Fuel level warning light

[venture2008]

Hi All,

 

I am a new member. Not even sure is I have all the settings correct in my profile as I am new for going into forums also. I bought my 2008 Venture in December and could not wait for the snow to melt to pick it up at the dealer. I put it on the road on March 7th and already have it broken in. This is the best bike I have riden. Traded in a 2005 Goldwing for it. Going down south in a month with a friend of mine and we will be riding the tail of the dragon and the blue ridge parkway. Can't wait.

 

My fuel level warning light comes on with about 2 gallons left. The manual says it should come on with .92 gallons left. The dealer is stumped and is checking with the local Yamaha rep. They think it might be a misprint in the manual, but that doesn't sound right. The warning should'nt come on with 1/3 of the fuel left. I have to turn the fuel cock to reserve or the engine will stop running.

 

Any ideas?

[Missionary Rider]

I think what you are describing is common. The only thing is, there is no way to know how much fuel is actually left without running the bike completely out of fuel. I'm not brave enough to do this - though a time or two I thought I was close.

 

My light comes on with the fuel gauge showing 1/3 tank left. About ten miles later, the engine starves for fuel if I don't switch to reserve. I always switch to reserve when the light comes on to avoid the experience OR I keep the fuel valve on reserve all the time.

 

I have ridden until the lights on the fuel gauge were completely gone and cold sweat was running. I had visions of trying to push this 800 pound monster down the shoulder of the road or abandoning it while looking for fuel. When I made it to the gas station, I vowed never to push my luck that far again. When I filled the tank, I put 5.5 gallons in even though I tried my best to fill it to the tippy top.

 

This bike is hard to fill up completely. Do not base how much is left on how much you can put in and what the manual gives as the capacity of the tank. I repeat, it's almost impossible to put that much in this tank.

 

Bottom line to me is this; what does it matter when the light comes on as long as I have a pretty good idea how far I can go after it comes on. That too depends on riding style, speed, etc. etc.

 

My wife constantly reminds me of what my dad told me many years ago, "It doesn't cost any more to fill the top half of the tank than the bottom half." She also makes it very clear that she doesn't push!

Lynn

[Holly]

Sounds just like my 08, most of those warning lights are not that accurate, my truck will run another 100 mi., my car about 50 mi.

 

Was a little disturbed when it first happened, to me it is not worth fretting about.

[Beau-Kat]

The hardest thing for me to get used to with my fuel gauge was to look at the size of the bars on the display, not where they where or how many bars were showing.

 

I had to realize that the bars were taller when the tank was fuller and shorter as the level in the tank dropped. It didn't take too long to figure out that the shorter bars dropped out more quickly (i.e. less miles traveled between bars) than the larger bars.

 

My low fuel light would come on, my reserve tripmeter would start, my bike started starving, and I would have to switch to reserve. All these would happen at almost exactly the same time. If I stopped fairly quickly to refill the tank, it would take 4.5 gal everytime.

 

Although my fuel gauge still works fine, my low fuel light and reserve tripmeter don't work anymore. They went out @ around 35K miles. I really miss them too. I guess the sensor in the tank has failed. I saw some used ones on ebay, but will probably just order a new sensor.

 

Anyone else have theirs fail like that?

[V7Goose]

Welcome Sir, glad you found us here! This issue has been commonly discussed in these forums. I know that as a new member you haven't seen the discussions, and probably don't know much yet about searching for old threads, so I'll get you started - here is just one thread: http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?p=311645&highlight=reserve#post311645

 

Bottom line is that the manual is wrong - every RSV I have checked has the reserve/low fuel/trip meter come on with approximately 1.5 gallons left. You probably think it is 2 gallons since you have a hard time getting the tank full. That too is normal unless you vent the filler neck. Check out the thread above and see if that helps.

Goose

[venture2008]

Thanks for your help. No to bother the dealer anymore. IS there a way to search for threads b y title?

[Monsta]

Yes.

 

On the front page of the particular forum you're viewing is the SEARCH This Forum option. It is located on the right side kinda below your login name.

 

Click on "Search this Forum", this will open a drop down window. Click on Advanced Search.

 

The first field is for a keyword search. Below it is a little drop down menu. By default it says "Search Entire Posts". Click the arrow and a choice for "Search Titles Only" will appear as a choice.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

FWIW, I keep my petcock in Reserve position all the time. Yamaha must have been worried that only really old men were gonna ride this thing. They put 4 different ways to let us know when to stop for gas. What were they thinking??

 

1. Fuel gauge.

2. Low fuel light.

3. Count-down trip meter.

4. Running out of gas when on the normal position. (Removing my hands while driving just to fumble with the petcock is the worst one.)

 

[Beau-Kat]

Hey Ken.

 

I guess I'm a chicken and use my reserve position when I run out on the main tank. Been riding forever and that's just what I do.

 

If I lived in the Aloha State, from what I hear about prices over there, I wouldn't worry about running out of gas. I probably couldn't afford to ride anyway.

 

And if I did run ever run out of fuel over there, I hope it wouldn't be when I was running from a lava flow. L.O.L.

 

Maybe one day I'll have the good fortune of visiting the islands.

[Monsta]

Luckily the lava is currently going in to the ocean!

 

It's expensive to live if you live expensively. Otherwise, it's just like anywhere else...'cept prettier.

[rwrenn1]

you should get yourself one of these http://cyclefuel.com/ I got one and tried my luck in running out the one day too bad i cant remember how many miles it took that day but the can was the greatest thing anyone going on a trip should fill one of these up and keep it with them

[Leo Anderson]

I have done the test. take spare gas and just see for yourself. From full tank to empty almost 350 Km [i'am canadian, metric] . Hit fuel trip meter and you may get 100 km on it. My rule now is , when gauge says half look for gas. 07 RSV [blue]

[brainfart]

the light sometimes appears 7 - 10 miles before i need to dlip to "reserve"- sometimes after i flip.

However - when I switch to reserve - my 07 has EXACTLY one gallon of fuel.

 

here's how i know - wasn't paying close attention to the miles on a commute home.

yes- i exhausted the fuel supply -just 1 mile from the station.

 

coasted to a Target parking lot, bought a 1.5 fuel can (ARGH!!!!!)

hiked to the station and put in one gallon.

 

hiked back to the bike, dumped in the gallon and headed for the station.

4.51 gallons later - the tank was full.

 

typically i run 200 miles on a tank - just 2 days of commuting.

[BuddyRich]

the light sometimes appears 7 - 10 miles before i need to dlip to "reserve"- sometimes after i flip.

However - when I switch to reserve - my 07 has EXACTLY one gallon of fuel.

 

here's how i know - wasn't paying close attention to the miles on a commute home.

yes- i exhausted the fuel supply -just 1 mile from the station.

 

coasted to a Target parking lot, bought a 1.5 fuel can (ARGH!!!!!)

hiked to the station and put in one gallon.

 

hiked back to the bike, dumped in the gallon and headed for the station.

4.51 gallons later - the tank was full.

 

typically i run 200 miles on a tank - just 2 days of commuting.

 

Musta been a brainfart....:rotf: that's a great handle..

Now your gonna get blamed for eveything:rotf:

[jvbailey3]

Wow all this time, I thought the gallon reserve did not count. The indicator lets you know when you were a gallon from your reserve. Hmm..............