How close to empty have you got?

[Taz]

On my GS1200SS I once put 20.5L into a 20L tank. It works by squeezing a bit extra fuel into the air space at the top of thank.

Where can I get this fabled "thank"?? An extra half a litre would be handy sometimes.

[McDuck]

I have put 16.6 l into a '16.5' l tank. I think somthing was out but i was happy as fuck to have gas (i didnt think the only servo between taupo and whakatane would be needed, lost track of time and really needed it. A week later it shifted to its winter open times which would have left me walking a long way.

I had not been doing the bike thing long lol

[MaxB]

Almost been caught a couple of times up on East Cape. The worst was when I was taking a visitor up to Hicks Bay and I was going on to Gisborne and home. I filled up at Te Puke. Due to endless stops for photos, the fuel pumps were shut at HB and Te Araroa, its pretty casual up there at the best of times.

I carried on round to Gisborne in fading light and ran onto reserve before Te Puia Springs. I nursed the bike into BP Kaiti and put in 23.77 litres into a 24 litre tank, 408 kms later. Spoiled what should have been a great ride but at least I didn't have to push it.

[warewolf]

Sometimes I wonder about the accuracy of petrol pumps........

Generally they are in your favour (like electricity and water meters) but there are no standards for bike tanks. Plastic dirt bike tanks are hopeless; incredibly variable.

I've run out a few times (actually, only twice) but also coasted the last 30-50m a few times. Closest I got was the bike dying on the forecourt.

Across all my bikes I regularly get down to the last litre, and a handful of times within 0.3L (1.18% remaining). Like cajun, I've put a few hundred mL more into the tank than its stated capacity, on two different bikes now... without filling into the required air gap.

[Big Dave]

The k's it spends on the tow truck dont count.

Nah - it's all right mate - I know you have trouble and all that - but I know how to stay upright.

[Max Preload]

Last year I put 21.75L in a 22L tank after the SATNR. So that's 250mL (1 cup) remaining. I know it is actually 22L because I've filled it from totally dry once.

[NewRob]

Wanted to take a ride, on reserve, going to station...engine died. lucky just a short push to station.

[mossy1200]

I used to have an SP1 and I swear it was almost empty by the time you pulled out of the servo.

[MarkH]

yeah... had similar thing happen...

17 litre tank and it was pretty empty (on the zxr)

filled it up and it came to 22 litres...

i had a go at the gassy, they said the counting on them is hecked daily blah blah...

i said well its only a fucking 17 litre tank

22 is a lot more than 17 - presuming that it was on zero before you started that is out by a huge fuckin' margin. I would have complained the the Ministry of Consumer Affairs - they would have sent out someone to check the accuracy of the petrol pumps at that station and for that kind of inaccuracy they may have laid charges.

A quick google finds this page:
http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/m...ent/index.html
Seems to have a number to call on that page to report something like what you came across.

[nudemetalz]

My old ZX-10 sputtered on the motorway Gorge on-ramp on the way to work, so I switched to reserve......little did I know that reserve didn't work....and she died. Luckily, a passing AA guy who happened to see me gave me a couple of litres of fuel. Anyway, I got to the petrol station and put 20.7 litres into the 22 litre tank (I always remember how much due to the incident of the day !!).

The irony to this is that my work (welly city council) got my whole episode on CCTV, and I got hassled when I finally got to work !!

[Bass]

Caution!!
If your bike is fuel injected and uses one of the systems where the fuel pump is inside the fuel tank, then watch it. Running out of gas can be an expensive event. The submerged fuel pumps rely on the fuel for cooling and lubrication. They DO NOT like to be run dry.
Just to really stuff you around, they won't necessarily fail at the time of the abuse. You may appear to have got away with it only to have the pump fail for no obvious reason at some later time.

[NordieBoy]

My 18.5L tank in actually about 18.5L dammit.
Some get up to 20L in their DR650 IMS tanks.

I've run out on reserve and coasted 500m from Fairfield House to the servo on the Nordie and from the Hospital to the servo on the DR.

The Nordie has a fuel tap both sides so no amount of tipping will help

I've pulled in on the DR and put 18.5L in and the day I ran out on reserve it took the same amount.
Must have been running it preeeety close that day

[skidMark]

Nah - it's all right mate - I know you have trouble and all that - but I know how to stay upright.

Is that because they dont make a bed big enough for you, omg u sleep standing up?

[JohnC]

I used to have a small tank and hit reserve in all the wrong places more times than I care to remember.
Several times I didn't think I would make a gas station,but never actualy had to push it.
Now I have the King tank it only happens once or twice a month.

[skidMark]

I used to have a small tank and hit reserve in all the wrong places more times than I care to remember.
Several times I didn't think I would make a gas station,but never actualy had to push it.
Now I have the King tank it only happens once or twice a month.

I thought the only times harleys used fuel is when you drained the carbs trying to make it start but never succeed?