Magic Fuel Gauge

Evening everyone:

My 2011 R1200RT has this nice little feature the dealer did not tell me about when I got it. This bike somehow creates fuel while riding it! I noticed it at FART while getting lost and trying to follow Dave, Bernie and the gang...which did not last long since I am a little slower behind the throttle. It seems to occur when the bike is around a half tank, then the fuel gauge AND DTE start to increase to full, then when I when I hit the reserve warning light everything falls back into place. I do not have the fuel strip on this one, so I ruled that out. It has not been an issue with running out of fuel since I use my GPS and bike miles to gauge my fuel needs. So, have I found the perfect bike that creates its own fuel supply to keep my running till I am ready to stop?

Thank you everyone

Mike

And they claim the float is an improvement over the strip! To be fair though, it's not that unusual. I seem to recall several "friends" in these here pages recently accusing me of 'making my own gas' while riding . . . . . although allegedly mine makes them 'ready to stop' vs prolonging their enjoyment on the ride.

Mike - I didn't quash helpful replies towards your issue. Only thing I can think of is the float catching on something as it descends? Perhaps when the fuel is higher and sloshing around, that's enough to keep the float from 'sticking', but once the fuel lever gets low enough, it no longer impacted by the slashing gas? :lurk:

Evening everyone:

My 2011 R1200RT has this nice little feature the dealer did not tell me about when I got it. This bike somehow creates fuel while riding it! I noticed it at FART while getting lost and trying to follow Dave, Bernie and the gang...which did not last long since I am a little slower behind the throttle. It seems to occur when the bike is around a half tank, then the fuel gauge AND DTE start to increase to full, then when I when I hit the reserve warning light everything falls back into place. I do not have the fuel strip on this one, so I ruled that out. It has not been an issue with running out of fuel since I use my GPS and bike miles to gauge my fuel needs. So, have I found the perfect bike that creates its own fuel supply to keep my running till I am ready to stop?

Thank you everyone

Mike

Afternoon Mike

What you are seeing is probably possible under the right conditions.

Remember that both the fuel gauge & the fuel pump work on the same side of the fuel tank & the tank has lower wings on both sides (no crossover tube between sides).

The tank also has a somewhat raised center so just riding along at 1/2 tank of slightly below the pump can lower the fuel level on the pump side with the off side remaining a bit higher.

If you then do some aggressive maneuvers or lean the motorcycle some of that offside fuel can transfer over to the pump/gauge side raising the fuel level on that side & make it look like you gained fuel.

Good afternoon DT.

I assume the pump and gauge are still on the left side?

If so Mike, it's good to remember this in case you run out of fuel. It's possible it lean the bike over to the left side on the side of the road and get the fuel from the right side wing to cross over and get you going again. I had to do this once - i'd not realized my fuel strip broke - and found myself on the side on the road. By doing this, I had enough fuel to make it to a gas station.

DR:

This will occur while riding along the straight lines on smooth roads without any aggressive maneuvers or hard lean angles. The fuel gauge will gain bars from the half to just under half to full all the while the DTE will increase along with the fuel gauge. I am wondering if this may be a computer issue? I remember a while ago you gave someone directions on how to "reset" the fuel/trip computer (hopefully I got that right0. Would resetting things possibly fix the issue or is this a deeper more insidious issue.

Dave:

My RT's like to occasionally take naps and it just so happens they prefer laying down on the their left side when sleepy.

DR:

This will occur while riding along the straight lines on smooth roads without any aggressive maneuvers or hard lean angles. The fuel gauge will gain bars from the half to just under half to full all the while the DTE will increase along with the fuel gauge. I am wondering if this may be a computer issue? I remember a while ago you gave someone directions on how to "reset" the fuel/trip computer (hopefully I got that right0. Would resetting things possibly fix the issue or is this a deeper more insidious issue.

 

Dave:

My RT's like to occasionally take naps and it just so happens they prefer laying down on the their left side when sleepy.

Morning Dave

Well that seems out of possibility for a simple fuel transfer side to side so definitely points to a problem somewhere in the fuel gauge sender, gauge circuit, or electronics.

Definitely reset the trip meters & dash computer at each fuel stop to see if that corrects it.

You might also try some Techron in the fuel tank for a few fill-up's as you might be getting a varnish build up on the fuel sender causing a poor brush contact.