Was this a Fuel Indicator Reserve Notification?

[blacklightning]

This 2021 RTL is the first one of the 6 that I have owned with a "distance to empty" warning. And I will say that this gas gauge is the most inaccurate of them all. I have had my number of miles to go get below 25 and go to the 3 lines. After traveling another 8 miles or so, the bike only held 5.5 gallons. The other bikes were very accurate. When the low fuel light comes on, that was a given that the bike had 1 gallon left.

[Peter Aawen]

This 2021 RTL is the first one of the 6 that I have owned with a "distance to empty" warning. And I will say that this gas gauge is the most inaccurate of them all. I have had my number of miles to go get below 25 and go to the 3 lines. After traveling another 8 miles or so, the bike only held 5.5 gallons. The other bikes were very accurate. When the low fuel light comes on, that was a given that the bike had 1 gallon left.

Don't forget that the 'published capacity' of the gas tank also includes ALL the 'expansion room' in the tank that's purposefully designed into it so that even when you fill it right up, there's still a little air space that allows the gas to safely expand as it warms from its 'in a tank buried in the cool ground' temperature to its 'in a tank sitting in the ambient temp air if not direct sunlight' temperature!!

So even if you turn the bike upside down and completely drain the tank, you should NEVER actually be able to fill it to its stated capacity; and if you do, there's a very good chance that you'll very soon end up with gas spewing out of places you really don't want it spewing out of!!

And then there's the fact that these tanks and modern fuel systems are designed and intended to ALWAYS try to retain SOME gas in the tank to keep all those important bits that should remain immersed in sufficient gas to keep them cool & lubed working properly and not self-destructing cos you've run the gas remaining level too low...

Hence the 'Distance to Empty' not actually meaning that at '---' there's no gas left in the tank, it's just telling you that there's NO SAFELY USEABLE gas left in the tank, and from here '---' on in, you are very likely causing damage that's irreversible and cumulative to some fairly expensive and difficult to replace items - even if it is only 'microscopic damage', at least initially!! So once again,

Besides, because of the various odd shapes of the tanks over the years and the linear operation of the fuel gauges on EVERY MODEL of Spyder EVER, NONE of their fuel gauges have ever really qualified as being called 'accurate' by any stretch of the imagination - the senders simply cannot cater for those odd shapes in any meaningfully accurate way!

Just Sayin'

Ps: I'm pretty sure that the earlier 'Glovebox Manuals' had warnings in them about not running the gas level too much below 1/4, or something like that. There's similar warnings in pretty much EVERY manual I've ever seen for any modern Fuel Injected engined vehicle. However, I haven't actually checked on the latest Spyder/Ryker models manuals, but I'd be surprised if that warning is not still in there, it was an Internationally Agreed and mandated warning for quite some time, and I doubt that's changed!

[SpyderF3-s]

Like I tell my wife and daughters - E means Empty, not Enough!

[ulflyer]

Frank, same with my '22 RT. After 33 it dropped off to ---. This has occurred several times and after 6-8 miles its always around 5.7 to 5.9 max fill up.

I found the info interesting about keeping the pump that is in the bottom of the tank covered with gas in order not to overheat it. Guess I will try to fill up sooner.

[ff73148]

I posted my original question thinking that someone knew the answer to the mystery gas gauge. So I asked the question to the BRP customer service. The response was to contact one of the dealers listed in my area. Then BRP asked me if I was satisfied with their answer. You can all guess my response. A BRP customer service supervisor sent me an email with a case number and advised me to contact them if I had any additional questions. So I called BRP and the customer service agent told me that she could not answer any "technical questions". I asked to speak with a tech but only dealers can speak with the tech's. Frustrated I called my dealer and they had a good laugh. I'm waiting for my dealer to call me back. My quest for an answer continues.

[Peter Aawen]

I posted my original question thinking that someone knew the answer to the mystery gas gauge. So I asked the question to the BRP customer service. The response was to contact one of the dealers listed in my area. Then BRP asked me if I was satisfied with their answer. You can all guess my response. A BRP customer service supervisor sent me an email with a case number and advised me to contact them if I had any additional questions. So I called BRP and the customer service agent told me that she could not answer any "technical questions". I asked to speak with a tech but only dealers can speak with the tech's. Frustrated I called my dealer and they had a good laugh. I'm waiting for my dealer to call me back. My quest for an answer continues.

Makes you wonder why anyone ever bothers, doesn't it!

[Columbia]

BRP has proven to be worthless for any information I've requested. "Go to the dealer." I already had. Dealer said "Contact BRP."
BRP deserves an award for still being in business.

[blacklightning]

Don't forget that the 'published capacity' of the gas tank also includes ALL the 'expansion room' in the tank that's purposefully designed into it so that even when you fill it right up, there's still a little air space that allows the gas to safely expand as it warms from its 'in a tank buried in the cool ground' temperature to its 'in a tank sitting in the ambient temp air if not direct sunlight' temperature!!

So even if you turn the bike upside down and completely drain the tank, you should NEVER actually be able to fill it to its stated capacity; and if you do, there's a very good chance that you'll very soon end up with gas spewing out of places you really don't want it spewing out of!!

And then there's the fact that these tanks and modern fuel systems are designed and intended to ALWAYS try to retain SOME gas in the tank to keep all those important bits that should remain immersed in sufficient gas to keep them cool & lubed working properly and not self-destructing cos you've run the gas remaining level too low...

Hence the 'Distance to Empty' not actually meaning that at '---' there's no gas left in the tank, it's just telling you that there's NO SAFELY USEABLE gas left in the tank, and from here '---' on in, you are very likely causing damage that's irreversible and cumulative to some fairly expensive and difficult to replace items - even if it is only 'microscopic damage', at least initially!! So once again,

Besides, because of the various odd shapes of the tanks over the years and the linear operation of the fuel gauges on EVERY MODEL of Spyder EVER, NONE of their fuel gauges have ever really qualified as being called 'accurate' by any stretch of the imagination - the senders simply cannot cater for those odd shapes in any meaningfully accurate way!

Just Sayin'

Ps: I'm pretty sure that the earlier 'Glovebox Manuals' had warnings in them about not running the gas level too much below 1/4, or something like that. There's similar warnings in pretty much EVERY manual I've ever seen for any modern Fuel Injected engined vehicle. However, I haven't actually checked on the latest Spyder/Ryker models manuals, but I'd be surprised if that warning is not still in there, it was an Internationally Agreed and mandated warning for quite some time, and I doubt that's changed!

I understand what you are saying, and i know the bikes should not be run too low. But of the 6 spyders that I have owned, this gas gauge is definilty the most inaccurate. On all the other bikes, if they are run until the gas light comes on, they will hold right at 6 gallons (that is for the 2 F3T and the 1 F3L that I have owned with the 7 gallon tank.) The similar experiece was had with my 2014 RT. One gallon left when the light comes on. But this 2021 RTL is just different.

[Spyderpilot]

I have seen the 3 dashes before. And, when I do, I stop for fuel at the first opportunity and relatively soon after they appear. But, when I fill up, I have observed that the amount of fuel onboarded was 5.2-5.7 US gallons. At that rate and with the mileage I get, that would indicate at least 40 plus miles before the tank was dry.

Like one poster expounded, The fuel recirc does assist in cooling, and it makes perfect sense that less fuel available for cooling, is not a really wise way to operate the rig. Just like others here, My opinion. And we all know what they are worth!!!!.

Bottom line for me, I try not to let it get Too low. The “3 dashes” prompt me to take a fuel break.

SP

[Peter Aawen]

I understand what you are saying, and i know the bikes should not be run too low. But of the 6 spyders that I have owned, this gas gauge is definilty the most inaccurate. On all the other bikes, if they are run until the gas light comes on, they will hold right at 6 gallons (that is for the 2 F3T and the 1 F3L that I have owned with the 7 gallon tank.) The similar experiece was had with my 2014 RT. One gallon left when the light comes on. But this 2021 RTL is just different.

I reckon you were just EXTREMELY lucky with all of those earlier Spyders, and now you've got one that's not so good, even if it is STILL BETTER THAN MANY!!

There's quite a few threads about this already on the Forum, so I'd think most owners who'd looked at the earlier threads on the subject would be at least vaguely aware that ALL of these Can Am gas gauges aren't much chop - but do you realise how much they were IMPROVED with the advent of 2014's!!

If you want to ride a Spyder with a truly inaccurate gas gauge and an erratic Low Fuel Warning Light, take an early Spyder out for a long ride!! The THIRD & most accurate gas gauge and Low Fuel Warning Light on my 2013 RT (the previous 2 only replaced because of how inaccurate they were) still varies wildly and unpredictably from showing Empty &/or the Low Fuel Warning Light coming on maybe 20 kms after being completely filled; right thru to still showing almost Full &/or no Low Fuel Warning Light when I KNOW that it's going to be close to empty and it'll then take very close to its full 20 litres of usable capacity to fill....

I've said it here before, and I'll probably say it again, but for what it's worth - the Gas Gauges & Low Fuel Warning Lights on these things really AREN'T all that good, and you REALLY SHOULDN'T RELY on them! At best, they're a rough indicator of how much gas you MIGHT have remaining in the tank; so the smart operators out there don't rely on them AT ALL, but instead, work out their usual gas milage and use a Trip meter, resetting it after each fill so that they can know/work out how far they can go before they need to re-fill - just like we all did back before we had any gas gauges on motorcycles!

Just Sayin'

[blacklightning]

I agree Peter Aawen, the gas gauges on most of these things are not accurate, but I have been pretty lucky, up until this one (even my 2012 RSS was better than this one). But like you, I reset my trip meter at each fill up, unless I am going on a multi day trip and need it to keep track of the total milage (the other one is for oil change info). The one on my K1600B is the most accurate of any of the 18 or so bikes that I have owned over the past 17 years. But BMW has a the same tech in their bikes that they put in their cars, so I expected more.