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[sixgun95]

Fuel Quantity - System sucks! 38k and you would think the fuel gauge would be accurate.  At 135 mi my gauge indicated 0.  Anyone know if this can be adjusted at the dealer?

Under normal driving conditions how many miles can you go on your 110" before hitting reserve?  Mine is stock with a V&H Propipe, I got 162 mi out of it before the reserve light came on. 

[erniezap]

I typically get 200-220 miles on a tank with my 2012 SEUC

[Rio]

depends on what kind of riding, speed.  80mph highway, 180 miles before reserve.

[Grizzly]

When I first bought my '08 I was getting that kind of low mileage.  I spoke with a friend who also had a similar problem and then he read the owners manual!

He decided NOT to go by his ear when changing from 5th to 6th (switching around 65mph) and tried doing what the manual says and switching at 55mph.

It sounds real sluggish (in 6th at 55mph), but his mileage went way up.  After suggesting I do the same, I now get at least 235 before going onto reserve.

Just passing along a tip I received that help.

[grc]

Rather than try to compare miles before the light comes on, which will vary widely depending on riding conditions, the state of tune, and how close to full you actually got the tank, I'd suggest determining exactly how much fuel is remaining when the light comes on.  It should be somewhere around 1 gallon if I remember correctly. 

If the gauge is significantly off, then yes the dealer should fix it under warranty. 


Jerry

[sixgun95]

depends on what kind of riding, speed.  80mph highway, 180 miles before reserve.

My measurement is all stop/go, no hwy.  Avg is 32-35 mpg.  I may need to put it on the dyno for a map tweak, may be running rich.

Any comments on the the fuel gauge......can it be adjusted so it indicates correctly?

[ultrafxr]

I do not see any adjustment.  The '12 service manual shows only for replacement of the fuel level sending unit which is in the tank.  I too am having problems and wonder if perhaps the gauge itself is the problem.  

Here is what I documented this past week.  Fuel gauge was on full 'E' but low fuel warning light had not come on.  I toggled the odometer button to get to the 'r' display which shows the range left for available  fuel and it read almost 80 miles.  I continued to ride and finally the low fuel warning light came on when the range function showed 27 miles.  I filled the tank and got 5.4 gallons.

I would think that both the fuel gauge and the range function would gather their data from the same source - the fuel level sending unit.  Since the range function and the low fuel warning light seem to be reasonably accurate I am suspecting a malfunction in the fuel gauge itself.

Added:  According to the manual GRC is correct - the low fuel light should come on with 1.0 gallons remaining (for the six gallon tank).  I think the five gallon tanks have .9 gallons remaining when the low fuel light comes on.

[cahdbiker]

sixgun95, I can go at least 180 maybe a little more with passenger and luggage, freeway riding, before green light come on. And as GRC said I usually have close to a gallon left. Sometimes a little bit more sometimes a little bet less, but pretty close to a gallon. I have a fulsac stage 1 stock cams 1.75 baffles and HD freeflow air cleaner with K&N filter, no cat, on my 09 SEUC. CAHDBIKER

[lilcoot]

Sixgun, I've noticed the same problem with my 2012 SG.  The gauge is never accurate.  I've ridden several times after the low fuel light comes on, but I've never put more than 4.5 gallons in the tank. 

Once, after the low fuel light came on, I toggled to 'range'.  It initially gave a range of 70 miles, but after about 20 miles, the range had dropped to 15 miles remaining.  When I stopped to fill up, it only took 4.5 gals.

I guess  I should be glad it errs on the conservative side, but let's face it.  This ain't rocket science.  For the amount we pay for their bikes, HD should pay more attention to these little details.

[dirtdobber]

My 2012 sg and 2010 wide glide both show low fuel early. the wide glide being the worse.
I think it may be normal.

Who knows, I use the trip meter any way so the gauge is only a idea, lol
I have 1,100 miles so far on the 12 sg and I seem to be getting around 160-180 when the light comes on, I am confident that I can get 210-220 to a tank.

dd

[Puzzled]

Rather than try to compare miles before the light comes on, which will vary widely depending on riding conditions, the state of tune, and how close to full you actually got the tank, I'd suggest determining exactly how much fuel is remaining when the light comes on.  It should be somewhere around 1 gallon if I remember correctly. 

If the gauge is significantly off, then yes the dealer should fix it under warranty. 


Jerry

+1

Doesn't the fuel gauge work off of resistance/ohms or something like that? If so it would take a resistor to change when the light comes on.

On the flip side when my light comes on the bike is about to shut off, GET GAS NOW!

[Puzzled]

I think the no gauge days made me pay closer attention to the trip-odometer.  

[cvobiker]

Here is my gas gauge.. First... Make sure to reset trip odometer after each fill-up. I start looking for gas when I have around 180 miles on the odometer and start to really panic when I have around 225 on the odometer and I've ran out twice with 230-240 on the odometer.   If you pay attention to you odometer, it's a pretty dam accurate gauge 

[grc]

Back when bikes didn't have gauges, using the odometer was the only game in town.  Now that even the cheapest bikes and cars come with a gauge, I think it's time to insist that the gauges actually work.  And it's not that difficult, even the cheapo cars on the market come with pretty accurate gauges these days.  There is no valid excuse for a Harley gauge to be less accurate.

btw, using the odometer works fine if you always remember to reset the odometer at each gas fill, and of course you always fill to the exact same level in the tank, and of course you always ride under the exact same conditions so that you use fuel at the same rate.  Seems a little shaky to me, versus a device that should tell you how much fuel remains regardless of all those factors.

To answer the OP's original question, yes the gauge can be fixed.  If you have a really good dealer, it shouldn't be a problem.  If you have a typical dealer, you may have to escalate things above them or do it yourself.


Jerry

[SteveO]

180 to 200 is my comfort zone, never trust the fuel gauge !