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[lvse110se5]

This is the first bike that I have had with the 6 gallon tank. While I was on a recent trip, I noticed on a few long runs between gas stations, when I had the fuel light come on and it would show 30 some miles left in reserve. When I fueled up, it only took around 4.5 gallons or less. Meaning that I sould have still had 1.5 gallons left to run on. Any comments on this would be appreciated.

[LFMC Pharaoh]

From what I understand of that is that with fuel injection the fuel pump is in the tank and takes up for about a half gallon.

[lvse110se5]

I have had fuel injection on the last three bikes, but all of them had a five gallon tank. If I ran them into the reserve with the fuel light on, they would take 4 gallons or more at fuel up. I would think that with the 6 gallon tank, it should take 5 gallons or more if the reserve light has come on.

[Fired00d]

H-D gauges are known not to be accurate .... Reset your trip meter at each fill up, learn about how many miles your bike is getting per tank and use the trip meter to tell when you are getting close to empty/need gas.

 
Ride Safe,
Fired00d
 

[captain_jeb]

I have noticed the same thing with the new bike and a rental I used in CA last month. The light comes on too soon (from my perspective) but it is also on E long before the light comes on. Will have them check the gauge on the E issue next week at the 1K service though.

[grc]

There are several other threads on this same subject, try a search.  Basically, since the introduction of the 6 gallon tank many people have either had a hard time getting the tank really full, or they've found that the gauge is very pessimistic.  That's just Harley trying to make up for the overly optimistic gauges on the 5 gallon tanks.

The important thing to figure out is how much fuel do you really have when the gauge hits 1/4, 1/8, and E.  Best way I know of to do that is to empty the tank completely and then add fuel a little at a time and check the gauge.  If it's way off, tell your dealer you want it fixed under warranty. 

The tank will definitely hold 6 gallons of fuel.  In fact, if you fill it to the bottom of the filler opening it will most likely hold at least 6.25 gallons.


Jerry

[SteveFLHTK]

I kinda disagree with all the above posts.  I believe the problem is that you did not fully top off the tank.  These tanks are very hard to top off and require a slow pump and careful hand to get them to fill up.  If I am really trying to get mine full, I keep adding fuel until I can see it in the neck, then I slightly upright the bike to allow the high side to burp and the level to go down....then I remove the nozzle, which again fills up the neck, requiring another burp.  Be really careful doing this, it's easy to overflow.

[howtodoit]

I never rely on the gauge, I always use the trip odometer and reset it each time I fuel up. I know that my 2009 SEUC took 5.79 gallons after coasting up to the pumps one day.

[grc]

I never rely on the gauge, I always use the trip odometer and reset it each time I fuel up. I know that my 2009 SEUC took 5.79 gallons after coasting up to the pumps one day.

As I see it, there is one major problem with just using the odometer on a bike that has no "reserve" like the old carb bikes.  We've already heard from many folks that they can't consistently fill the tank completely.  So let's say that you usually get 40 mpg on the highway, and you figure that gives you a range of 240 miles on a full tank.  Now you're out riding and flip over to the trip odometer and see 190 miles since your last reset.  Do you stop now, or figure you can go at least another 40 miles, or what?  Maybe you didn't get 40 mpg on this tank, but only 36 mpg.  And maybe you didn't get the tank full, so you started out with 5.5 gallons available and not 6.0 gallons.  In other words, since you don't know exactly how much fuel you really had in the tank when you hit that reset button, and exactly how much you've used so far, using the odometer is strictly a hit or miss piece of guesswork.  If you don't mind making frequent fuel stops to be on the safe side, no big deal.  If you prefer to use most of the fuel before stopping, then it becomes a big deal when your guesstimate is off.  These bikes are heavy suckers, and pushing them down the road is a lot of work and not the safest thing to do either.

The gauge is there for a reason; get it fixed so it works properly and you won't have to "guesstimate".


Jerry

[lvse110se5]

Thanks for all of the input. I will probably have the gauge checked. I have ridden long enough to know that I cannot rely completely on either the gauge or the reset odometer, and as far as burping the tank, I have ridden way too many years and miles to start doing something like that. I know how to fill up a fuel tank, I will blame the gauge, not my inability to fill up the tank. Anyway, thanks again.

[Chains]

Ran my 06 with a 5 gallon tank till the light was on for about 14 miles, fueled up with 5.2 gallons.  either the pump was not calibrated or reserve and pump both wrong.

[grc]

Ran my 06 with a 5 gallon tank till the light was on for about 14 miles, fueled up with 5.2 gallons.  either the pump was not calibrated or reserve and pump both wrong.

Ran my '05 with the 5 gallon tank and the original tank of gas down to just slightly under 1/4 on the gauge.  When it began missing as I sat at a traffic light, I pulled into a conveniently located gas station and filled up with 5.4 gallons of gas, with the bike on the jiffy stand and fuel just up to the three little holes in the filler neck.  After the incompetent dealership couldn't fix the gauge, I fixed it myself.  Subsequent tests confirmed that the capacity of the tank was in fact 5.4 gallons when filled as I described, btw.  Harley measures capacity at a certain distance below the filler tube, so if you fill it all the way to the bottom of the tube you will get more than the stated capacity. 

When the gauge is adjusted properly, the low fuel light should come on at approximately 3/16 (1 hash mark below 1/4) and you should have approximately 1 gallon of fuel remaining.  After adjusting mine to that standard several years ago, it has remained consistent at the low end of the scale and I have no qualms about relying on it.  If I fill up right after the gauge hits 1/4, which is my normal practice, it takes 4.0 - 4.2 gallons to fill it.  Meaning there were 1.2 - 1.4 gallons remaining, exactly what I would predict based on the gauge reading.  In case anyone cares, when I originally adjusted the gauge I also checked it the other way, by adding 1.0 gallons to an empty (drained completely) tank and checking the gauge reading.  That's the best way to do it, especially if you have one of the current models that is hard to get full.

It's highly unfortunate that H-D doesn't think it's important enough to spend another buck or so to give us a good fuel gauge system that everyone can rely on right out of the crate.  I don't know about the rest of you, but I stopped using the tripmeter in my cars to decide when to fill up about 35 years ago, and I haven't come close to running out of gas in any of those vehicles.  Didn't have any such problem with my Yamaha's or Honda's either.


Jerry

[mike45]

The gauge on my 08 SERK seems to move rather quickly from F to 1/4 so I really don't use it.  I use my trip odometer just like I did on my Shadow that didn't have a gauge.  I fill up at 200-225 miles.  It usually takes around 15 L (5 gal or so) to fill up.

[Racerdj]

While I'm still on my first tank, the gauge is not linear. It dropped more quickly until near E. The low fuel light has not come on yet.

[dooinit2u]

I ran mine on a long trip and was stuck between stations and when I stopped the trip showed -10 on odometer. filled up and took 5.2 gallons.
I think there is a problem, but in the riders favor. Glad its not the other way around or we'd see a bunch of people on side the road...