Author Topic: Fuel Tank & Fill up Time (Read 6696 times)

Bulletman · **on:** August 23, 2012, 01:08:53 am

I have noticed that every time The my C5's fuel indicator lights up, I end up putting in approx 2.2 to 2.4 US Gallons to fill it up. Is that common? I understand the Gas tank to be a 3.8 Gallon Tank ( I do know that there is fuel remaining in the tank) but do I have to fill it up when the indicator lights up? or do I have a window of ? miles available, can I change this internal fuel gauge to light up when there is maybe 1 or 1/2 gallon remaining? ( just wanted to know what my options were). I don't want ruin the fuel pump because it was choking for want of fuel.
This is a C5 2011 with 1100 Miles on it and I am averaging 70 Miles per gallon.

Cheers

bluesdaddy2 · **Reply #1 on:** August 23, 2012, 01:35:25 am

According to the manual I received, on p 49 it states "The low fuel indicator will glow continuously if the fuel level in the tank is below 3.5 liters." (.92 gals (US))

re:RE · **Reply #2 on:** August 23, 2012, 01:48:41 am

I've run mine down to "minor" blinking a few times now. Most recently I went another 50+ miles after it first lit up. Which meant it was on pretty much solid at that point.

I had to put 2.7 gallons in at the fill up. So I figure I had about .5 gallons left in the tank. Manual says 3.2 total gallons.

Anyway, I keep a spreadsheet of my milage and figured I had between 5 (conservative) - 50 (optimistic) miles left before I had to start pushing :-) Right now, my comfort zone is between 150 and 200 miles in between fill-ups. I expect to hone that as I continue to track my MPG.

bluesdaddy2 · **Reply #3 on:** August 23, 2012, 02:21:40 am

Quote from: re:RE on August 23, 2012, 01:48:41 am

I had to put 2.7 gallons in at the fill up. So I figure I had about .5 gallons left in the tank. Manual says 3.2 total gallons.

So now I'm a little perplexed. re:RE says the manual says 3.2 gals total. My manual says 14.5 +/- 1 Litres (3.83 +/- 0.26 gals). Are there different size tanks out there?

re:RE · **Reply #4 on:** August 23, 2012, 02:37:42 am

Hmm... I could be wrong... copied directly from the PDF version of the manual (red are my edits):

Fuel tank capacity .................................... 13.5 Litres (MIN) or 3.57 GALS
Low fuel warning ....................................... 2.5 Litres or .66 GALS
Dead stock of petrol (unusable fuel) ....... 0.75 Litres or .19 GALS

So problems I see are
1) Fuel tank capacity has MIN after it... so maybe they do vary a bit from bike to bike
2) Low fuel warning doesn't say if that is first blink, steady light on, or somewhere in-between
3) "Dead stock" doesn't indicate if it is that PLUS the listed total capacity above or if that is already figured in the total but can never be accessed.

bluesdaddy2 · **Reply #5 on:** August 23, 2012, 02:48:26 am

So it looks like we're on the same page (not literally

. The 13.5 min is the same as my 14.5 +/- 1. Not sure about the other figures but probably different ways of saying the same thing.

Arizoni · **Reply #6 on:** August 23, 2012, 04:41:24 am

Interesting.

My California G5 Owners manual says the "Fuel tank capacity........14.5 +/- 1 Litres" (sic)

My UCE Service Manual says "14.5 +/- 1 litres (sic), Reserve 2.75 litres.

14.5 liters are 3.335 US gallons and 2.75 liters are .6325 US gallons.

Subtracting 2.75 from 14.5 I get 11.75 liters or 2.702 US gallons before the "reserve" is reached?

In any case, because these fuel injected bikes have their fuel pump inside the fuel tank and the fuel is the coolant for the pump it is strongly recommended that the rider should keep the fuel level above the reserve.

IMO, if the fuel level light comes on the rider should start looking for a filling station.

bluesdaddy2 · **Reply #7 on:** August 23, 2012, 11:28:24 am

Quote from: Arizoni on August 23, 2012, 04:41:24 am

Interesting.

My California G5 Owners manual says the "Fuel tank capacity........14.5 +/- 1 Litres" (sic)

My UCE Service Manual says "14.5 +/- 1 litres (sic), Reserve 2.75 litres.

14.5 liters are 3.335 US gallons and 2.75 liters are .6325 US gallons.

I think your converstion is to US Dry Galllons. The conversion to US Wet Gallons is :

14.5 liters are 3.8305 US Wet gallons and 2.75 liters are .7265 US Wet gallons.

2bikebill · **Reply #8 on:** August 23, 2012, 12:56:17 pm

The fuel light isn't any kind of accurate indicator of the amount of fuel in the tank, it's just to let you know it's getting low. It'll start flickering way ahead of critical level, when cornering or braking hard, for instance. When it gets more persistent during normal riding - put some petrol in!
I for one am glad it's there.

motorat · **Reply #9 on:** August 23, 2012, 03:39:13 pm

i usually stop for gas about every 140-160 miles, fuel light or no fuel light.
like Arizoni said the fuel cools the fuel pump.

ALERT THREAD STEALING!!!
btw: did the arizona floods affect you.

barenekd · **Reply #10 on:** August 23, 2012, 06:57:49 pm

Quote

I have noticed that every time The my C5's fuel indicator lights up, I end up putting in approx 2.2 to 2.4 US Gallons to fill it up. Is that common?

If you are putting in 2.2 to 2.4 Gallons every time you fill up you are filling it sitting on the side stand. You need to put it on the center stand to fill it completely. My tank runs out of gas at about 3.4 Gallons. Don't ask me how I know. When my light was working, it would start blinking with about 1/2 Gallon left. The actual capacity would be slightly more, four or five tenths, but some of that is taken up by the full pump and light switch and there is always some unusable fuel in the bottom of the tank.
Since my light isn't working I usually fuel up at around 200-220 miles max. Don't try to go that far if you fuel the bike on the side stand, it'll be about a half gallon or so less!
Bare

idk · **Reply #11 on:** August 24, 2012, 02:11:56 am

I put 3.48 gallons (US) in mine the other day. Much further and I would have been walking. The fuel light had only just come on permanently. I will fill up when it starts flicking when braking.

Bulletman · **Reply #12 on:** August 24, 2012, 04:12:34 am

Quote from: idk on August 24, 2012, 02:11:56 am

I put 3.48 gallons (US) in mine the other day. Much further and I would have been walking. The fuel light had only just come on permanently. I will fill up when it starts flicking when braking.

What Model bike do you ride?

Brad-C5 · **Reply #13 on:** August 25, 2012, 03:25:04 am

deleted - responded to wrong thread...

idk · **Reply #14 on:** August 26, 2012, 01:21:47 am

G5 Military

barenekd · **Reply #15 on:** August 26, 2012, 01:46:27 am

Quote

I put 3.48 gallons (US) in mine the other day.

That's where that plus/minus 1 liter comes in. Mine holds 3.40, usable.
Bare

mbevo1 · **Reply #16 on:** August 27, 2012, 06:20:10 pm

When it worked... my light would start to flicker on braking at 150 miles. Only ran it down far enough to have it stay on all the time about twice - at about 180 miles. Since the light has been on for about the last 3,000 miles... I use the same method as on my Classic. I write the mileage when I fill up on the steering head with china marker. At 180 or so I fill it up. I get 60-63 mpg, so 3 gallons is good!

Mike and Sherman and Stumpy in Michigan

Ducati Scotty · **Reply #17 on:** August 27, 2012, 07:27:58 pm

On a long trip mine started to flicker just after I passed a gas station. I looked at the map and there was another not too far ahead. When I got there it was a ghost town, station had been closed for some time. I could either head back to the last station or just a little farther away in the direction I was heading to the next big town. I pressed on and ran out of gas on an uphill a few miles from my goal. I had to wait about an hour for AAA to bring me some gas.

No drama really but now I just fill up when it starts to flicker. That may be earlier than I need to but getting stuck sucks and wastes my time.

Scott

Bulletman · **Reply #18 on:** August 27, 2012, 08:25:06 pm

Quote from: barenekd on August 26, 2012, 01:46:27 am

That's where that plus/minus 1 liter comes in. Mine holds 3.40, usable.
Bare

Thanks Bare,
I think that at this point I know the worst case fill up time would be at approx 3.2 to 3.4 gallons. I also like that the other alternative to this is filling up when you've done 140 to 160 miles as it seems the fuel is used as a coolant for the fuel pump.
Cheers

Arizoni · **Reply #19 on:** August 27, 2012, 11:32:27 pm

When I'm riding in town I aim at 150 miles between fillups.
If I'm on the road, about any town that has a filling station after I've passed 100 miles gets some business.

That's about 1 1/2 hours of riding and my butt needs a break by then too so it kills two birds with one stone.

Ducati Scotty · **Reply #20 on:** August 27, 2012, 11:34:05 pm

No wonder your butt hurts! You're riding around with all those birds and stones in your back pocket!

indyogb · **Reply #21 on:** August 28, 2012, 04:55:58 am

I also fill my B5 up when the light starts to flicker during braking/deceleration. It's usually between 150-200 miles and takes 2-2.5 gallons or so. Most I've ever put in at a fill up was 3 gallons, and the light had been on steady for a good 10-15 miles which was enough to make me nervous.