Range said 51 miles. Had ~30 to go. Decided to push it and gas up close to home. With only 3.5 gallons, I like to put it away full and don't love stopping for gas to add less than a gallon. Though I guess that's life with a small tank and it's not that big a deal considering it's a cruiser/dragster/chopper style bike.

Anyway, for the first time I decided to explore life with a near empty tank, while I'm fairly close to home. I watched Range and it went from 51 to 18 in ~25 miles. Then, within about a mile, it showed: 17; 16; 15; 14;... "R LOW".

Oh my... Am I going to be calling the wife to bring me a gas can? I really don't want to do that. Roadside assistance might take longer but be less humiliating.

There was a gas station in a few miles and I road efficiently while hoping the motor didn't begin to sputter. It didn't. When I got there and filled up, it took 3.25 gallons.

I'm happy I explored this close to home. I'm now thinking that 120 miles between bars... umm... gas stations is the max I want to push it. j/k... a tribute to the "bar hopper" heritage.

I do like this bike a lot. I'll just have to get used to 1-gallon top-off stops and not whine about it. It's worth it. I only pushed it this time because I never had before. I'm glad I did.

I'm guessing the 47mpg was measured with the 107. I hope a Stage II doesn't make this a lot worse, but that probably has more to do with how much I test what Stage II does. My mileage may really suck for a while.

 

Life on the edge man! ha ha onya.

 

no problem, just makes for cold ones a little more often between fill ups !! Nothing wrong with that !! Love the Break Out !!!

 

Years ago when I rode a Valkyrie there were riders disappointed with fuel range. There was a company that came out with what they called a belly tank. I was at a rally one time and the vendor was installing them one after another as fast as he could. I just remember once the main tank ran out it would pull fuel from the belly tank. Maybe someone will come up with a similar idea for the new Harley's with 3 1/2 gallon tanks.

 

Personally I'm not one for wanting to stay in the saddle for more than a hundred miles or so anyway. I have to smile when I hear guys talk about getting seats that will allow them to ride like three hours or more at a clip. An hour- hour and a half is plenty. I get bored with it and need to take a break to burn one, have a water or a beer, a couple pulls off the whiskey bottle or just stop and take a squirt. I'm just sayin'.

 

You ever wonder if the 5 gallon tank from a Fat Boy or Heritage would fit a Break Out ?

John

 

I don't think it would look right even if it did. If I really cared enough to do something about it I think I'd talk to a custom shop about modifying one to retain the look but expand the dimensions. But I don't care enough. I'm OK with taking a stretch every 100 miles or so.

I wonder about the choice to go 3.5. I mean, did a 4 gallon tank just look terrible? 4.5? But then again, anybody in a design meeting trying to make the Breakout more practical probably got kicked out.

Anyway, not a deal-breaker for me, obviously. I wasn't looking for a touring bike. I kinda like the nod to old school drag bikes and choppers that often had skinny tanks.

 

how are you riding the bike? My gas mileage went up about 4 mpg with a free flowing exhaust an FP3 tune. from about 38 to 42 doing a mix of riding...if I spend the day hammering it with my buddies it drops fast. My v rod had a 3.5 gal tank so I know what it's like but I don't like more than 100 miles at a time myself...but it sucks if you commute on it an have to get gas every other day or you're in a rural area with limited gas availability.

 

Pleasure riding mostly on country highways and roads. Typocally not commuting but sometimes stuck in the same traffic. Mostly pretty tame cruising and not hammering it, but occasionally I do. During this little test I described there was no hammering but there were a few traffic jams and some slow speed lane splitting along the way. I need to do some more precise testing to see what it can do if I really try, measured across more gallons of fuel.

It will have HD Stage I & II added soon. All HD parts and added to warranty since within 60 days. Nice to hear that might actually improve mileage, assuming no hammering of course.

I was just surprised how fast it dropped when it displayed range of 51. And watching it countdown really fast was almost humorous. Like I said, I'm glad I got to see that close to home, and now know not to trust that displayed range too much. I have more learning ahead.

 

From reading on here, the range to empty deal is not accurate at all. Mine most of time ranges from 197 - 214 right after I fill up. Just the other day, I filled up and rode to work, ~30 miles. It said 177 when I got off. Yeah, I look at it sometimes.

On the way home, not even a mile from work, it said 190 something. It kept climbing while in traffic, and by the time I got almost home, it read 480 something miles to empty. I wished I could have taken a photo.