Gas Issue Guage misleading reading

[Statussymbol]

OK, so last night I on way home from work gas light came on and the fuel mileage was counting up, which I thought was weird I only had 180 miles on the tank at this point. So I put another 10 miles on before fill up. Filled her up at 190 miles and only took 4.5 gallons. Average 40 MPG, which it a lot better than the 30 I was getting on the Roadliner BTW. Also, I had my co worker and I rode into work that morning and according to my speedo he was doing 70 and I asked him at a stop sign how fast he was going, he said 60-62. so I had him go 60 on the next straight and give me a thumbs up. I looked down 68. So not only is my speedo off so is my gas gauge. The dealer disclosed that the speedo was replaced at some time, did they not recalibrate it? or calibrate it wrong? What is my next step? If it is too much to fix I'll deal with it. Knowing that I'm 5-8 MPH off and got a gallon in the tank when the light comes on, plus reserve. Looking forward to your responses.

 

Stat.

[Guest Jamsie]

same thing happens to me , but i associate the low lvl warning light

to leaning the bike over in bends , causing the fuel to go to left side of the tank and with the sender in the right side it lowers the fuel lvl in the right side of the tank , fooling the sender into thinking you are low on fuel.

almost every speedo is out of wack , and reads higher than the actual speed. think of the lawsuits for claims against speeding fines if they were the other way around .

i uise my gps for true speed as its a lot more accurate than any speedometer in my car or on my bikes

[bongobobny]

Yup, when the amber fuel light comes on you still have 2 bars on the gauge, good enough for around 40 miles, give or take, kind of like the "Low Fuel" message on a car.

 

Sad truth, all the RSV's, and the 1st gens as well, read about 10% high. Being an electronic speedometer there is no calibration to the assembly itself, it just reads the incoming pulses from the sensor. They DO make devices called speedometer healers that actually change the frequency of the pulses. Not sure where to guide you to but I do know a few members have fixed the problem. Myself, I use the much more accurate MPH on my GPS...

[dogman]

Yup, when the amber fuel light comes on you still have 2 bars on the gauge, good enough for around 40 miles, give or take, kind of like the "Low Fuel" message on a car.

 

Sad truth, all the RSV's, and the 1st gens as well, read about 10% high. Being an electronic speedometer there is no calibration to the assembly itself, it just reads the incoming pulses from the sensor. They DO make devices called speedometer healers that actually change the frequency of the pulses. Not sure where to guide you to but I do know a few members have fixed the problem. Myself, I use the much more accurate MPH on my GPS...

 

 

I agree with Bongobob. The counting up when you go on reserve is to let you know how far you have travelled since being warned that you are on low fuel/reserve. I really like this feature, but it was also new to me when I got this bike and I had to adjust to it.

[djh3]

Yup all speedo's (unless stated as certified-think police) read high-fast. Usually by something like 5-8%. Once you ride with a GPS or find out how much the difference is you can bump it up if you want. Mine was like 75 indicated was 68 or 72 I forget now. My buddy had a Heritage Softail that was just about dead nuts on, GPS 70 his was at bottom part of that line. As for the gauge and light, never really got that all figured out completely. Light on I was looking for a station. 900# is a lot to push. On highway run until it coughs, flip to reserve and look for exit.

[videoarizona]

Stat,

 

Speedos are off as others have posted. There is a simple cure....

 

http://shop.12oclocklabs.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=59

 

Very easy to install. Unplug factory 3 prong plug on lower left panel (behind your foot), plug in unit, turn bike key on and calibrate. Instructions on web site...with video.

 

$80

 

Hint: get an accurate figure of how far off your speedo is in mph (use gps)...then use the guide on their web site to set your correction factor. Mine was -7.1

 

BTW, on your fuel....run a few tanks through and you will get the feel of how your fuel system/mpgs is working. I ALWAYS use the odometer as a simple way to tell where I am in relation to fuel used.

 

Spend $12...become a member...you will love the info available here!

And enjoy your scoot!

david

Edited August 18, 2016 by videoarizona

[Seaking]

Most Japanese bikes will read roughly 8 to 10% higher in speed.. Don't know why they do that but they do.. On my 2006 RSV Midnight, it's 10% across the board.. 70 MPH means I'm actually doing 63 MPH. If you're doing the speed limit on the clock you can't be speeding.. I've been able to measure this against a car and my own GPS..

 

If you install a speedo healer type device to give you accurate speeds, your mileage will now start to record erroneously. I had tried one of these devices a while back and found I was registering around 8% less miles but had accurate speed..

 

I guess it's all up to personal choice.. I use my Garmin 450 Zumo as a speedo to keep my odo readings accurate.. Weird if I'm traveling with other bikers as they all complain I'm speeding accessively but actually doing the correct speed limit as they're seeing 10% overage in their speeds..

[mirider]

Stat,Speedos are off as others have posted. There is a simple cure....

 

http://shop.12oclocklabs.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=59

 

That is the unit I installed on my RSV to correct speedo error, relatively inexpensive and easy to install. My speed reading was off by 6-8 mph @ 60 mph but now is right on verified by GPS readings.

[Mad Dog]

When the fuel light comes on on my 2006 I have about 6-8 miles (on the count up) before I need to switch to reserve, then I figurre I have another 80 miles before I need to worry about it.

 

As for the speedo ... I use the GPS or just deduct 5mph and I figure thats close enough.