| Author | Message | ||
     Tyler7686 |
I am just wondering what you guys base your gas usage on since there is no low fuel light or gauge. Is there any kind of aftermarket low fuel light? | ||
| Lakes |
Well I just do the same as I always have on a carb MC ride till they need reserve, turn on reserve the fill up next gas stop,make sure you don't ride with them turned onto reserve or you just run out | ||
| 46champ |
M2's with manta ray tanks (5 gal) usually have a large reserve mine is 1.8 gal unless someone has pulled the valve and modified it yours should be between 1 and 2 gal reserve. Fill up the bike go out and ride fill it up when it his the reserve. Yes the tank does hold 5 gal I have filled with 4.9 | ||
| Rsm688 |
I agree with the others, I have ridden around for a week on my reserve without running out before. Just drive til you need to switch to reserve then go fill up | ||
| Buellistic |
Write down you mileage, fill your gas tank and the next time you gas up divide the miles traveled by the amount of fill up fuel which gives you the MPG ... How you ride determines what your gas mileage ... Have mine down to 200 miles before "i" have to gas up ... | ||
| Buell_bert |
I use the trip odometer and usually fill when it gets close to 150. I really never look at the real mileage unless for oil changes etc. | ||
| Lakes |
you have enough good advice here now. just thought i would mention. check what way you need to turn petcock (gas tap? ) to have it in ON possition & off & Reserve & make sure you only turn it to on & not reserve. or when it starts starving for gas thats it. if you always use the ON , when it starts to starve for gas turn it quickly to reserve. Another important thing you should do is check your gas level before you ride, like remove filler gap take a look to see how much gas is there. if you ride in the heavy traffic you might use more gas & less gas on open road, but also can be effected by how the carb is tunned & how you ride & what state of tune engine is in. | ||
| Henshao |
It is called a reserve, virtually all carbureted bikes have one. In your tank are two fuel pickups, one higher than the other. One leads to the main the other to the reserve. When the main don't run the bike no more, switch to the reserve. On the big ass cyclone tank -one of my favorite things about the bike it makes it very practical at 50mpg+- There is approximately a 3.8 gallon main and a 1.2 gallon reserve. There are times when I fill up and the bike takes more than 5 gallons, I have it down to a science how far my bike will go on a tank. I usually switch to the reserve around 180-220 miles. Went like 225 on the main once. Carbs are good for one-throttle-position driving, such as drag racing or highway cruisin'. | ||
| Coxster |
I'm with Bert. I have to gas up about 150 miles, although my trip odometer resets every time I try to look at it. I'm only getting 37-40 MPG, but there is a certain hooligan element to my 'riding style'. I keep a 32 oz sports bottle on the back rack, so I'm usually near a gas station for a drink anyway | ||
| Buell_bert |
I would not get enough mileage out of my ON petcock position so I pulled the petcock and chopped about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch off the high tube and now like it much better. I have done this before on another one. | ||
| Rick_a |
I look in my tank before I ride. If I can see the bottom of the tank up front, it needs gas. | ||
| Henshao |
Pretty decent strategy, rick. I Have a tankbag so it would be annoying to do the same. For less frequent riders, gasoline evaporation is enough of a concern that just flat out looking into the tank before each ride is probably a good idea. | ||
| Rex |
trip odometer.....same as above....about 130-150 miles... | ||
| Hootowl |
Yep. ODO. On my carb'd bikes, 130 is my low fuel light  | ||
| Henshao |
Something must be wrong with my bike, going 180-200 miles before the reserve... | ||
| Jim2 |
You may be jetted lean as it comes from the factory. When you re-jet for better performance you usually give up some gas mileage. Maybe you do more Highway cruise than most here. If you are not the first owner of the bike maybe a PO has cut down the petcock pickup tube so you have a larger main and smaller reserve. Do you warm up your bike real well before taking off. This will noticeably affect your gas mileage. Do you ride like a psycho hooligan or a grandma. All of these will make a difference. | ||
| Henshao |
Other than the 18% taller-than-stock gears I installed, I credit it to short-shifting and doing a lot of steady-throttle riding. Carburetors respond better to one continuous throttle position. My bike will go over 250 miles on a tank and my speedo is accurate to my GPS so the MPG's are honest. It certainly isn't lean. I hardly warm my bike up at all. On full choke, once it's idling above 2000rpms I roll out. Even on a 25 degree day this doesn't take very long. I cut down on it little by little and leave the choke on until it can idle without any choke at all, though. I don't ride like a maniac but I always move faster than the flow of traffic. | ||
| Captainkirk |
I fill up at 120 miles. With a full tank I run out (reserve) at 139 miles with the race kit, HSR42 and Andrews N8 cams (Message edited by Captainkirk on January 26, 2013) | ||
| Dave_02_1200 |
Fuel Gauge? I usually get off to stretch every 100 miles of so. When I stop, I look in the tank as part of my visual walk-around check that all is well. However, if I wanted a monitor, I might attach a "T" fitting to my fuel pipe and run a clear line up the side of the tank with a jet in the end to allow air to escape. That would provide a sight tube for accurate fuel level checks on the fly. |
