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Well, nsap wins the "What's Wrong With Day Man's Bike?" Award. Filled it with gas and it runs fine, ha ha. Now to figure out what's wrong with the low fuel light. Unfortunately, the bike does not have a reserve switch, so I kinda need that indicator.
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Mar 28, 2015 13:26
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It's called a trip odometer, ya maroons. And if you're really adventurous, some math (maths, if yer BRIT-ish). If I bothered to look it up, there's probably a new gizmo available with a unit cost of $1.29 that remotely X-rays the tank and spits out the results real time. But the ones I've had to deal with involve the equivalent of a toilet bowl float attached to an arm, attached to a liquid-proofed and therefore irreplaceable sensor, attached to a housing, attached to the tank, attached to wires, attached to a plug, routed to another plug, attached to a cluster, which contains a gauge and/or idiot light, which may not be entirely accurate anyway due to tank shape, age, etc... How many failure points was that, I'm a bit rusty with me maths...
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Mar 28, 2015 13:44
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Day Man posted:Well, nsap wins the "What's Wrong With Day Man's Bike?" Award. Filled it with gas and it runs fine, ha ha. No trip meter?
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Mar 28, 2015 14:14
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It must suck to only go on rides where you're within a reserve tank of a gas station.
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Mar 28, 2015 14:28
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If you are so retarded that you cannot keep track of how much gas you have in your god drat gas tank then maybe motorcycles arent for you
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Mar 28, 2015 14:37
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Day Man posted:Well, nsap wins the "What's Wrong With Day Man's Bike?" Award. Filled it with gas and it runs fine, ha ha. Yep, had the same thing happen to me about a mile from my house once.
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Mar 28, 2015 14:37
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Growing up, my dad had a company car, a first Gen Ford Taurus. We called it "The Recall Beast" because it had so many. One of the things wrong was the fuel gauge. It'd get stuck at 1/4 tank and then never move again. Dad discovered it on a trip to see our grandparents, when the car just died on the Jersey Turnpike. AAA came and the guy said, "here let me put gas in it anyway, these have fuel gauge problems." And it started right up. Ever since, dad has been kooky about setting the trip odometer on fillups. On that piece of poo poo, 300 Miles meant a fill up. If my OCD/ADHD dad can do it, anyone can.
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Mar 28, 2015 16:15
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Or just fill up every time you pass a gas station. Take the time to get a hot dog!
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Mar 28, 2015 16:55
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Yes, I have a trip meter. Did you miss the part where I said the last tank took 130+ miles and hadn't run out, but this one was dry at 105 miles?
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Mar 28, 2015 17:24
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See: my previous comment
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Mar 28, 2015 19:29
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Fine! I admit it! I watch the odometer closer than the fuel gauge; I just like having more dials 
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Mar 28, 2015 19:58
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SquadronROE posted:Or just fill up every time you pass a gas station. Take the time to get a hot dog! I tried this, but I live in Chicago: it took me hours to get anywhere and I gained 20 lb.
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Mar 28, 2015 20:01
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I thought Suzuki was supposed to be cheap poo poo or something, my 1988 Suzuki GX600F (Katana to US citizens) has a fuel gauge AND a fuel light!
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Mar 28, 2015 21:23
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Nidhg00670000 posted:I thought Suzuki was supposed to be cheap poo poo or something, my 1988 Suzuki GX600F (Katana to US citizens) has a fuel gauge AND a fuel light! My 1991 GSXR250 had a fuel gauge. Day man, if you want to fix this, you guessed it: you need a multimeter. Take your tank off and drain it, take your fuel pump and sender assembly out and see if you get continuity across the two sender wires while operating the little toilet float thingy up and down. You might even be able to see the problem visually. If everything checks out there, make sure all your wiring etc is ok as well. If all of this checks out, the problem has to be either in the cluster itself or the little light in the cluster is blown (doubtful since it'll most likely be an LED, but possible).
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Mar 28, 2015 21:34
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Tanbo posted:My ninjette just had the reserve, the 650 has a fuel gauge but I don't trust it at all for some reason, I still use the odometer. I'll get used to it I guess. Also the tank is supposedly 15 litres, but I've never filled up more than 12 even when I've rolled into the gas station with the low fuel light angrily flashing at me.
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Mar 28, 2015 21:37
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Collateral Damage posted:The 650's LCD fuel gauge is hilariously nonlinear, as in it will stay at Full for about half the tank, then quickly drop to 1/4 and linger there for another 50km or so before it goes into Low. Most bike fuel gauges do this (the hyoshit has one!). It's because the fuel level sender is a generic part with a linear relationship between level and resistance. Unlike with cars, it costs too much to optimise the gauge for the shape of the tank and most bike tanks get narrower near the bottom. So when you get to the second half of the tank, the level drops much more rapidly as less fuel needs to be used for the level to drop x amount. I'd love to know if goldwings and other fancy bikes where the fuel gauge is expected to be accurate do this. One would reason that making it properly would be worthwhile on bikes with high price-tags which are intended for touring.
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Mar 28, 2015 21:47
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Slavvy posted:Most bike fuel gauges do this (the hyoshit has one!). It's because the fuel level sender is a generic part with a linear relationship between level and resistance. Unlike with cars, it costs too much to optimise the gauge for the shape of the tank and most bike tanks get narrower near the bottom. So when you get to the second half of the tank, the level drops much more rapidly as less fuel needs to be used for the level to drop x amount. Short answer: almost certainly not. The fuel gauge is basically an idiot light, because you're an idiot for not accurately tracking your mileage vs when you have to switch to reserve. On my bandit, the gauge has five bars. It shows all five bars as I ride away from the station. Within a mile, it's at four bars. Five to ten miles later, three bars. There it stays for the next hundred miles, mabye one-twenty. Then two bars. Then one blinking bar, which stays for fifty miles, or maybe ten. When it's no bars plus blinking gas symbol, then it's within five miles of having to go to reserve. That means more-or-less two minutes until the bike starts to hesitate and I have to switch to reserve, which is exactly one gallon from empty. I've gotten 130 miles on a tank to the blinky angry light, but i've also gotten over 200. Temperature, vibration, magic, phase of the moon, and the proximity of giraffes all affect the fuel gauge, but when the bike starts to hesitate at constant throttle, it's one gallon of gasoline until empty, and ride like a geriatric in a champagne cadillac unless you KNOW you're less than 40 miles from a gas station.
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Mar 28, 2015 22:38
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:Short answer: almost certainly not. The fuel gauge is basically an idiot light, because you're an idiot for not accurately tracking your mileage vs when you have to switch to reserve. Yes but I was talking about bikes with efi.
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Mar 28, 2015 22:43
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Day Man posted:Yes, I have a trip meter. Did you miss the part where I said the last tank took 130+ miles and hadn't run out, but this one was dry at 105 miles? You said you just got a power commander put on? That will change the way your bike consumes fuel. As for the reserve light, you mentioned the fuel pump just got replaced? I'm 99% sure it has to do with that since the fuel level sensor is usually part of that assy. Maybe the wire got cut going in or it just was not hooked up.
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Mar 28, 2015 23:23
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Nidhg00670000 posted:I thought Suzuki was supposed to be cheap poo poo or something, my 1988 Suzuki GX600F (Katana to US citizens) has a fuel gauge AND a fuel light! Yes. They were ironically very common in the 80s, but I believe what happened (in general) was that Japanese manufacturers Kaizened the hell out of their motorcycles and tossed every failure-prone Goldbergian assembly they could find out the window, this included. I would point to the difference between a Gen 1 Nighthawk 750 and Gen 2. In some circles, this is regarded as making the motorcycle "boring." The alternative to something functioning predictably and reliably is a kind of excitement I don't really need. Collateral Damage posted:The 650's LCD fuel gauge is hilariously nonlinear Yes Yes. This is common as well, as pointed out elsewhere. If you want an example in the car world, take the mid 90s Camaro, where the profile essentially looks like a larger version of a motorcycle tank. Install a linear sensor in a triangular tank, and you can guess the rest. babyeatingpsychopath posted:Short answer: almost certainly not. The fuel gauge is basically an idiot light, because you're an idiot for not accurately tracking your mileage vs when you have to switch to reserve. Yes Yes Yes. To put this all in perspective, ferchrissakes the tank isn't a closed invisible unit tucked aft of your position. 90% of the time or better, there's a lefty-loosie, righty-tighty thing about a foot in front of your nads, and when you combine it with the two ocular fuel sensors just north of your pie hole, it pretty much tells the whole story.
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Mar 29, 2015 01:21
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Collateral Damage posted:The 650's LCD fuel gauge is hilariously nonlinear, as in it will stay at Full for about half the tank, then quickly drop to 1/4 and linger there for another 50km or so before it goes into Low. That pretty much sums it up, it always seemed a little weird but I don't pay much attention to it so couldn't really describe it.
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Mar 29, 2015 02:59
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The KTM 1290 fuel gauge is pretty linear, suck it newbs.
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Mar 29, 2015 04:16
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Z3n posted:The KTM 1290 fuel gauge is pretty linear, suck it newbs. At least my bike doesn't do all the work for me.  im just jealous 
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Mar 29, 2015 04:19
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Z3n posted:The KTM 1290 fuel gauge is pretty linear, suck it newbs. Yeah but the KTM's fuel tank is basically a vertical chamber with nicholas cage hair on either side.
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Mar 29, 2015 04:48
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Marv Hushman posted:Yes Yes Yes. To put this all in perspective, ferchrissakes the tank isn't a closed invisible unit tucked aft of your position. 90% of the time or better, there's a lefty-loosie, righty-tighty thing about a foot in front of your nads, and when you combine it with the two ocular fuel sensors just north of your pie hole, it pretty much tells the whole story. A lot of bikes have a sort of saddle-shaped tank to maximise airbox space so looking in the tank is even less useful than a fuel gauge. Also "HEY GUYS ITS SO EASY YOU DONT NEED A GAUGE JUST STOP THE BIKE AND LOOK IN THE TANK EVERY TEN MILES!!!" is the most ridiculous argument yet in this weird neo-luddite derail.
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Mar 29, 2015 10:50
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What do you mean it is my personal responsibility as the owner and operator to make sure my vehicle is filled with fuel?! THAT IS RIDICULOUS!!
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Mar 29, 2015 11:07
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Obviously the sensible compromise here is for everyone to get a glass tank.
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Mar 29, 2015 11:52
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Renaissance Robot posted:Obviously the sensible compromise here is for everyone to get a glass tank. That would actually be quite cool for a custom job. A viewport could actually be useful though.
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Mar 29, 2015 12:07
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When my dad and I rented a 690 Duke and Horex VR6 last year, the Horex sucked down fuel while he was going on and on how economical the Duke was, the fuel gauge hadn't even dropped one bar at the end of the day. When he bought one and read the manual he found out the thing that says min/max is the temp gauge...
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Mar 29, 2015 12:11
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goddamnedtwisto posted:A lot of bikes have a sort of saddle-shaped tank to maximise airbox space so looking in the tank is even less useful than a fuel gauge. Also "HEY GUYS ITS SO EASY YOU DONT NEED A GAUGE JUST STOP THE BIKE AND LOOK IN THE TANK EVERY TEN MILES!!!" is the most ridiculous argument yet in this weird neo-luddite derail. This is the same strawmanning and over reacting bullshit I see every time someone whine about how the only starter bike ever recommended is a ninja 250 and "everything else will kill you". edit: I was really having trouble figuring out where you got that caps locked bullshit from then I realized you're the only one with a tank small enough that you'd need to do that. "Check your tank level with your eyes" does not seem like ridiculous advice, especially considering that someone just ran out of gas and hadn't checked with their eyes. nsaP fucked around with this message at 14:17 on Mar 29, 2015 |
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Mar 29, 2015 14:11
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My tank has a saddle shape internally, and you can't see the fuel when it drops below like 2/3rds full. I'll be looking into what's wrong with the low level indicator. Edit: also, I'll feely admit that running out of gas with three years of motorcycle experience makes me a moron, and I think its hilarious. Its funny how worked up everyone has gotten over it Day Man fucked around with this message at 14:48 on Mar 29, 2015 |
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Mar 29, 2015 14:46
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How the hell does anyone on a motorcycle without a fuel gauge figure out when to fuel up if it's so goddamn hard? Jesus christ. You can always do what some truckers with busted fuel gauges do and stick a dowel down into the tank and see how much fuel is in there.
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Mar 29, 2015 17:13
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Ride 250 miles, insert 5 gallons, ride 250 more miles, insert another 5 gallons.
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Mar 29, 2015 17:23
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High Protein posted:When my dad and I rented a 690 Duke and Horex VR6 last year, the Horex sucked down fuel while he was going on and on how economical the Duke was, the fuel gauge hadn't even dropped one bar at the end of the day. I wish I had a place to rent bikes other than Harleys, it'd be fun to try some out for more than just a test ride.
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Mar 29, 2015 17:38
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SquadronROE posted:I wish I had a place to rent bikes other than Harleys, it'd be fun to try some out for more than just a test ride. Where do you live?
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Mar 29, 2015 17:41
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goddamnedtwisto posted:A lot of bikes have a sort of saddle-shaped tank to maximise airbox space so looking in the tank is even less useful than a fuel gauge. Also "HEY GUYS ITS SO EASY YOU DONT NEED A GAUGE JUST STOP THE BIKE AND LOOK IN THE TANK EVERY TEN MILES!!!" is the most ridiculous argument yet in this weird neo-luddite derail. Yes, by all means, take the option of last resort I noted, add some ridiculous parameters, then label the result ridiculous. Brilliant. In summary: If you have a broken or nonexistent gauge, and haven't bothered to calculate your bike's range under common riding conditions, and have ridden it so seldom that you haven't yet developed a feel for it, then check the tank. If you have some sort of holographic rhomboid tank that renders your eyes useless, shake the thing side to side and listen. Day Man, this isn't personal, you just hit a nerve because we've all made the same mistake and have had to compensate for a lack of mod cons at some point.
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Mar 29, 2015 17:51
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This argument is idiotic. Back in the day, we had a reserve portion of the tank. Now the fuel light is there to indicate that portion of the tank. It's pretty ridiculous to go around without any reserve indication and just count miles whether you are a carb-hugging harley lover or a tarted up high tech pill bike guy, so the solution is simple: fix the low fuel light so it comes on when the tank is low. This is the reserve. Or you could shake the bike and listen for slosh...
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Mar 29, 2015 18:02
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Hey guys, is it kosher to post a question in the Motorcycle Fuel Gauge Argument thread?
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Mar 29, 2015 18:03
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Was that your question? Is this my question?
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Mar 29, 2015 18:04
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