[OldDawg]

Will someone please inform me at what point the fuel light is supposed to come on? I can't find this information in my hand book.

 

[StoneFree]

Will someone please inform me at what point the fuel light is supposed to come on? I can't find this information in my hand book.

It should come on with about 1 gal remaining from what I've been told. That information is in the service manual from what I understand but I don't have the service manual to confirm it.

 

[OldDawg]

Thanks Stone. I have the manual but I couldn't find that info. I finally Googled it and it said @ 3 litres the light should come on. That's approximately 3/4 of a gallon.

 

[Testiphony]

How far can you drive once the light turns on then approximately?

 

[OldDawg]

How far can you drive once the light turns on then approximately?

That would depend on your bike. I figured up my mileage the other day and it was approximately 35 mpg. So if there is about 3/4 of a gallon left when the light comes on I'll get about 26 more miles.

 

[Spock001]

The fuel light is listed as comming on when the tank has 0.8 gallons left in it. If you ride more than 30 miles after the light comes on, I would say that one is pushing luck.

 

[Testiphony]

26 miles isn't bad for the low fuel light. That is almost assuredly enough distance to get you to a gas station.

 

[StoneFree]

26 miles isn't bad for the low fuel light. That is almost assuredly enough distance to get you to a gas station.

On my Sportster the light comes on with a gallon left and on the highway that equals about 48 miles in fuel conservation mode..... and I've run out at the pump. There are lots of highways in the West where gas stations are far enough apart that you can get in serious trouble if you happend to pass the very last one as they can be 100 miles apart.


26 miles isn't very far really and I'd like to know that I could have a choice of going on or turning back without running out of gas.


Of note after having my light fixed so it wasn't on all of the time it didn't come on when it should have. I finally ran it down low enough for the light to start flickering on and off and I immediately gased up and it required 3 gallons indicating 1/2 gal left in the tank and that would only take me about 27 miles. That isn't enough of a safety factor for me and I'm having the dealer recalibrate it so that it comes on with 1 gallon remaining. I want that 50 plus mile range.


When I used a petcock with the reserve I always used one that left me with about 50 miles of gas in the tank and there's no reason why a low fuel indication shouldn't do the same. Remember the only reason the low fuel light is required is because fuel injection requires a fuel pump and the pump is mounted in the tank.

 

[Livin On]

26 miles isn't bad for the low fuel light. That is almost assuredly enough distance to get you to a gas station.

I can assure you nothing is assured As Stone said, not out here...

 

[StoneFree]

I can assure you nothing is assured As Stone said, not out here...

If there was a sign two miles back that said "Next Services 50 Miles" then this is exactly like the road I was on when my low fuel warning light came on and I ran out of gas at the pump. LOL


I effectively ran out of gas about 8 miles short of the pump once when the gas station that was along my route went out of business after my trip down that highway a year earlier. The engine would quit in the turns but then refire on the straights which is why I said "effectively" ran out. Fortunately it was on a 10 mile downhill run to the gas stations at Beals Crossing on Hwy 97 where it crosses the Columbia River from Oregon into Washington so I could have coasted the entire way to the pump but, as noted, the engine would fire when I was going straight but when I leaned it over it wouldn't pick up the gas in the tank. It took the full 3.3 gallons when I made it to the pump.

 

[HDGuy]

I can assure you nothing is assured As Stone said, not out here...

running out of gas their would be scary, any issue that'd cause you to come to a stand still would be scary.

 

[rnav2174]

What causes the light to come on and then go off intermittently ? I thought maybe it was a lean angle issue like when you are in some car's , it can change while going up or down a hill . I was having thought's of just how much I had left as the light came on but then it went off for a little while and then back on again a little while after that. I pulled into a gas stationed to eliminate the guessing.

 

[Hellbilly]

I noticed on my wife's, when the fuel light first came on it was dim.....the further she rode...the brighter it got.......

 

[Hellbilly]

What causes the light to come on and then go off intermittently ? I thought maybe it was a lean angle issue like when you are in some car's , it can change while going up or down a hill . I was having thought's of just how much I had left as the light came on but then it went off for a little while and then back on again a little while after that. I pulled into a gas stationed to eliminate the guessing.

Yeah....that would be annoying.....if it keeps doing it...then it's probably a faulty sensor....should only come on once fuel level reaches a specific threshold......not randomly....

 

[10-64]

Will someone please inform me at what point the fuel light is supposed to come on? I can't find this information in my hand book.

This information IS in the Owners Manual ....... Page 107, Table 22
"Low Fuel Indicator" approx. 3.02 liters (0.8 gallon)

 

[happydaze]

Thanks for the info. My low fuel light came on for the first time today with 107.5 miles on the trip meter since the last fill-up. My last bike would also go about 100 miles before I needed to start really worrying about fuel. That one did not have a warning light but it did have a reserve position on the petcock.

I should add that the light came on just as I was pulling into my driveway and only came on for a second and then went out. Still, if I went through 2.7 gallons in 107.5 miles, that's almost 40mpg. Page 107 of the owners manual specifies that the low fuel light comes on at .8 gallons. I'm looking for the spec on what the mpg is supposed to be.

 

[UnaClocker]

I don't think there is an "official" number for the MPG. Just some vague references to it online. There's a great app for your phone called Fuelly, I've used it to track my cars in the past, and recently added my Street 500 to it. I just quick pull it up at each fuel up, and it tracks my mileage both on that tank, and over time so I can see trends.
My XG500 Street 500 (Harley Davidson XG500 Street 500) | Fuelly
The stats are made public, which is great when a bunch of people with the same vehicle use the app, you can see trends, and see what vehicles get in the real world. I really recommend this app.

 

[CHIMICHANGATIME]

i usually verify the trip meter when the gas light comes on. typically on my xg750 it comes on at around 170km of city stop 'n go traffic then takes in 11 liters to top it off

coming from a V-Rod which had a joke of a fuel gauge ( it could get stuck on near empty right after a fill up), i always use the trip meter to make judgement calls on when to hunt for gas.

 

[Gaijin]

I'm looking for the spec on what the mpg is supposed to be.

There's no spec on what the mpg is "supposed" to be, because it all depends on how you ride and what speed you're going. Ride it like an octogenarian with gentle starts and a top speed of 45mph, and you'll likely pull in 60 mpg on average. Ride it like a squid, lurching away from stoplights and blasting along at 80 mph, and you'll get more like 35 mpg. If you're riding in congested traffic, the mpg will probably be rather miserable.

I think Harley published a "combined" mpg number of 41 mpg at one point. My tanks (almost all highway) average 52 mpg. There are 9 bikes on Fuelly, with reported mpg ratings between 42 and 53 mpg.

 

[happydaze]

Thanks. I was going to use the old fashioned "divide the number of miles by the number of gallons at each fill up" method. The app sounds interesting but it gets very mixed reviews. Most of my riding is in NYC so I do have a lot of stop and go.