Anyone else dealing with this sort of Gas Mileage?

[Benmannino]

Just got back from a 2200 mile trip with my 2020 RT. The RT supposedly has a 7 gallon tank. The most I ever put in was 5.1 gallons with the mileage reading less than 40 miles to go. So that leaves me with almost 2 gallons left? Around 40-50 miles per gallon so almost 100 miles. Anyone else deal with this?
Thanks
Ben

[Woodaddict]

yeah, common problem for new riders / owners. I think tank is 6.9 gal. But you can insert spout fully at first until a click off, then barely have nozzle in, and a bunch of mini squeezes until gas level comes up to vent slits. If you do this, then you can get 200 miles on a tank @ 73 mph. I can get 205 or so, but that is with gas gage down to E and when it hits E, have approx 25 more miles. My gage is a needle on 2015, so your 2020RT has just a bar graph, but similar results

[jfischer]

That sounds about right based on my experience as well. I typically didn't like to push beyond 210 miles on my 2017 and even then I think there was well over a gallon left. My new 2024 has an estimated Distance to Empty, I've seen it as high as 235 when filling up after a long highway stretch.

[Allen42]

Just got back from a 2200 mile trip with my 2020 RT. The RT supposedly has a 7 gallon tank. The most I ever put in was 5.1 gallons with the mileage reading less than 40 miles to go. So that leaves me with almost 2 gallons left? Around 40-50 miles per gallon so almost 100 miles. Anyone else deal with this?
Thanks
Ben

My 2019 RTL info screen will tell you the lifetime MPG, and since the last reset for Trip A and Trip B. I assume yours is the same. 40-50 is outstanding and a good bit better than I get.

[K80Shooter]

I try to fill mine right at the 200 mile mark.

[Peter Aawen]

Don't forget that with these modern 'fuel pump IN the tank' things where the remaining gas is used as both coolant and lubricant for the difficult &/or expensive to replace fuel pump and some of the very delicate components of your pretty expensive high pressure injection system, you REALLY NEED to avoid running the tank dry or even TOO EMPTY!

It's too early here for me to do the conversion, but the V-Twin Spyders have a 22 litre tank capacity, but no more than 20 litres of that is truly 'safely usable'; and while the 1330's have a 26 litre tank capacity, no more than 24 litres of that is truly 'safely usable'.

You might seemingly get away with running further/draining your gas lower than that once, or maybe even a few times; but the reality is that if you let the fuel level get too low in your tank, you ARE going to be damaging at least the pump, most likely at a microscopic level, and in a way that once damaged, it'll slowly/gradually make that damage worse over time, degrading the performance of your gas pump & fuel injection system and ultimately, likely causing its failure!!

So you really do need to work out how to fill your tank close to its capacity; work out your average fuel economy; calculate how far you can go at best on the quantity of gas you can put in without emptying or draining the tank too low; and then NEVER ride so far without refilling that you drop the level of gas remaining in your tank below the level that'll keep your gas pump & injector system properly cooled and lubricated as you ride!

[rjinaz86323]

This was really an issue when I rode Harleys, given how hot they run. But I always try to fill up when it says I still have 50-60 DTE. If Momma is with me she is ready for a break anyway.

[Lee0123]

I average 35 mpg (US gallons) on rolling terrain riding two up. 40 to 50 mpg is excellent.

[baxter]

2022 F3L 38 mpg on multi day trips overall using 87 octane.

[Snoking1127]

I average 35 mpg (US gallons) on rolling terrain riding two up. 40 to 50 mpg is excellent.

I like to go Vroom Vroom getting on the freeway and on take offs from stop lights, and I normally average 35MPG. True for both of them.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I always check my gas mileage ('14 RT with the same gas tank as yours) ..... the difference between having the nozzle fully inserted and letting it Auto-shutoff, and getting it to MAX full where the gas is at the LIP always measures 1.3 Gal..... For my RT that's a safe 50 miles of riding ... I avg. 39 MPG, consistently ..... The gas gauge is a SWAG, so don't rely on the info it gives ..... Figure out your gas mpg's (by using the standard formula) so you know approx. how far you can drive it Safely ..... It will take about 20 fill-ups to start understanding your gas avg. .... good luck ... Mike

[Mikey]

[Snoking1127]

I always check my gas mileage ('14 RT with the same gas tank as yours) ..... the difference between having the nozzle fully inserted and letting it Auto-shutoff, and getting it to MAX full where the gas is at the LIP always measures 1.3 Gal..... For my RT that's a safe 50 miles of riding ... I avg. 39 MPG, consistently ..... The gas gauge is a SWAG, so don't rely on the info it gives ..... Figure out your gas mpg's (by using the standard formula) so you know approx. how far you can drive it Safely ..... It will take about 20 fill-ups to start understanding your gas avg. .... good luck ... Mike

My riding buddy runs with his windshield down all the time and I run with mine all the way up. He also runs higher tire pressures. He does not attack on ramps the way I do. He always beats we by a couple MPG.

[blacklightning]

I am on my 6th spyder. On my 2014 RT SM6 I got around 40-42 mpg. On the 2016 F3T and 2016 F3L I get anywhere from 35-40 mpg. On my 2021 RTL I am getting only about 35-40 mpg. I consider all of them to be Ok, but the 2021 has the most inacurate gas gauge of them all.

[jfischer]

My 2017 RT typically got 35-40 MPG, depending on whether it was 1 or 2 up, and how fast I was riding. Haven't had the 2024 long enough yet to get a good read, but it seems to be in the 36-37 MPG range (the on-board MPG calculation is higher than hand calculations, just like most every car I've owned). It's 1-2 MPG high vs reality. Also my 2024 has only 350 miles, so the MPG may improve a bit once it's more broken in.

[JayBros]

At close to 87.5K miles I've averaged 37.2 mpg and it has ranged from 28.3 - 45+ depending on where and how fast I've been riding. I've found the biggest problem in consistently getting as much fuel as possible in the tank, just below the disk in the fill pipe, is the velocity of the fluid coming out of the pump nozzle. The higher the velocity the sooner the splash-back; ergo, the less I can get in the tank without douching the Tupperware and spilling fuel on the ground.

[jjc54]

Since I got my 2016 RTL in Sep 2020 I have recorded every drop of fuel purchased. My mpg for May-October (26,480 miles) is 38.34. For the other months (9,720 miles) is 36.43 mpg. The overall average is 37.81. The May-October has more long range trips but also more passenger rides. My low fuel light consistently comes on around 200 miles depending on how the prior fill-up was performed. I can easily pump .5 more gallons after pump shut-off. My mpg rolling ave is still climbing pretty significantly which I attribute to certain mods I have performed and learning the machine.

[ARtraveler]

I am another proponent for NOT running the tank to dry. I only ran the tank one time on my 2008 GS to see what it would do. At 185 miles I put 5.8 gallons in the tank. The gauge was below empty. That was 31.8 (32 mpg) on the old two cylinder engine.

On my 1330's I always got high 30's to low 40's (41 most times). Plenty of gas to go 200 miles on the tank without refueling. I would usually fill at about 150 anyway. I don't like no gas stations and the tank close to empty. At 150 miles on a continuous ride, I was more than ready to get off the machine and take a stretch.

It always worked out for me that way. I NEVER ran out of gas but came close on the Alaska Highway one time. See my story about "Destruction Bay." It is somewhere in the archives.

[2dogs]

I do exactly the same as BK911 with one exception. I fuel up at 150 miles, give or take a little. Like ARtraveler, I also learned a good lesson that I'll never forget. A nice rancher's wife helped me out and gave me gas from one of her tractors.

[jfischer]

I would usually fill at about 150 anyway. I don't like no gas stations and the tank close to empty. At 150 miles on a continuous ride, I was more than ready to get off the machine and take a stretch.

That was typically when I'd fill mine too, although I did stretch it to 200 a few times by necessity. 150 is a good stopping point, if not sooner

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I do exactly the same as BK911 with one exception. I fuel up at 150 miles, give or take a little. Like ARtraveler, I also learned a good lesson that I'll never forget. A nice rancher's wife helped me out and gave me gas from one of her tractors.

As long as they follow the EXACT SAME FILL-UP PROCEDURE EVRY TIME then the results will be the same, ie. the EXACT mileage for that fill-up will be known .... and that info is vital to know your avg. fuel MPG's .....Mike

[EdMat]

If you figure the true average over a few thousand miles. the slight variation in where you fill too will even out and not matter.

[ARtraveler]

As long as they follow the EXACT SAME FILL-UP PROCEDURE EVRY TIME then the results will be the same, ie. the EXACT mileage for that fill-up will be known .... and that info is vital to know your avg. fuel MPG's .....Mike

Another very good point. I always filled my tank to the same level each time. I would fill until it shut off automatically the first time. Pull the nozzle out of the tank, continue filling to the filler ring. Then, let it drain down for a second or two--refill to the filler ring one final time, and DONE.

There are so many things that affect mpg that keeping as many things the same as possible will help you to get a more accurate average mpg. I don't believe in decimal points to the 4th or 5th point. IMO, that is only fooling yourself. I always rounded to the nearest whole number.

[Snoking1127]

I barely stick the nozzle in the upper ring. Fill to the second time it spits at me.

[Allen42]

I do it in three stages:

1. Nozzle almost all the way in (all the way at Chevron, and it kicks off immediately) until clicks off;
2. Nozzle in about 2" until clicks off;
3. Nozzle out enough where I can see fuel level around tip and do micro clicks until I can see fuel about 1" from filler hole.

Then I tap tap tap tap the nozzle; turn it over so it faces upward; tap again to make sure it's not dripping; then carefully move it away from all paint.....

Not saying that's good or best, it's just what I do to get it as full as possible.