Gas Gauge Mishap

[dlee6413]

Yesterday while driving to work my gas gauge was at that point where it's at 2 bars but intermittently turning to the flashing red depending upon the horizontal position of the bike. I knew when I got back on the bike to ride home that I'd be flashing red.....but no. My gas gauge was still at 2 bars. I knew within a few miles it would begin flashing red at me....but no. My commute home is 63 miles so I knew I'd need gas before I got home. When I got to the gas station some 50 miles later I was still on 2 bars. I shut the bike off, then started it back up hoping it might reset itself and sure enough it changed to one flashing red bar. The tank was almost dry....glad I stopped when I did. I won't be trusting my gas gauge completely from here on out. Has anyone else experienced this issue with the gauge getting "stuck" at 2 bars?

 

[deedub]

Mine seems to stick at the top of the meter rather than the bottom. My first 100 miles only drops the meter one bar, then the second hundred miles takes it down to the flashing red bar.

 

[Naked_Duc]

Mine tend to stick at the top of the meter, too. But my commute is very consistent and so is my mileage. So I pretty much know when to fuel up, based on the trip-o-meter

 

[SergeantChuck]

I have never experienced any issues with my fuel gauge but based off everyhting I read hear I don't trust it. I always make sure I fuel up when I am close to 200 miles. Regardless of what the fuel gauge reads. Depending on how you ride your number might be different but I would find one and use that as your guide.

 

[maxou723]

I've noticed it also fluctuating between the two bottom bars as I'm riding. Like Naked_Duc mentioned I tend to trust my trip distance to fuel up just to be sure I don't run out of gas.

 

[killerbeezer]

I've noticed that mine is also very sensitive to slants/hills/slopes. The difference between red bar and 2-bars is the slope of my driveway.

 

[AdamW]

I've noticed that mine is also very sensitive to slants/hills/slopes. The difference between red bar and 2-bars is the slope of my driveway.

I've had the same experience.

 

[danrev]

It appears that all these threads on the fuel gauge are telling us one thing: the fuel gauge is quirky. About the only time we can trust it is when the tank is actually full and we have all the bars. From that point on its a guessing game. As many have already mentioned, use the trip meter and check the amount of gallons at your fill-ups, and do the math from there. The 200 mile rule seems to work best for most riders.

 

[ziggie]

I went 100 miles today and only lost one bar.i use the A trip,180 miles then fill up just to be safe.that way if I have to go futher I can.

 

[Fuzzy]

I find the bars are consistent and understand the impact of slope. Pay attention on flat ground and they are repeatable. The problem to me is only 4 steps so each bar represents nearly a gallon of gas. If first bar disappears at 60 miles I am getting 63 mpg. If I don't notice when a bar disappears my knowledge of gas level can be off a quarter tank. When last bar turns red I have 3/4 gallon left. If I didn't see it turn red I only know I have less than 3/4 gallon left. Maybe I'm sucking fumes or maybe I can go 50 miles........ maybe.

 

[he go]

Weird gauge, indeed. It would have been more intuitive to have gone from two solid bars, to one solid bar, then to flashing. Mine went back to the dealer for, more or less, what you describe and I have since learned to live with this quirky aspect of what is otherwise a rock solid utilitarian two wheeled machine.

 

[670cc]

Weird gauge, indeed. It would have been more intuitive to have gone from two solid bars, to one solid bar, then to flashing. Mine went back to the dealer for, more or less, what you describe and I have since learned to live with this quirky aspect of what is otherwise a rock solid utilitarian two wheeled machine.

What this gauge needs is more resolution, i.e. more bars. Eight or ten bars should have been the minimum. I agree that going from two bars, to one bar, to a flashing bar would have added another bar of resolution.

Better though, would be two blacks to one black to one red, with all states always solid. If you have an alternating red and black, then the state can't always be recognized in a split second glance; you must sometimes study the gauge for more than a half cycle to be sure which state it's in. Is it flashing or is it solid? If it went to one solid black, then to one solid red, then with a single quick glance you can always accurately read the state.

Actually, you could add a seventh state by going to no bars at all, indicating that only fumes remain.

Greg

 

[kjang]

I've noticed that mine is also very sensitive to slants/hills/slopes. The difference between red bar and 2-bars is the slope of my driveway.

Living and Riding in san francisco bay area has many hills (some say mountains) and some flat land (we do have a little bit of that) and the gas gauge does fluctuate. I usually will gas up around 180 miles or so depending...Honda needs to put in a little better instrumentation regarding the fuel side. This is not bad however.

Boat gas gauge are notorious for fluctuating back and forth. Thats why they made floscan. After adjustments, you can accurately tell how much you have left in your tank, how much you used and gallons per hour you consume. Now, that helps ALOT.

Ken

 

[danrev]

Only thing I ever ran out of fuel in was a D-4 Caterpillar pulling a nine bottom plow on a wheat ranch in eastern Washington. Twernt no fuel gauge on it and I didn't top off the tank when I started plowing after lunch. Got toward evening and I only had a small piece of ground left to finish the field, so I kept going. Then the tractor stopped dead. Had to hoof it over rough plowed ground and drive back to the house to tell the boss. Fortunately, he was a very understanding and gracious man. However, getting the fuel truck to the tractor over a plowed field was an adventure, not to say getting the diesel engine back up and running. I didn't get the scolding I deserved, but did learn a valuable lesson. Always topped off the tank at lunch after that.

 

[StratTuner]

while I don't understand what each numbered bar represents,

bar 1 (top) = out at 70 miles
bar 2 = out at 120 miles

I know I'm doing well if I can get to 200 miles before red flash, but that doesn't happen with freeway riding, only canyon cruising.