Trouble filling the tank and poor gage

[Indiana Ken]

I have a 2012 RT. Is it just me, but when I'm filling the tank, i'm real careful about spillage, but the back flow on every gas pump I have used, only lets me dribble the gas into the tank.

Is the tank filler pipe bent so it back-flows quickly?

Also, I thought the tank holds 5 - 5 1/2 gals. At Empty on the gage, I can only dribble in about 3-4 gals. I know there is a reserve, But on a 5 gal tank, 2 gal of reserve sound like a lot.

I don't trust the gage, so I track my miles between fill up.

Just seems the typical BRP stuff - Expensive bike does not mean quality features.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

No the design of the tank is NO NECK ---direct fill --- and there has to be an AIR pocket for pressure relief .......However BRP adds this amount to the FULL TANK measurement , even tho you can't get it in............and the GAS Gauge is an ESTIMATE ....................Mike

[Bob Denman]

In 2014; they improved the accuracy of the gauges. It's actually now the most accurate fuel gauge that I've ever had in any vehicle that I've ever owned.
As far as filling the tank: slow and easy does it!

[JerryB]

Hi Indiana Ken,

Re: Is it just me, but when I'm filling the tank, i'm real careful about spillage, but the back flow on every gas pump I have used, only lets me dribble the gas into the tank.

Based upon my limited experience, it is probably the nozzle on the gas pump. Where I live, some of the rural gas station pumps do not have the auto-set so that I can just click and wait for it to shut off. And some of them only allow the gas to go in rather fast; on those I have to be very careful when gassing up.

My local station works just great. I stick the nozzle in, set the auto-fill to the max setting and wait until it shuts off. As I say, that is not always the case out in the boonies.

Jerry Baumchen

[IdahoMtnSpyder]

I have a 2012 RT. Is it just me, but when I'm filling the tank, i'm real careful about spillage, but the back flow on every gas pump I have used, only lets me dribble the gas into the tank.

Is the tank filler pipe bent so it back-flows quickly?

Also, I thought the tank holds 5 - 5 1/2 gals. At Empty on the gage, I can only dribble in about 3-4 gals. I know there is a reserve, But on a 5 gal tank, 2 gal of reserve sound like a lot.

I don't trust the gage, so I track my miles between fill up.

Just seems the typical BRP stuff - Expensive bike does not mean quality features.

On my 2013 RT I figured there was the equivalent of two bars above what you see, and two bars below. I did one time put in 6.4 gals. I had gone 20 miles or more after all bars disappeared and got the gas all the way up to the filler to just about running out.

The design of the tanks causes air and gas to spit back quite readily when you have it almost full.

[SpyderAnn01]

Ken, if you have an RTS or Limited with the analog gauges you can disconnect the fuel and temperature gauge and you will get the stacked bar graph in the main screen instead. The stacked bar seems to give a better reading than the analog gauges and you can use the space where the analogs were for something else like USB ports and voltmeters. It is easy to disconnect, just remove the 4 bolts around the dash and then disconnect the plugs on each gauge. You have to disconnect both the fuel and temperature - it doesn't work if you only disconnect one of them.

[Upstater]

Ken... I was just going to say exactly what SpyderAnn suggested. I too have a 2012 RT Ltd. Since using the digital readout, I have had better success and accuracy. When filling up I let the pump shut-off automatically. Then I look close and "squeeze" in a just a little more. As Mike said above, there needs to be a decent air pocket so don't "overfill" the tank. If you get into that habit the evap. canister will eventually give you trouble.

With the digital gauge in use I usually fill up at 2-3 bars above empty. If I'm in an area with limited gas availability then I'll stop at the half tank level. The overall distance these machines get is kind of miserable. Once I learned how to manage it appropriately I don't really notice it anymore. The Garmin 660 that came with the Spyder allows me to enter a mile warning level for gas. When I hit the mileage limit, a gas pump appears on the map screen to let me know to start looking for gas.

-Rick

[Indiana Ken]

As always - the fellow spyder owners come to the rescue with good information.

1 more question. O have a 2012 RT SE5 - if I disconnect the gages, will my screen show the digital gas gage mentioned.?

[SpyderAnn01]

As always - the fellow spyder owners come to the rescue with good information.

1 more question. O have a 2012 RT SE5 - if I disconnect the gages, will my screen show the digital gas gage mentioned.?

Yes, it works on all of the RT model years. I had resisted disconnecting the analogs on my 2010 RTS since I had paid more for them, the base model RT does not have the analogs - just the digital, but after replacing the analog 3 times due to a bouncing gauge I finally gave in. Like someone else said, the gauge on the 2014 is really accurate so I have not disconnected mine - yet. I'm really thinking that a USB on the dash would be nice......

[Upstater]

Ken, as was mentioned earlier, BOTH gauges need to be disconnected for the digital to work. Here is what I did with the empty holes after I removed the analogs. The "blank covers" can be ordered from any dealer. I got mine from iMortorSports (site sponsor) for less than $10/ea, shipping free.

[Glasair310]

We use a McCuff adapter when filling up. Gives me almost another gallon of gas, and a 200 mile range.

You can find them online search, about 15 bucks.

[Indiana Ken]

What else beside the USB ports are people installing instead of engine temp and gas? If I didconnect them both, does the engine temp also show up on the digital?

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

What else beside the USB ports are people installing instead of engine temp and gas? If I didconnect them both, does the engine temp also show up on the digital?

I put in two 12 volt receptacles........first I got two small metal LIDS from two small glass jars, put the receptacles in the lids and just wired them onto the battery ( they had their own fuses )........Mike

[fratzba]

What else beside the USB ports are people installing instead of engine temp and gas? If I didconnect them both, does the engine temp also show up on the digital?

Yes, it does. The fuel level is on the right side of the digital display, and the engine temp is on the left.

-Fratz

[Buckeye Bleau]

Yes, it does. The fuel level is on the right side of the digital display, and the engine temp is on the left.

-Fratz

You people are amazing, I have never even noticed this information on the display before.

[Upstater]

You people are amazing, I have never even noticed this information on the display before.

The digital display only becomes visible after disconnecting the gauges.

[Indiana Ken]

Thanks to the helpful folks on Spyderlovers, I pulled the dash and unplugged the gages and presto! digital gas and temp readings.
Why a expensive bike like the Spyder doesn't use this as the original gages - who knows.

Probably the easiest thing to do on the bike, and most useful change. The OEM gages are terrible.

Thanks again to all.

Safe Riding.