04 fuel guage accuracy

so,today I fill up when the guage starts blinking and i put in 4.2 gal.Can't remember the excact number,but I think the tank holds over 5.5 gal.I usaually get about 135 to 150 miles before i get the blink,90%in town riding.Was just wondering if thats about normal or is something not correct.

 

Sounds normal for in town...Anyone else? bueller... bueller.... bueller.....

 

This sounds fairly accurate. I've got an 04 I'd say that 80% of my riding is highway. If I fill up at the blink, it takes about 4.2 gal to fill her up. I usually get about 175-190 miles before the blink depending on just how full I got the tank at the last stop. I've risked it up to 210 miles before filling up so I'm confident that I can' get 200 miles out of the tank.

I have to say that I find the guage a bit pessimistic on whats left in the tank. The 8 bars on the guage certainly aren't symmetrical in how much each one represents. I wouldn't necessarily say this is a bad thing as it gives you a tad bit more heads up that you're getting low.

 

thanks for your reply.as I am in AZ I ride to and from work everyday.In the morning I always go and start the bike and let it warm up.Was wondering if the fast idle till warm burns fuel at a high rate?

 

If you are "choking " the bike then yeah it is because your choking the air out of the mixture. it runs rich ....

 

4.2 is spot on with my bike as well.:thumbsup:

 

It'sfuel injected no choke.anyway it's pretty cold in here in the am in az and I let it get up over 100 before I take off.

 

There's no manual choke lever - it's automatic. The rpms will start high then go down as the bike gets warmer, which doesn't take long. In colder climates this time of year, it's not unusual for the bike to run up to 2k rpm for the first minute or more on really cold days.

IMO the closer the bike is to normal operating temp before taking off, the better. I don't wait 'til it's at 168F, but usually wait 'til it's at least 120-130F, and even then I don't rev it up much 'til it's at least 150F.

BTW, 6th gen's have 5.8 gal. tanks. Unless you fill it up while the bike's on its centerstand, it's almost impossible to actually fit 5.8 gal. in it. And even then I bet that first fuel bar would disappear in about 20 mi.

I've stretched to 210+ freeway mi. on a full tank before, but once that last fuel bar starts blinking I usually stop within about 10 mi. I know it'll go at least 20, probably even 30 more mi. but why take a chance on running out of gas?

 

Yes, technically in order for it to warm up at higher RPMs it does consume more gas idling. HOWEVER, with the minimal amount that it takes to add about 1000 RPM while it is idling, it won't ever make a noticible difference. At most I would bet that you use 1 extra ounce of gas for the high idle warm up, 2 at max. You'd never notice that difference in your daily riding.

Tim is right, you can't get the tank full unless you are on the center stand. I always fill up on the centerstand just to get that little extra in there. I never know where I'm going when and sometimes that extra quart that I can get in there keeps me from stopping before I get to my destination. I've never gotten more than 15 miles out of the first bar on the guage and I typically don't get more than 10 before it disappears. Kinda irks me sometimes as I would have liked to have seen it read a little more accurate. I've gotten used to it as I've gotten to know the bike so it doesn't bother me. I'm just glad the guage is pessimistic instead of overly optimistic like the guage in my car.

 

Few if any motorcycle fuel guages are accurate. Sidestand vs centerstand with the tank less than full will indicate this. Some are indicators are analog, some digital but both rely on analog sensing.

Some difference will also be apparant from Winter to Summer in Arizona.

That gallon or so that seems to be problematic is reserve. The warning light indicates that fuel is needed right skippy.

Better IMO, to use your "choke" for initial startup and for warming up use normal idle RPM. Fuel consumption is higher when "choking" and "running rich" is a side effect. I know of no practical way of measuring this that would be worth the effort.

 

2004 vtec ,each bar on the guage is about 25 miles.

Plasma.

 

Tho it's not 100% accurate, at least the VFR has a decent fuel gauge. A couple of the bikes I considered when I bought my VFR didn't even have fuel gauges, which on a modern bike is shameful.

 

since I've had the bike I have only gotten the gauge full all the way once and that is almost overfilling the tank.