Hey all. New to the forums, looking forward to exploring more! I recently bought an 03 Sportster 1200, and it appears to be running out of gas when my trip hits 80 miles. I was expecting to get at least 100 before switching over to reserve. At around 80 miles it’ll start lurching and eventually die until i switch the petcock. Does this sound right? I thought perhaps i could have inadvertently had it on reserve initially but it seems unlikely that i’d Get 80 miles out of reserve. Thanks for any help and insight.

 

should be around 3.5 us gallons. you should be able to go 120 miles till reserve unless it is extremely rich or geared down. i have an 01 sport and can range 30> near 60 mpg according to how is drive it, even with a 200 main, it will be mid 40s sane driving.

 

First welcome from Spartan Country Michigan!
Second, get yourself factory service manual and parts manual. best tools you'll have in your tool box.
Lastly....get an app like Fuel Buddy and track your fuel usage. Your tank should be 3.3 gallon... learn what you get for MPG so you have some ideas of fuel usage. I usually went 100 miles on my '02 Sporty then looked for gas. usually got upper 30's (around town) to mid-upper 40's on trips. know and understand city driving and highway driving result in different MPG. Use your odometer as your fuel gage....you should find yourself pretty comfortable once you learn your bike.

 

Trevor, welcome to the simple pleasures of riding a motorcycle! What you have is normal and simply sorted, by learning how your bike behaves. There are umpteen threads about this around HDF, or the fuel light coming on with EFI bikes. You'll get as many miles out of reserve as there is fuel left, so next time you switch over, fill up and take a note of how much. You can now work out how much fuel is left in your tank, hence how far you can ride on reserve until you NEED to refuel. Simples!

 

You posted this same question in the Sportster section...your bike only holds 3.3 gallons, but mpg's still seem low. You can look at swapping the tank for bigger...my brother put a Dyna tank on his Sportster. Also, look at your exhaust...if sooty = she's running rich.

 

Sorry for the duplicate post. It didn't seem like the other went through...looks like it did. Thanks for the input and help y'all! I think I've found some answers.