 is doable on most. Am also guessing the refill light will be on around there.

[MONK]

Our "normal" daily rides are 100. We fill every other day. At 200 miles its down to the 1/4 or slightly less.

My "normal" rides in winter are about that. I tend to top off the tank at the end of each ride just in case I can get a quick ride in sometime. Once I get on the bike, I don't want to have to stop right away to gas up. Spring/summer/fall, my rides tend to be much longer (usually an entire day). It's still nice to start out w/a full tank.

[ARtraveler]

My "normal" rides in winter are about that. I tend to top off the tank at the end of each ride just in case I can get a quick ride in sometime. Once I get on the bike, I don't want to have to stop right away to gas up. Spring/summer/fall, my rides tend to be much longer (usually an entire day). It's still nice to start out w/a full tank.

Likewise with summer rides. All day and at least a full tank.

[Snoking1127]

Consider those "miles left to go" numbers as a mere suggestion.

Recommended is to take your A or B gauge and set it to zero each time you fill the tank. The miles you have gone is a more important number than the miles left to go one.

When you are ready to refill, take total miles driven and divide by the number of gallons used. EG: Gone 160 miles. You put in 4.8 gallons. That's 33.33 mpg. I would call that 33 mpg. Close enough. A 7 gallon tank should give you 233 miles at that rate. I don't go into 5 decimal places either. That is way overkill IMO.

Important is to fill to the same level each time. I run the gas in until the auto shutoff. THEN, carefully pull the nozzel out of the hole and carefully fill to the O ring. It will go down a bit when you stop the gas. Do it one more time and your done.

There are many other factors that affect mileage. Temps, wind, how much twist of the wrist, etc. This is not a perfect thing....but at least it will give you a ballpark of how far you will go if you have to. I usually re-fill between 1/2 and 1/4 of the tank. I would rather have too much, than not enough. Besides, after 100 miles or so, its time for a rest anyway.

The 7 gallon tanks will take most people 250 miles. I rarely wait until the refuel light comes on. My method of filling will result in miles to go of around 258.

I note this is your first post, so

I reset trip A every time I fuel up and have it selected so it shows on the lower leftish of the 2018 display and miles to go shows up in large number in the center of the left display with the software upgrade. Between the two I have a pretty good idea that 200 miles per tank if safe. I get 34-36 MPG pretty consistently.

[K80Shooter]

Ballpark mileage for RT's is high 30's. 38/39 were pretty much our norm.

I'm not seeing that on my 2020 RT-L but it might be because it's still new and not broken in. I also have not been on any long trips either, mostly just around town or short 40 mile trips.

[Snoking1127]

I like Zoom Zoom!!!

[MONK]

I'm not seeing that on my 2020 RT-L but it might be because it's still new and not broken in. I also have not been on any long trips either, mostly just around town or short 40 mile trips.

I don't know how many miles you currently have but gas mileage gets a bit better after 2000-3000 miles. Longer trips will generally get better mileage as there aren't as many starts/stops.

I like Zoom Zoom!!!

That's the other reason why gas mileage is worse. I never really pay much attention to my gas mileage because I tend to ride fairly aggressively.

[ButterSmooth]

I swapped the catalytic converter to a RLS muffler and my mileage dropped from 38 to 37 mpg. The RT's range is still longer than I can sit. My notes show the only time my low fuel light came on was at 30 miles remaining. So, my range to low fuel warning is ~185 miles, which agrees with the commonly reported 5.8 useable capacity for the tank. Using the 5.8 number all of my indicators seem accurate enough. 215 miles is where the trouble begins.

[ARtraveler]

I like Zoom Zoom!!!

Yup! Zoom, zoom will take care of that higher mileage....BUT....the fun factor increase proportionally for some.

[MONK]

Yup! Zoom, zoom will take care of that higher mileage....BUT....the fun factor increase proportionally for some.

Damn skippy. If I wanted a slow vehicle, I would have bought a VW Bug (original). (I had a '75 Super back in the day. I could do 0-60 in under 6 seconds. That's 0-60 FEET.)