Not the comfy seat

[harrisphil]

I have had a 650 TA for a month now and got my first oppertunity to do a longish run at the weekend
only a couple of problems
1. the fuel guage seams to go from 1/4 full to below the red in a very short space of time and I have not yet got used to the idea of no reserve
2. and of most concern the seat turns into an item of tourture at 75 miles

any body got any ideas about the seat and how to make it more useable

the wearing of cyclying shorts didnt help

[jackafrica]

Fuel gauge doesn't have linear travel to amount of fuel used, we're all i nthe same boat.
Re the comfy seat, maybe I've a bit more padding or a higher threshold of pain, seat seems good for a tankful before monkey bum sets in. Have a break for a while and you're good to go.
I'm also using the short arse seat which has less padding.

[Gerryc]

Fuel checks are still on-going but the last one is,
(TA, 2005, 650 V4, restricted to 25kw)

milages from zero,

from full tank till the needle started to move -- 95miles,
till it reached the red -- 177miles,
till it started gasping while overtaking a lorry going up hill on a motorway -- 208miles.

Definetely not a linear drop. The fuel needle dropped from the start of the red to the bottom of the scale within five miles. A little un-nerving but I had a five litre can of petrol in the top box especially for this experiment. Putting this in the tank resulted in the gauge reading a quarter full.

[Dessert Storm]

My 650 hits the bottom of the red at around 145 miles; I've never had the nerve to do more than about a further 10 miles at this point. Filling up with the bike on the sidestand, to the point where the fuel is just at the bottom of the filler neck takes about 14.5 litres; since tank capacity is quoted as 19.6 litres, that suggests there is probably something like 3 or 4 litres in there allowing for the fact that the bike wasn't vertical when filled up.

Some (nerveless) folk on here have reported only having a litre left when they fill-up. Respect.

Interestingly (well, very slightly interestingly), the owners manual states that there is 3.8 litres reserve tank capacity. I presume this refers to the amount left when the needle enters the red.

I can do about a two hour stint before my backside starts pleading for mercy; on a run, this roughly equates to fill ups so I don't see it as a problem. At one of the bike shows, there was a seat with one of those Airhawk air-filled seat cushions to try out; lusciously comfortable, but £145! Set me a'thinkin about what a man could do with a length of bubblewrap.....

[robelst]

Hmmm, uncomfy seat, unreliable fuel gauge...

--bling-- :idea:

Stop at every fuel station and address both problems at the same time

If you have more problems of any kind, don't hesitate to consult me

[piguglyshandydrinker]

Of my limited experience I find that when the needle moves from the full mark at about 90 miles, into the red by 145, then needs about 14.5 ltr's to fill.
I make a habbit of resetting the trip and use that aswell as gauges move depending on inclination.

Phil

[Recycler]

I normally fill up at around 200 miles and put about 16 litres in.
I think the seat is bloody comfy.
I've done lots of 500 mile-plus days touring.

But then again I've ridden some **stard bikes.
On this year's Alpine tour I noticed that cruising at 95 means you need to refill at 150 miles and ANY saddle is going to hurt eventually.

[piguglyshandydrinker]

200 miles to a tank!, ok I've never put 16 litres in, normally 14 ish, are you a fairly gentle rider?

Theorelically at 145 miles and 14.5 ltr (47mpg), I've got another gallon, so maybe I could get 180m per full tank, but it's always offputting having a fuel guage dropping below the red and back again!

Phil

[Recycler]

My normal riding is a 30 mile commute along country lanes so you can't get above 60.
If I go elsewhere on faster roads it uses a bit more juice but doesn't drop dramatically. I don't hang about but prefer to do everything smooooooooothly - accelerating/braking/shifting.

[Dessert Storm]

OK Recycler, that's inspired me. Filled it up this morning, and decided to try and see what is the maximum mileage I can get from a tankful. So I'm keeping to 5000rpm and below, and riding as smoothly as melted chocolate in a teflon frying pan.

XT350? Didn't know there was one - is that for greenlaning?

Cheers

Alan