Hi all.

I've got a 2011 Fat Boy Lo. I have a fuel gauge question.

I've had the bike barely a month and it's only the 2nd time I've fueled up. This model bike has a 5 gallon fuel tank capacity, correct?

Before the first fill-up, I saw the fuel gauge needle going down low to the far left, and then the fuel gauge light eventually went on in the instrument panel, and in the odometer window it shows an approximate amount of miles remaining.

I still rode for a bit before eventually filling up.

When I gassed up, I saw that I had pumped in barely 4 gallons; it was something like 3.867.

So, just the other day, the needle gauge went down low, the fuel gauge light came on.....and I rode even more than last time (I mostly do city driving, not too much highway as of yet). And then I saw something appear in the odometer window that said:

LO RNG

From the owner's manual, I believe this translates to "low range" of fuel left.

I eventually gassed up, and this time, I just about squeezed in 4 gallons; 4.019.

Does the fuel warning system come on extra early?

I calculated and I'm getting roughly 37mpg city driving (not bad!!).

But with a 5 gallon tank, I should be able to get over 180 miles.....but my current trip meter reading was about 150 miles.

So is this "normal" for this bike? Does the fuel warning come on waaaaayyyy ahead of time?

Even though the fuel gauge needle is to the far left......the fuel gauge light is on in the instrument panel......I'm getting low fuel readings & warnings in the odometer window......do I still have like over a gallon of fuel left?

Both times I've fuel recently I've barely had to put in 4 gallons.

And inside info on this or insight?
Pez

 

My road king the light doesn't come on until a half gallon or somas left. However, my wide glide shows empty on the gauge but no light when there is a gallon left.

I think hd is getting much more conservative with the fuel lights today, because more and more riders have never experienced reserve with a carb where once you switch, you head for the next station ASAP! Most cars, the light comes on with about a 50 mile range, so with your 37mpg, you'd still have over a gallon left if hd did the same.

 

thats normal for them. most read the same as yours. I use the tripmeter and just don't look at the guage

 

Mine is a 2010 Deluxe... Last week the low fuel light came on and the digital readout went to miles. It reported 30 miles remaining... I fueled up and took 4.3 gallons, so I think mine is accurate.

 

I got lucky with my LO. When it says Lo Rng....it means I need to stop NOW. But on my Deluxe, it says Lo Rng and we've still got a gallon of gas left.

 

When my light comes on my 2010, I have anywhere from 3/4-1 gallon left, and yeah, i use the range-meter first since I find it to be somewhat accurate, followed by my Trip A, then lastly i look at the gauge.

 

I have an 09 Heritage, and do mostly city riding as well. Your numbers sound very similiar to mine. I rarely put more that 4 gals at a fuel up, but I usually ride down until I get the low range warning.

 

My '09' Heritage gets a low light with 1 gallon left in the tank. The 'r' indicator will come on to about 40 miles when that happens. A little conservative but works for me. I'm sure they are all somewhat different. You just need to know how yours is working and live with that. You seem to be headed in the right direction with your data collection.

 

on my fatty the low light comes on just below a 1/4 of tank which on a 5 gal tank would be 1.25 left in the tank. if i fill up right then it will take about 3.5 + gals. the most i've ever put in was 4.6 gals and the needle was about 1/2 way into the orange warning mark.. so i would consider it to be fairly accurate..

 

Let's all also keep in mind that these fuel injected tanks don't have a reserve on the petcock like the carb bikes did.. On my sportster riding along all of a sudden put-put-put-stall.. that was my "low fuel" light for me.. A friend of a friend of mine with a FatBoy was out riding down to some bike rally and was eventually yelling "I NEED FUEL!" and everyone else was on a carbed bike, so they all figured he'd just turn it to reserve and be fine.. no one understood that his bike didn't have reserve, so he just ran out of gas and someone had to bring him some.. this was some years ago, i dont remember when..like 2002? 2003? idk. but yeah. point is, im sure HD has it set to come on very early to give the rider plenty of time to plan accordingly..
it's like the 7 P's.. Proper Prior Planning Prevents **** Poor Performance.