Newbie question: How to check / know fuel level on VTR250?

[Zapf]

Hello,
Hav been pampered by my cage too much, got my VTR250 and to my horror there is no fuel gauge. How does one know when to fuel up? Or do I really have to knock the metal tank and guess how much fuel inside? :scooter: :confused2

tkns.

[k14]

Well, I always take note of the odo reading when i fill up. Know i can get around 200k out of a tank and just fill up accordingly.

Do you know about the reserve? There should be a tap below the fuel tank on the left side. This can change the fuel feed from the main to the reserve. This is just another indication that you have not got much petrol left. I think i can get around 30kms off my reserve.

[wkid_one]

JUST REMEMBER TO TURN IT OFF RESERVE ONCE YOU HAVE FILLED UP - OTHERWISE WHEN YOU ARE EMPTY - YOU WILL BE WALKING

[Zed]

Hello,
Hav been pampered by my cage too much, got my VTR250 and to my horror there is no fuel gauge. How does one know when to fuel up? Or do I really have to knock the metal tank and guess how much fuel inside? :scooter: :confused2

tkns.
If there is no gauge or light on your panel then you will have to "ride to your reserve", meaning every time your fuel level gets down to reserve you need to fill up. Firstly, you should fill up your tank and reset your odometer (trusting your VTR has one?) and then when the fuel gets down to reserve level you will know how many kms you can travel per tank before it hits reserve! - you may need to turn the fuel switch on the side of your bike to reserve once the main fuel supply runs out! :crazy:

My current bike has a fuel light which generally comes on around the 250km distance on my odometer. I will go and fill up the tank at that point and reset the odometer - which is the best way IMHO to gauge how empty the tank is getting and when to refill.


Zed

[Mr Skid]

I carry a small torch in my tool kit, so as well as being able to conduct running repairs at night, I can see how much is left in the tank..

I don't know of anyone else doing this though, so maybe it's a really dumb idea..
I guess if I managed to drop the torch in the tank it'd suck a little bit.. :crazy:

[Ms Piggy]

I'm guessing that your owners manual or the bike shop should be able to tell you how many litres the tank holds and from there (as the others have said) just make sure your turn your trip meter back to '0' after every fill.

Easy as :)

[FROSTY]

mind you pushing a bike always teaches ya when to fill up.
:crazy:
Seriously though Your fuel consumption is gonna be a bit screwed up untill that new bike is run in.
Do the tripmeter thing but I'd figure out how the reserve switch works and fill up before any decent ride.

[pete376403]

Once you get off the learner licence buy an early '80s Suzuki GS, 850 or larger. They have fuel guages. Sorted! :niceone:

[wkid_one]

I carry a small torch in my tool kit, so as well as being able to conduct running repairs at night, I can see how much is left in the tank..

I don't know of anyone else doing this though, so maybe it's a really dumb idea..
I guess if I managed to drop the torch in the tank it'd suck a little bit.. :crazy:
A pack of matches or lighter will work as well :shifty:

[moko]

Once you get off the learner licence buy an early '80s Suzuki GS, 850 or larger. They have fuel guages. Sorted! :niceone:

Not really,I had a GS850 and if you rode up a steep hill with a partly filled tank the fuel guage read full,get to the top and head down the other side and it read empty(or was it the other way round?),Loads of newer bikes have fuel guages that actually work,best ones are those on BMWs but then you need to be rich and over 45 otherwise they wont sell you one :msn-wink:

What I used to do (new-ish Yamaha,what`s a fuel tap then?)is see what the trip reading was when it went on reserve then re-set it at every fill-up and go by that,i.e. my XT600,trip got to 100 miles and I`d know it was time to fill up but I had my reserve left,once this get`s to be a habit the days of tank shaking and getting high on inhaling petrol fumes should be over.Now I go by the low-fuel warning light,I know it gives me a fair bit of leeway before it`ll run out but as soon as it comes on I`ll be hitting the nearest forecourt without there being any need to panic.

[moko]

This post deleted and re-posted where it should have gone in the first place :whistle:

[MikeL]

A couple of further points (as usual, I had to find out the hard way...)

Practise switching to reserve while riding. It's one thing to do it when your bike is on its stand and you can see what you're doing...

If you are used to filling up at a particular distance on the odo (usually just before you go into reserve), be aware that higher speeds will result in higher fuel consumption. I got caught out once when the bike coughed and sputtered and died after 160 km instead of the usual 190, and had a "WTF???" moment until I realized why. If it happens while you're overtaking uphill it could be awkward...

Finally a minor rant: why is it that every fuel gauge is designed so that for the first 100 km you seem to be using practically no fuel at all (which may lead you to make unwise decisions about not filling up before the Desert Rd...)?

[Posh Tourer :P]

faster speed = more consumption????????? Higher speed = more distance covered. If you do it in a higher gear (5th not first) you use the same amount of revs for a greater distance, therefore it is more economical. Consumption may change with revs so you may be slightly less economical at 180 in fifth than at 110 in fifth (eg the RG150), but the main drive is what gear you are in.

The consumption goes up when you ride it *harder* ie using higher revs and lower gear for a certain speed, not when you ride it faster...


Switching to reserve while riding?? Try it on the ZXR400.... the tap is set into a ridiculously small inset that is almost impossible to get gloved fingers into enough to grip the tap.... The beemer?? Nice, easy, simple, practical :D

[Tigger]

Zapf, my VTR gets at least 160km out of a tank, I just keep an eye on the odometer and when it gets towards that mark make a point of stopping at the next petrol station. I'm sure you can get more out of it than 160, but that's just my 'reminder' number. The reserve isn't that great actually, it just tips the tank over so you can get that last bit out, and it's not much.

Oh, and the odometer is quite easy to adjust back to zero 20 minutes later as you're zooming along and realise you forgot to reset it when you filled up. :)

[Zapf]

I see. thanks guys. Had no idea... I was about to carry a gas can in on my back :blank:

I need to hassle the dealer for my owners manual 1st.

[MikeL]

faster speed = more consumption????????? Higher speed = more distance covered.

But faster speed = more wind resistance (doesn't it increase as the square of the speed??) so therefore more energy needed to overcome, therefore greater fuel consumption. Admittedly the degree of hard riding (= acceleration and braking) will have a big effect, but even at constant speed there will be a noticeable difference in fuel economy between say 120 and 160 km/h.

Or have I been labouring under a misapprehension all these years...?

[vifferman]

I need to hassle the dealer for my owners manual 1st.You sure it's not under the seat (where it usually lives on Hondas?)
BTW - the 'Reserve' tap works like this: there are two plastic pipes going from the tap into the bottom of the tank - one long, one short. Both have fine holes in the sides of them, but the longer one has a section near the bottom with no holes. The tap has two inlet holes so when it is turned the holes either line up with the longer pipe, the shorter pipe, or block both off (when you switch to "OFF" position). When the fuel gets down to the solid part of the longer pipe in the "ON" position, fuel stops going down the pipe, and the bike coughs and splutters as a reminder to fill up. Make sure you choose the "RES" or "Reserve" position and not the "OFF" - it's not altogether clear sometimes.
Your bike may have an RLOD (Red Light Of Doom) in lieu of a fuel gauge - if so, it will have a little petrol pump graphic next to it. When this illuminates, time to fill up.

[vifferman]

But faster speed = more wind resistance (doesn't it increase as the square of the speed??) so therefore more energy needed to overcome, therefore greater fuel consumption. Admittedly the degree of hard riding (= acceleration and braking) will have a big effect, but even at constant speed there will be a noticeable difference in fuel economy between say 120 and 160 km/h.

Or have I been labouring under a misapprehension all these years...?It's not necessarily related to speed. On the FahrtSturm, it's actually more economical being ridden at higher revs or on the highway (at the same revs as around town), as the HUGE carbs squirt lots of gas in when accelerating.

[mattt]

Hills change the consumption too. If you want to empty a tank over 140km, then do Napier - Taupo at warp speed 9.

Do any of you Physics Fullars know what altitude does to fuel consumption? I know performance sucks cos of lack of o2. :whocares: ???

[Zapf]

Yep looked under the seat. Went to Cyclespot just now and all they have is the Jap version. they said they'll get me an english version when they have it.

[wkid_one]

It's not necessarily related to speed. On the FahrtSturm, it's actually more economical being ridden at higher revs or on the highway (at the same revs as around town), as the HUGE carbs squirt lots of gas in when accelerating.
PMPL - with the VTR, nothing is economical when it comes to gas!!! I remember many a time on my VTR wondering if I was EVER going to see the next petrol station. I took it to Puke and got 82km before the fuel light came on!!!!!! (not - not 82 laps of the circuit for those wondering)

[Hoon]

Switching to reserve while riding?? Try it on the ZXR400.... the tap is set into a ridiculously small inset that is almost impossible to get gloved fingers into enough to grip the tap....

Ohh tell me about it!!! Not only that but they are also so tight that it feels like its about to snap off! I just leave mine on reserve and fill up every 200K's. And if I'm ever unsure I'll lift the cap and have a quick look.

[ching_ching]

Take a small 1/2" wide stick that's about a foot long (like a piece of kindling).

Use it as a dipstick and see what mark the petrol level makes when you widthdraw it out of your fuel tank.

Cher bro.

ching_ching

[Marknz]

If you have a late model VTR250 it will have a trip meter on it. Reset it to zero's everytime you fill up and when you get to 200km's fill it up and reset it again. I used to get 250-260kms out of my '01.

[Zapf]

sweet thanks. Got it sussed :)

[pete376403]

PMPL - with the VTR, nothing is economical when it comes to gas!!! I remember many a time on my VTR wondering if I was EVER going to see the next petrol station. I took it to Puke and got 82km before the fuel light came on!!!!!! (not - not 82 laps of the circuit for those wondering)

Way back in 1972 or 3, an aquaintance bought a Mach IV Kawasaki (the first of them, the raw, uncivilised, completely un-housebroken version)
He claimed he emptied the tank from full between Lake Ferry and Featherston, flat out, two up. Given the way my IT400 chews gas (big old two strokes are internally petrol cooled) I believe him.

[Posh Tourer :P]

But faster speed = more wind resistance (doesn't it increase as the square of the speed??) so therefore more energy needed to overcome, therefore greater fuel consumption. Admittedly the degree of hard riding (= acceleration and braking) will have a big effect, but even at constant speed there will be a noticeable difference in fuel economy between say 120 and 160 km/h.

Or have I been labouring under a misapprehension all these years...?

I dont think that there would be that much of a difference, but I suppose it depends on the bike. The R100RS doesnt really work well in behind the fairing until about 130kmh, so at that point there would be less turbulence/slower increase in resistance.
There's supposed to be a 5% increase in fuel consumption in cars if you open all windows at 100kmh. Comparatively, I would guess that the increase in revs would account for much more of the difference than the wind resistance. Do you notice lower economy when riding into a southerly?? I really have no idea what difference wind makes, but I suspect it'd be fairly minor, especially on a muscle bike where it doesnt really have to work hard into the wind, unlike, say, the CB125T/MZ which really noticed when you were riding into a 40kmh southerly at 100.

[thehollowmen]

Ok a trick I've seen (but have still yet to do on my bike) is get one of those long thin temp guages for LPG bottles. You know, the liquid distributes the heat better and part shows a colour change?

Ya know.. same sorta stuff as those mood rings... but in a strip... *goes to google*

I remember seeing them all over the place in the 80's...

[MadDuck]

Im with MarkNZ

I had a VTR250 (lovely bike) and whenever I fuelled up I turned the trip meter back to zero. It depends how hard you ride as to how much you get out of a tank. Most I got was 200kms before refuelling and still didnt have to go to reserve. Only ever used dipstick to see how much water left in my water tank at home so I could have a shower in the morning.

You decide

Ohhh thats distance by the way - not speed :sly:

[Zapf]

MadDuck/MarkNZ,
How many liters did it take to fuel up the tank usually? It almost sounds like my Honda Jazz (cage) is better at the pump than the bike :P

[loosebruce]

MadDuck/MarkNZ,
How many liters did it take to fuel up the tank usually? It almost sounds like my Honda Jazz (cage) is better at the pump than the bike :P

You should ride a TLS and then compare it to a honda jazz, feul ecomony :weep: then put a 15tooth front sprocket up front and you can :bye: to petrol.
You made a good choice on the VTR zapf, it's a fun bike to blast around on, hope you enjoy it heaps mate, you thinking of chucking an a/m pipe on, they sound beautiful with one on, gotta love twins :niceone:

[jrandom]

But faster speed = more wind resistance (doesn't it increase as the square of the speed??) so therefore more energy needed to overcome, therefore greater fuel consumption.

Energy loss from drag isn't a simple square function, though. It does tend toward exponentiality as the speed differential of the object in question and the gas or liquid it's moving through grows, ie, you need to add more ponies to make a bike's top speed go from 250kph to 260kph than you do to move top speed from 150kph to 160kph, all other factors being equal.

One would expect fuel consumption on any particular vehicle to have a 'sweet spot' of speed, revs and gearing.

[Zapf]

You should ride a TLS and then compare it to a honda jazz, feul ecomony :weep: then put a 15tooth front sprocket up front and you can :bye: to petrol.
You made a good choice on the VTR zapf, it's a fun bike to blast around on, hope you enjoy it heaps mate, you thinking of chucking an a/m pipe on, they sound beautiful with one on, gotta love twins :niceone:

yea u are not wrong. I loved the sound of it once I switched it on 1st time, missing it right now actually. What type of a/m pipe to choose? from my cage experience you have lots of size and shape, but not much for the bike I suppose. Think I'll leave the mods till later, as a have a fair bit of growing into to do on the bike 1st. It should keep me happy for a year at lease.

[loosebruce]

yea u are not wrong. I loved the sound of it once I switched it on 1st time, missing it right now actually. What type of a/m pipe to choose? from my cage experience you have lots of size and shape, but not much for the bike I suppose. Think I'll leave the mods till later, as a have a fair bit of growing into to do on the bike 1st. It should keep me happy for a year at lease.

My mate put a Neptune pipe on his one, good price, kiwi made etc, looked the part and sounded sweet, can't remember if it was bolt on or slip on they did for him, send neptune an email asking for a quote as they have already done one's for the VTR250 it should be no worries for them to sort out for you. Plus it will make growing into the bike that much better, believe me.

[Zapf]

ok... next thing on the list I suppose.... spend tooooo much on the bike and gear as it is :Oops:

[Posh Tourer :P]

MadDuck/MarkNZ,
How many liters did it take to fuel up the tank usually? It almost sounds like my Honda Jazz (cage) is better at the pump than the bike :P

VTR 250 should be maybe 10-15L. The beemer takes 20L (capacity 24L, range 300kms to about empty), the CB125T took 8-10L (capacity 12.5L I think, range 150-200kms - I forget exactly)

[MadDuck]

From memory the VTR250 has a 13 litre tank capacity.

As for pipes ...if you going to upgrade save ya money for now and buy good gear for the upgrade. The bike sounds awesome as it is.

[Zapf]

tkns, u mean good gear for the next bike?

Stupit but simple question... what petrol do I put into the VTR? 91 or 96?

[loosebruce]

tkns, u mean good gear for the next bike?

Stupit but simple question... what petrol do I put into the VTR? 91 or 96?

should run fine on both mate, it's a newer bike so 96 would be the ticket but if you're tight on cash like me 91 is all good.

[MadDuck]

yeah I meant good gear for ya next bike. I am not convinced about the big spend on a/m pipes for a 250. But I am sure i will be shot down by someone on here that knows better :eek:

ran mine on 91 cos thats what they recommend...you do have the manual dont ya? Oh thats right - read the manual when it wont start !!!! Typical kiwi attitude :buggerd:

[Zapf]

Hahah.... something like that. Only I was trying to figure out what all the japanese char means. They didn't have an english manual at the time, and said they will get me one soon as.

Yea the dealer said 91, but u never know... sometimes I know more from digging around the web than they know their own product.

Like how the VTR is suppose to go for a oil change and service on the 1st 1'000km. They didn't tell me that. :devil2:

I can always go to a cage muffler shop for a a/m pipe / maybe? As they are quite cheap... but might be quite heavy.... how about just a koby resonator? :P

[MadDuck]

hahahah....well you can try anything ya like. Its your bike afterall.

They sent me a manual about 2 weeks after I bought the VTR and it was all in English. I still have it so if you dont get one drop me a PM and I will let ya have it

[Dr Bob]

I carry a small torch in my tool kit, so as well as being able to conduct running repairs at night, I can see how much is left in the tank..

I don't know of anyone else doing this though, so maybe it's a really dumb idea..
I guess if I managed to drop the torch in the tank it'd suck a little bit.. :crazy:

But, not - I say NOT - a butane torch.

[mr x]

The VTR250 has a 13 litre tank.
I filled up the other day - 11.7 litres, and had done 230km, so I probably wouldn't push it much further than that.
I run mine on 91 octane, as cyclespot recommended. No problems.
To get the max benefit from running on 96 you would have have to get the bike retuned.