How to fill up

[Windwalker]

I did search and checked the new rider FAQ's and did not find anything on this subject. With my old Bandit, when filling up I had to hold the gas nozzle vapor recovery cover up with one hand and fill the tank just like I was filling a 5 gallon gas can. With this bike, I inserted the nozzle into the filler just like I would on a car and let it go to the automatic shutoff. I only put in 2.7 gallons (the reserve indicator had been flashing for some time), so I was curious if you have to top off the tank after the automatic shutoff to get the tank completely full? I don't want to overfill the tank and spill gas on under the seat.

On a related note, how far do people typically ride after the reserve starts flashing?

Edit: Sure, right after I post this thread all the similar threads show up. I think I have to practice searching some more.

 

[kumatae]

I’m curious as well. I normally ride 150 miles or so and fill up. I usually fill up at around 2.5 gallons. Never had a fill up over 3 gallons.


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[anglachel]

Fueling instructions are in the manual...

 

[davidc83]

Yep, the picture in post #3 is usually where I fill it too. Very few states have gas vapor recovery systems/cover so most of us don't have to deal with those things. Matter of face, with 42 years driving/riding (all but 6 months east of the Mississippi River) I have never seen those systems.

 

[670cc]

If I were you, I’d fill the NC just like you did your old Bandit. Follow the example in post#3.

I NEVER use the auto shutoff. I keep an eye on it, and toward the end fill it very slowly (if I get a good nozzle) unitil if I went any higher it would run over. On two or three occasions I’ve put in 3.55 gallons. After the red bar begins flashing, I figure I have at least 50 miles left, but I usually fill at 30 or so miles past the flash.

I’ve been to California twice and that’s the only time in my life I recall seeing vapor recovery nozzles.

 

[b_rubenstein]

The pump auto shutoff will trigger well before the tank is full. There is a drain with a tube that will deposit any over flow gas on the ground.

 

[StratTuner]

I fill it up until half of that "guard" thing is covered in gasoline.

On Flashing red, I tell myself I have approximately 30 miles left.

I've always understood that of the tank's 3.7 capacity, .7 is reserve... so flashing red could be
.7 X (mpg calculated so far)

example. watch for the first mark to disappear. Note the tripometer. Mine usually goes at 65.
That reading seems to correspond nicely to the MPG for that tank of gas.

so .7 X 65 = 45.5 miles left once flashing starts.

IF reserve is .7, then you could note the tripometer reading the very moment it starts to flash. That would mean you had used precisely 3 gallons, so you could dived the trip # shown by 3 to calculate MPG.

I'll try that next time i'm out to see if i get the same reading:
1) when the first mark disappears
2) when the flashing starts (tripomenter / 3)

 

[flyinfree.00]

Hard braking can cause the last segment to flash early also as the gas sloshes in the tank.

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[SilverRocket]

I try to get to a gas station within 10 miles after seeing the low fuel warning.
I've filled up with usually about 2.8 gallons at a time. Once it took 3.2 gallons.

I'm not sure if the bike should be on its centerstand to allow more fuel in before it gets too high up the neck.

I always push the nozzle in and wait for the auto-shutoff, keeping an eye on how much gas is going in. I figure better to have the recovery system do its job instead of allowing fuel vapors into our already-toxic air.
If the pump shows anything over 2.6 and doesn't shut off I will keep an eye on the fuel filler, but so far it has shut off before overflowing. I then pull back the neck on the pump and fill it until I can see the level of fuel. This does tend to splash a bit of fuel drops on the seat. But as quick wipe of paper towels is worth the extra miles I get by having a full tank.
I saw 199 miles out of one tank- a personal best.

 

[1wiseguy2]

When I bought the daughter's 2012 NC700X down in Lafayette, LA we were coming home and she was going like crazy. I finally got ahead of her and slowed her down. I started looking for gas as I was on a 1/4 tank and knew that she had to be low. Especially at the speeds she had been going. She pulls up beside me and taps her tank. Yeah, I know. We pull into the next station 2 miles down the road. I see her fuel is on E and flashing. She tells me it has been doing that for about 20 or 30 miles. She has been doing 75 to 80! I have a serious talk with her about reserve and that pushing a 700 cc bike is not an option. Slowing down to 60 is and at 60 She can probably squeak out almost 50 miles. Going 60 is much faster than sitting on the side of the road. If in 20 miles you don't find a station slow down even more.
I then proceeded to fill her tank full... 3.6 gallons! Glad we made it.

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[FezUSA]

I follow Strat's method for adding fuel, cover 1/2 the plate. I try and keep this as consistent as possible to help my Fuelly information be reasonably accurate. I used to begin the filling process waiting for the auto shut-off, and then top it off to 1/2 way over the plate. But I had one pump where the auto shut-off didn't work not so long ago and I had a minor fuel spill. Won't ever depend on that again while filling the bike. I can hold the lever for the seconds it takes to fill!

As for mileage, on my '16 when it switches over to reserve mode then I have my screen automatically switch to count up mode where it shows amount of fuel used and miles covered since R mode started. It has 0.8 US gallons left at this point and I've gone all the way to just hitting 0.8 and 56 miles covered. Normally I fill up between 0.5 and 0.7 (30-45 miles). I pass a couple of stations on my 13 mile daily commute so have a pretty good idea of when/where I can stop for fuel without too much fear of running dry.

 

[BigGuppy]

My simple rule from hard experience -- "Dont let it get to point-six (.6)! Fill by point five (.5)!"

 

[happy]

It is manual done because the auto-stop will happen when nozzle is still way inside.
I then hold the nozzle just above the hole manually, then I top up til i see the fuel levelling above the "inner hole".
Often I need to wait for the bubbles (froth) to settle.

It goes around 300km before the warning comes on. Then it is another 50km easily. Never never go til it is dry. Plan properly.
I have hit 400km before and still going...but I had a fuel can with me.

 

[SilverRocket]

is the fuel pump inside the tank?
I've heard that if so, you shouldn't run to empty as the fuel acts as a coolant and the fuel pump can over heat.
With all the gas stations we have it rarely makes sense to go very far after the warning starts flashing.

 

[670cc]

is the fuel pump inside the tank?
I've heard that if so, you shouldn't run to empty as the fuel acts as a coolant and the fuel pump can over heat.
With all the gas stations we have it rarely makes sense to go very far after the warning starts flashing.

As long as the engine is running, there is fuel going through the pump to cool it. When the tank is empty and the engine has died, you'll likely shut the bike (and the pump) off. I'd like to think in this modern age we have the technology to make a fuel pump that can handle low fuel levels, and if we don't, then the owners manual should warn us of this deficiency.

 

[L.B.S.]

Until I have an internal fuel pump problem (which I've never had ever, in over 36 years of owning internal fuel pump equipped vehicles) I will continue squeaking out as many miles as possible between fill ups, and running the tanks to desperately near empty lol.

Of all the things I worry about in life, that just doesn't happen to be one of them

 

[happy]

is the fuel pump inside the tank?
I've heard that if so, you shouldn't run to empty as the fuel acts as a coolant and the fuel pump can over heat.
With all the gas stations we have it rarely makes sense to go very far after the warning starts flashing.

Until I have an internal fuel pump problem (which I've never had ever, in over 36 years of owning internal fuel pump equipped vehicles) I will continue squeaking out as many miles as possible between fill ups, and running the tanks to desperately near empty lol.

Of all the things I worry about in life, that just doesn't happen to be one of them

Not here where I ride. The fuel stations can be nowhere in sight. A call to the roadside service costs much more than the 20chf to fill her up. If a policeman finds you on the roadside without any fuel (being the reason for the breakdown), in theory he can give you a ticket for being irresponsible / unreasonable care while operating a motor vehicle.

Life's too short, yeah, and I fill the tank up whenever it goes below half (or 1/5).
Once I rode a Guzzi which had a fuel line leak. It was NOT pleasant at all.

 

[L.B.S.]

Not here where I ride. The fuel stations can be nowhere in sight. A call to the roadside service costs much more than the 20chf to fill her up. If a policeman finds you on the roadside without any fuel (being the reason for the breakdown), in theory he can give you a ticket for being irresponsible / unreasonable care while operating a motor vehicle.

Life's too short, yeah, and I fill the tank up whenever it goes below half (or 1/5).
Once I rode a Guzzi which had a fuel line leak. It was NOT pleasant at all.

At the risk of straying further off topic; there is a big difference between running a fuel tank down to near empty and it's arguable effect on fuel pump life, versus simply running out of fuel because you didn't plan ahead for stations, or carry spare fuel with you though.

 

[T S N]

On mine, 1/3 tank to get off full, 1/3 tank to start flashing. I once ran it to .6, and put 3.6 gallons in it.