Fuel range

It would seem that I only got about 210-220km out of a tank yesterday (from full, to 1 fuel bar showing fuel pump symbol flashing), is this typical? Im 93kg 5'11" and travel mostly at 3500-4000rpm in top gear with the odd 90% throttle and down a gear passes thrown in, but only for a few seconds at a time though. One must be diligent in speedo watching to keep a licence in central Queensland. (cops can fully hide their shit in the long grass, at the bottom of hills, where ever they want to up here with NO SIGNAGE) 

That's about all I get till, the first warning.
When that warning come on you can keep going much further though.

Thanks mate, that's reasuring, Ill just treat it like a long range reserve when it starts flashing the fuel pump symbol then. how much further do you get before the last fuel bar disappears but?

jeeringjason72 wrote:Thanks mate, that's reasuring, Ill just treat it like a long range reserve when it starts flashing the fuel pump symbol then. how much further do you get before the last fuel bar disappears but?

Not tempted to test it fully but I've had 280-290 on the clock which is 7% short of actual because of the speedohealer

Yeah, mine usually starts flashing at between 210 and 230 kms, sometimes I'll get to around 250 kms if I've stayed strictly to the speed limits. The next warning come with only a litre left so you want to be within about 15kms of a servo when that happens. The flashing light gets annoying so it encourages you to refuel, although you easily get past 300kms on the tank. From memory, it starts its annoying flashing with still 5.5litres left in the tank (it's in the user manual but I can't be bothered looking).

I had my last bar go clear and flashing at about 300km ( weekend cruising and a few mountain passes etc) then went another 25-30km to get to the servo.
I fuelled up and got in about 18 litres or so.
It was only about 1 month old with the original exhaust on and have all the original sprockets front and rear.
I regularly get to 300km and can only fit in about 14-15 litres roughly.
My regular riding is giving it a bit on mountain passes but sitting around 105km/h on the freeway/open road stuff.

The Shell Optimax runs well in it and gets a bit more mileage in my opinion.

I've done a bit over 300 2 up with panniers, top box and tank bag full, normally when it gets to the last bar there is still over 4L left

I normally get around 300 but once due to unforeseen circumstances i got 380

I hated this fuel guage from the start and have not changed my mind .I DO NOT need a flashing thing with 100 kls left in the tank .
Give me a reserve tap with 40 kls in it anyday .

gus wrote:I hated this fuel guage from the start and have not changed my mind .I DO NOT need a flashing thing with 100 kls left in the tank .
Give me a reserve tap with 40 kls in it anyday .

+1

I get around 19 KM P/ ltr around town & 20 to 22 on a trip .....................times by 19 ltrs  = 350 -360 around town , or up to around 400 on a trip . spirited riding stuffs this theory up completely . I use my trip meter as an indication ......................like Gus said  ,a 100 Km to empty indicator  is stupid .....................having said that , I don't usually run the tank to near empty anyway & top up well before empty .

I would have to agree with max on that one, but I think I can ignore it somewhat for at least 55-65km after the first flash, weird not having a tap and reserve portion in the tank as this physical motion was good reminder and a skill needed to be learnt so as not to look like a twit when you run dry waiting at the lights and have to get off to find the tap!  In my experience! After that u had master switching the fuel tap whilst on the move. If you had more than 1 bike u had to remember Witch direction to turn untill it became automatic  u always felt pretty cool if someone was looking as you rode past spluttering only to correct the problem with a dexterous use of the left hand..... Ohh left myself open there didn't i 

The only time I look at the fuel gauge is at fill-up to see all the bars, and confirm the gauge thinks the tank is full!

I set Trip Meter 'A' at fill-up and know I can get 300km (did 320 once) so I plan my fuel stops accordingly. Yes a reserve tap would be great.

I am okay with the 300km range though. It's not as good as 400, but that's the Bandit, and I can go with it.

To be honest I haven't taken time to calibrate/work-out the crazy little bars, flashing and other, on the fuel gauge. It could be okay if I understood it.

I guess the big question is whether it is consistent and reliable in flashing and losing bars at the same tank volume point (if you know what I mean). If it is, it is probably worth getting to know it.

Have bandits found the gauge to be reliable this way, say 3 bars always = x Litres?

Cheers GG

Very consistent on my bike.  Of course, it is affected by the right wrist but if I'm consistent with that, the gauge is consistent in blinking out its bars.

Best thing to do with the flashing gauge is cover it wth some black insulation tape. I only use it to gauge how much I am having fun. Lots of fun = last bar flashing at 100km's on the odo. The smiles get less with better fuel mileage. I vote 140 kph speed limits because thats where the Bandit loves to sit.

I've only been running 98 octane lately because I get 10-15ks more per block on the guage. currently running @ 4.6L per 100K. But wait till winter and it'll go to 7L. First block goes @ 85k second @ 145. Third @ 230 and then I top it up taking 11 litres.

jeeringjason72 wrote:It would seem that I only got about 210-220km out of a tank yesterday (from full, to 1 fuel bar showing fuel pump symbol flashing), is this typical?

That's about what I get around Adelaide, it does better on country trips.
I was running 98 but had to use 95 when I couldn't get 98, I saw no difference in 95 so I've stayed with it the last few months

The next time you get down to where the gauge is about to start flashing, look out for a servo. Top right up and note how many litres she takes, then you can calculate how many you had left in the tank, and work out what the range would be until you run out.  Good peace of mind.

On my old 1200 Bandit the fuel range varies an awful lot.  I can get as little as 180 before reserve or I can get as much as 320 before reserve.

One fuel bar starts flashing with around 5 litres in the tank, then flashes again (no bar) with 1 litre left.
So with about 20km's per litre, it gives you about 100km's still to go once it starts to flash.

No problem doing over 300km's on a tank. Touring I get 350km's out of her.

madmax wrote:

gus wrote:I hated this fuel guage from the start and have not changed my mind .I DO NOT need a flashing thing with 100 kls left in the tank .
Give me a reserve tap with 40 kls in it anyday .

+1

+2

def. I'll take a reserve over an inaccurate flashing guage any day

Sorry to bring up an old post but I feel like I'm not getting very good fuel economy. Not that I'm worried just curious. 
I just filled up and worked out I did about 8.4L/100km. I got to only ~170km before the first flashing started.

This is mainly my 14km (stop start) round trip to work and back each day plus a little two up riding on the weekend around the city. 

I have a couple of mods and do like get away from light pretty quick but would this account for fairly high usage of fuel?

I should probably do a tank of all very conservative riding and see how I go.

Thats probably about right for heavy handed stop start riding.
One of my frustrations with the B1250 was the relative heavy consumption compared to output. Yes they can "sip" on a long top gear run but not in general use.

Remember the amount of K's you can get to the first bar is not only directly related to your right wrist but also how persistent you are at the pump. If you take your time you can get quite a bit more if in, especially if you've got it sitting on the centre stand.

I've managed 340-350 out of my last 5 or so tanks. That's flat highway commuting with a short, twisty hill at one end and about 5-10km of lane filtering at the other. First warning comes on at about 220-250 and I've worked out I can get up to 40km out of the final warning. Personal best was Tuesday this week: 354km, putting in 18.83L