Petrol tank alarm emergency action cautionary warning device

Discussion in 'Bonneville' started by Muddles, Mar 1, 2017.

  1. Muddles

    Muddles New Member

    Feb 28, 2017
    8
    3
    London/Essex
    So, a few days into week one on the bonny, 105 miles and the reserve light comes on..! That cant be right surely, im hoping it has a massive reserve. Im pretty sure i filled the tank up, it cost me about a tank worth, i didnt really pay attention as there was a bit of trouble going on at the time.

    So yea, how much reserve are people getting before the walk of jerry can shame?
     
  2. MickEng

    MickEng Noble Member

    Sep 29, 2016
    1,805
    450
    West Yorkshire
    I reckon I average about 65mpg, but that's a high % of motorway riding.
    Knocking about having a bit of fun can drop it to 45mpg
    The tanks are only small, holds about £15 from empty so you do seem to be filling up regularly.
    I would imagine the reserve light comes on with 50 miles left but I am not gonna chance it, the most I have risked was 30 miles in the middle of nowhere till I found a garage by luck.
     
  3. tcbandituk

    Subscriber

    Apr 8, 2016
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    Interesting thread title, I thought it was going to be about exploding tanks or something at least ! :eek:
     
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  4. Mischa Vladivostok

    Mischa Vladivostok Well-Known Member

    Feb 9, 2015
    234
    93
    Dublin, Ireland
    I have an EFI, and do mostly city. I get around 100 miles before the dreaded light starts flickering on and back off again. I usually go to around 120 miles, after which I get ridiculously nervous and start going around mostly on neutral until I fill her up again. Rinse and repeat, every two weeks or so.

    That amounts to around 13 litres of petrol. She's not known for being a tree-hugger, the Bonnie...
     
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  5. Rich Bryce

    Rich Bryce Dead Eye Dick

    Sep 18, 2015
    2,991
    1,000
    Bedford
    I'm lucky if I get 100 miles out of a tank of standard supermarket fuel before the light flickers on, maybe a little more out of the expensive Shell stuff.
     
  6. MickEng

    MickEng Noble Member

    Sep 29, 2016
    1,805
    450
    West Yorkshire
    Bloody hell Rich, what on earth are you doing contaminating your bikes with supermarket petrol.
    You wouldn't get us 'Yorkies' trying to save money like that.
    'Penny wise, pound foolish' is the phrase I would apply to that.
    They try and tell you it's the same stuff, but you already acknowledge you get less to the gallon.
    STOP, before you gum all your carbs/injectors up or blow your engine up.
     
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  7. thebiglad

    thebiglad Old fart, still riding !

    Sep 25, 2013
    5,066
    1,000
    Central France
    Hi there Muddles, you may find it helpful to others if you put some bike details into your signature. That way other peeps know what bike you're referring to.

    Re the fuel tank capacity that depends on whether it is a carb, EFi or Speed Twin model. Can't remember the carb tank capacity but the EFi ones are 16 ltrs and the Speed Twin is only 12 ltrs.

    On my 2010 EFi bike I found I could never get much more than 12 or 13 ltrs in, with a reserve of maybe 4 ltrs (when the light comes on) so for me that translated into 220 kms (138 mls) with a further 60 kms (approx 38 mls) on reserve - I never ran out so I don't know exactly how much the maximum distance on reserve would be.
     
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  8. Muddles

    Muddles New Member

    Feb 28, 2017
    8
    3
    London/Essex
    Cheers biglad, ive tried that so lets see what happens.

    So i dome mathematics on the subject and it looks like i got around 47mpg, so not so bad for mostly town riding.
    Something i did learn today however is that if you try to phone my local petrol station and ask how much they charge for fuel a whole host of hillarity can unfold as they are not allowed to tell you their prices! Over ten minutes of chit chat and not one swear word, i didnt manage to get an answer but i enjoyed myself all the same.
     
  9. Mischa Vladivostok

    Mischa Vladivostok Well-Known Member

    Feb 9, 2015
    234
    93
    Dublin, Ireland
    That's just silliness. A bit like supermarkets here, where I was told I am not allowed to take pictures of the price tags. But it's ok to write them down. Go figure.
     
  10. MrOrange

    MrOrange Guest

    Chop it in for an America, have seen 200+ and no light on !!!!:)
     
  11. tcbandituk

    Subscriber

    Apr 8, 2016
    2,812
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    Or a Tiger Sport......
     
  12. phantom

    phantom Member

    Jul 17, 2016
    20
    8
    n.e. lincs
    Hi all,
    I ride like a wuss so i am told so that explains 140 miles before warning light comes on, 2014 bonnie.
    not tried to see how much in reserve.
     
  13. John Will

    John Will Member

    Dec 5, 2016
    43
    18
    Bury St Edmunds.
    14.5 litre tank getting around 65 mpg gives me so far a safe 165 mile round trip, that's a T120 and and it can average 85 ish at 70 mph if its very slight undulations on the road.
     
  14. MickEng

    MickEng Noble Member

    Sep 29, 2016
    1,805
    450
    West Yorkshire
    Why on earth would you want to ring your local petrol station for the petrol price ?
    Your'e still going to have to put some in, what's your option drive 30 miles to another garage to save 1p per litre ?
    You'll get yourself all in a muddle!
     
  15. Muddles

    Muddles New Member

    Feb 28, 2017
    8
    3
    London/Essex
    They might mean ' you ride like you push
    I knew from my bank statement how much i'd spent, so by finding out what they were charging per litre i could work out how much fuel i'd actually put in. I'm calling them back tomorrow just for a laugh.
     
  16. MickEng

    MickEng Noble Member

    Sep 29, 2016
    1,805
    450
    West Yorkshire
    Muddles,
    Next time you are filling up with petrol, look at the dials on the pump, it tells you exactly how much you are putting in, in money and litres and it is also on your receipt, it's a lot easier than looking at your bank statements and wasting time and money ringing the garage.
    Get out on your bike and have some fun!
     
  17. Muddles

    Muddles New Member

    Feb 28, 2017
    8
    3
    London/Essex
    Yea like i said previously, there was a fair amount of argybargy going on at the time, some gypsy folk and the dibble kinda stole my attention. But thanks for the advice.
     
  18. MrOrange

    MrOrange Guest

    I ain't paying an extra 5p a litre just cos it says shell or BP on it!
    Most of the petrol comes from a few refineries around the country, can't believe there's much difference!
    And I laugh at the people who buy the fancy stuff ,  :D:D:D:D:eek:
    Unless you have knock sensors. (GTR's, etc), your wasting your hard earned coin. :cool:
     
  19. MickEng

    MickEng Noble Member

    Sep 29, 2016
    1,805
    450
    West Yorkshire
    Well we had this debate several weeks ago but with engine oil.
    Nobody will ever convince me that 'el cheapo' brands and the likes of Shell, BP etc. are the same product.
    I would have to see serious lab report comparisons, which I probably wouldn't understand.
    All I can say is that from my experience of using 'fancy' stuff both oil and fuel, I have never 'touchwood' had any problems mechanically with any of my vehicle over 45 years of motoring, including my current BMW bought from new now with 214k miles on the clock.
    I can't compare with 'el cheapo' brands because I have never used them.
    Funny enough I know a guy with one of the new Bentleys who swore the supermarket fuel was the same, car serviced regularly at Bentley costing £5.7k a pop.
    60k miles engine problems! coincidence ?
     
  20. tcbandituk

    Subscriber

    Apr 8, 2016
    2,812
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    Probably.

    I had a Fabia that used supermarket fuel all the time, was barely serviced and I sold it with 130,000 on the clock. It's probably near the 200,000 mile mark now as the new owner was commuting from Cornwall to Liverpool regularly.
    I've got another one currently that has done 80,000 miles plus and again is run on supermarket fuel and hasn't been serviced for the last 20,000 miles at least.
    But it doesn't prove that not servicing your car is good for increasing the engine mileage......
     
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