Gas gauge
Elite HDF Member
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 4,377
Likes: 647
From: Santa Clarita
My gauge works great. I don't trust it. I do trust my trip odo, though.
Banned
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 17,008
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From: in a cave at the foothills
Check/reset my odometer every refill.
Outstanding HDF Member
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 2,172
Likes: 377
From: Georgia
My gauge works ok. It's not dead on but it is consistent. I still rely on the odo though. Too many years of riding a bike without any gauge created a habit of resetting it at every fill up that continues to this day.
Club Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 69,901
Likes: 18,589
From: South Florida
If I have a 6 gallon tank, the light will go on when I have about 30 miles left.
When I fill up, I will put in approximately 5 gallons or 5.6 gallons.
1) This tells me if my gauge is reading well.
2) I also run my Trip #2 and expect to get on average 170 miles of mainly city riding before the light goes on. Or approximately when it goes on.
#2 above is a double check. So I never rely on just one indicator. I always watch 2.
BuzzCap7
Club Member
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 4,539
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From: Syracuse NY
My 16 Limited does it occasionaly
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Road Warrior
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1,800
Likes: 307
From: Houston, Texas
Does anyone trust any of the gauges? My speedo is off by 3 mph, Oil pressure is always doing weird stuff, Volt meter is off a little, and we all know how accurate the ambient temp gauge, is not.
I do some what trust the fuel idiot light. It comes on pretty much with the same fuel level all the time. Calculate your avg fuel mileage. Ride until the light comes on and hit the first gas station you can find and fill up. Subtract the amount of fuel you put in from the capacity of your tank. That, times your avg mileage will give you a fairly accurate idea how far you can go after the light comes on. That way you don't panic when it comes on because you know how much gas is still in the tank and far you can go when it does come on.
Is this the first time you have seen the light? Mine will stay on after fill up but never more than a minute at most. It has to have a little bit to reset itself after you fill up. If you started it, saw the light, shut it off again then it went out, you were simply seeing the reset time.
As someone mentioned before and the usual answer here, they all do that.
I do some what trust the fuel idiot light. It comes on pretty much with the same fuel level all the time. Calculate your avg fuel mileage. Ride until the light comes on and hit the first gas station you can find and fill up. Subtract the amount of fuel you put in from the capacity of your tank. That, times your avg mileage will give you a fairly accurate idea how far you can go after the light comes on. That way you don't panic when it comes on because you know how much gas is still in the tank and far you can go when it does come on.
Is this the first time you have seen the light? Mine will stay on after fill up but never more than a minute at most. It has to have a little bit to reset itself after you fill up. If you started it, saw the light, shut it off again then it went out, you were simply seeing the reset time.
As someone mentioned before and the usual answer here, they all do that.
Club Member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 69,901
Likes: 18,589
From: South Florida
I do but not totally blind about it. Meaning, I trust all of the gauges. The gas gauge I will on occasion check with my Trip B.
If I fill my gas gauge is incorrect, I will look at my mileage. Every quarter tank is approximately 50 miles.
At the halfway mark (100 miles) my gas gauge should be on 1/2.
With 4 bikes over a decade and 300,000 miles I do not think I ever had an issue in this area. Maybe once. But that is only a "maybe".
I find the gauges to be pretty accurate and consistent.
BuzzCap7
If I fill my gas gauge is incorrect, I will look at my mileage. Every quarter tank is approximately 50 miles.
At the halfway mark (100 miles) my gas gauge should be on 1/2.
With 4 bikes over a decade and 300,000 miles I do not think I ever had an issue in this area. Maybe once. But that is only a "maybe".
I find the gauges to be pretty accurate and consistent.
BuzzCap7