Boulevard fuel gauge. Any suggestions?

[Choc Milk]

Greatings all,

i recently purchased a new 2008 suzuki boulevard s40 which is a great bike but it goes through abit of gas and here lies my problem. the bike doesnt have a fuel gauge,fuel warning light or sensor and neither does it have a trip meter. so i was wondering if anyone out there has any ideas to solve this problem.

i would appreciate any help given :2thumbsup

Ps Im new to kiwibiker.

regards Pasqual.

[Trudes]

Hi, welcome to KB. I don't have any bright ideas for you I'm afraid, just thought I'd say Hi and I can see the delema! Mine doesn't have a fuel gauge, so I rely on the trip metre, but without one of those either that has got to be a pain in the arse!!!

[AllanB]

Hi mate and welcome.


I'd recommend drilling a small hole (say 3mm) about 4/5 of the way down the side of the petrol tank - when the petrol stops pissing out you are getting low and need to fill up. :niceone:


Man I have good ideas........:innocent:



The author of this post takes absolutely no responsibility whatsoever in the event that any reader actually follows his advice.

[DUCATI*HARD]

Greatings all,

i recently purchased a new 2008 suzuki boulevard s40 which is a great bike but it goes through abit of gas and here lies my problem. the bike doesnt have a fuel gauge,fuel warning light or sensor and neither does it have a trip meter. so i was wondering if anyone out there has any ideas to solve this problem.

i would appreciate any help given :2thumbsup

Ps Im new to kiwibiker.

regards Pasqual.

Next time you top up take note of odometer reading,then run her to the bottom and check how many ks you have done, and that will give you some idea around how many ks you may get out of a tank before you need to refill:yes:ride hard,ride safe,ride on!!!

[rainman]

the bike doesnt have a fuel gauge,fuel warning light or sensor and neither does it have a trip meter.

As it's a Suzuki, I'm assuming it has a fuel tap? Ride to the nearest convenient servo when you have to switch to reserve... :done:

On the S40 the reserve should be good for, what, 30 or 40 km's? Unless you're on the open road that should be OK. If you're on a trip, plan, or carry a jerrycan.

Assuming of course you don't leave it on reserve all the time... <_<

[FJRider]

Greatings all,

i recently purchased a new 2008 suzuki boulevard s40 which is a great bike but it goes through abit of gas and here lies my problem. the bike doesnt have a fuel gauge,fuel warning light or sensor and neither does it have a trip meter. so i was wondering if anyone out there has any ideas to solve this problem.

i would appreciate any help given :2thumbsup

Ps Im new to kiwibiker.

regards Pasqual.

All these things you noted prior to purchase... and still bought it... ???

[Hitcher]

Get a length of dowel long enough to touch the bottom of the tank when inserted through the filler cap. Tie one end of it to the handlebars with a length of string.

[FJRider]

Get a length of dowel long enough to touch the bottom of the tank when inserted through the filler cap. Tie one end of it to the handlebars with a length of string.

Then drill a hole in the top of the tank the same(or slightly larger) and insert said dowel at intervals.
Wet area on the dowel is fuel level... simple...

[gunrunner]

Change speedo housing for one that fits with a tripometer thingy , ask suzuki as im sure you arent the first person to ask them . :headbang:

[Choc Milk]

i have asked at the local suzuki dealership and they said they'll look into it but thought id try kiwirder for any other suggestions.

[bluebird]

while you're there see if they have any almost new S50's they have trip meters, and as you will discover your S40 will give you vibration at speed that is uncomfortable for longer distances. An S50 is smoother but has similar agility.:wari:

[davereid]

No trip meter, fuel reserve or fuel gauge ? Bummer.

But it only has a 2.5 gallon gas tank. Even if it gets 60mpg it will need gas every two hours.

I have altzenheimers (lagerheimers if you want to get picky..) but even I can remember back 2 hours. Mostly.

Open the cap. If you cant see gas its time to get some.

Actually.. somehow I find this kind of refreshing.

What a neat bike.

Imagine a simple, single cylinder bike with great fuel economy, good looks* and minimal electronics to stuff out.

I'm sure I used to have one.

*Well, maybe not the good looks.

[Choc Milk]

i didnt say i dont have a fuel reserve, i do have a reserve but theres not warning if im low on petrol or something along those lines to tell me when i have to fill up next. pain in the butt thats for sure.

went for a ride today and managed to get 220 out of the whole tank. there were only a few drops of petrol left haha

[magicfairy]

I had one of these bikes.

Heres a tip i got from www.suzukisavage.com

Get a 4 digit luggage lock from kathmandu. saw off lock. fix on one side flat onto brake cyclinder with contact adhesive. With wheels able to be turned freely cos they stick over the edge towards you. (put cotton wool or something round the wheels so no glue gets in)
when ever you fill up turn numbers what ever your odometer at the time. eg 6700
.

Then to see how much you have done compare this number with what speedo shows, the difference is K done on the tank. a bit of pain but better than nothing, worked well for me for over a year

I found I went into reserve at about 160k.

[Choc Milk]

Hey,
thank you very much for your help. it is much appreciated. your porbably the first person to actually have a solution to my problem.

I was in Wanganui for the races and talked to one of the suzuki guys there about my problem but it seemed as tho he didnt really care and pay much attention to what i had to say which is quite sad!

i will definitely look into your suggestion. i'll keep in touch if i need more information from you. :niceone:

[shafty]

Hi Choc, sorry I have no solution. I am gobsmacked that a 2008 bike doesn't have a trip meter tho! I'd suggest taking a 5 litre plastic can on an open road ride to see how many k's she does til dry. That will give you a yard stick. (Obviously note at what k's you had to flick to reserve)

Have fun.

[Choc Milk]

my two 250's that i had had atleast a trip meter.

i went for a ride yesterday and ran it dry.managed 220ks which surprised me.

[BigGuy]

There is of course the real expensive option of getting a Garmin Zumo 550 GPS and using the fuel meter on that. When you get to reserve it will even tell you where the nearest petrol station is I've used that feature a couple of times - unfortunately it wont tell you if the petrol station is open or not :)
It even doubles as a GPS :shit:

*Most* mid range bikes should do around 30k's on reserve If I'm not mistaken.

[notme]

You could install a simple sensor and warning light - can be done cheaply but would require a few hours of work taking tank off and so on....

What I'm thinking is a captive magnet float in the tank, with a sensor on the outside that switches a light on when the fuel level is below some limit.

Total cost is buggerall (should be under $20) but the only part I haven't got an immediate answer for is how to glue the captive magnet inside the tank - you need an adhesive that is ok being immersed in fuel. Maybe that Knead-It stuff might work, I think it says that it is good for repairing gas tanks.

[Choc Milk]

I'll have a look into that.

thanks

[Skul1Candy]

Hey!
did you ever find a good solution? I just bought a 2013 model of the s40 and found out I have the same problem!
I actually only found out when I ran out of gas and called to say my fuel light was broken, only to find out it didnt have a fuel light :S
When I bought it I assumed it had, and me and the salesperson both thought the red light beside the neutral light must be the fuel gauge!
So frustrating, it seems like a big thing any vehicle should need? or at least a journey distance tachometer thing so we can get some idea..

[Murray]

rather than use the katmandu option I am sure there are some pretty simple counters out there - bowlers, cricket umpires, knitters etc use them. I would just get one of those and set to zero everytime you fill up and carry in your leathers all the time (same as using a tripmeter)