What has happened to the fuel gauge

[StumpyFingers]

I have noticed that the 09 Vara XL1000 does not have a fuel gauge, instead it has a light that comes on when it hits "reserve" 40 Miles left in tank.

[Snaphappy]

The Vara never had a guage
the newer has the a reverse trip that comes on with the reserve light and shows approxmate distance till you start walking

[dikodixon]

More like pushing than walking, wouldnt leave my Dero anywhere

[Boris]

Originally Posted by dikodixon

More like pushing than walking, wouldnt leave my Dero anywhere

I suspect you would be lying in a heap under it then. Have you actually tried pushing the vara more than a few yards?

[StumpyFingers]

I think I miss the fuel tap.
At least it gave a proper indication of fuel state.
I rode my Transalp to the Petrol station with the gauge showing E, it would not move, the bike only took 16 Litres to brim.

[jasonbc]

Originally Posted by StumpyFingers

I think I miss the fuel tap.
At least it gave a proper indication of fuel state.
I rode my Transalp to the Petrol station with the gauge showing E, it would not move, the bike only took 16 Litres to brim.

You shouldn't miss the fuel tap, my varadero's got 2 taps one each side of the tank. My bike has no fuel gauge but 2 trip meters which is fine for me. I thought the newer efi models had a digital bar display in the top of the screen for fuel and all the varadero's have the fuel warning light on them

[StumpyFingers]

Originally Posted by jasonbc

You shouldn't miss the fuel tap, my varadero's got 2 taps one each side of the tank. My bike has no fuel gauge but 2 trip meters which is fine for me. I thought the newer efi models had a digital bar display in the top of the screen for fuel

I thought it did as well but the only digital bar display is for the Temp.

[Jackdaw]

No fuel guage on my 99er and although I've thought I must be running on fumes at times I've never run out of petrol. A combination of warning light, trip meter and some simple maths works as well for me as a guage. Although the tank capacity is 25l I've never squeezed in more than 24. The warning light comes on when you're down to the last 4l, slightly more than a sixth of the tank, so if you divide the trip meter mileage by 5 when the light comes on that's how many more miles you're going to get from your tank. Taking it easy, maybe commuting, you might get 200 miles before the light. You've then got another 40m. If you're caning it up the autostrada 2 up and fully loaded and it comes on at 150miles, you'll get another 30. Always providing you continue riding in the same way. You must, of course remember to zero the trip meter every time you fill up.
Sorry if I'm stating the obvious It's the teacher in me.

[jasonbc]

Originally Posted by Jackdaw

No fuel guage on my 99er and although I've thought I must be running on fumes at times I've never run out of petrol. A combination of warning light, trip meter and some simple maths works as well for me as a guage. Although the tank capacity is 25l I've never squeezed in more than 24. The warning light comes on when you're down to the last 4l, slightly more than a sixth of the tank, so if you divide the trip meter mileage by 5 when the light comes on that's how many more miles you're going to get from your tank. Taking it easy, maybe commuting, you might get 200 miles before the light. You've then got another 40m. If you're caning it up the autostrada 2 up and fully loaded and it comes on at 150miles, you'll get another 30. Always providing you continue riding in the same way. You must, of course remember to zero the trip meter every time you fill up.
Sorry if I'm stating the obvious It's the teacher in me.

Caning it between Paris and Lemans in the strongest head winds i've ever experienced my light came on at 135miles fully loaded, boxes, top box, tank bag, pockets full and wife.

As i've said on here before MPG's ain't my thing if it needs juice to keep it going i'll stick it in. If i've got to worry if i can afford it or not then logically i can't afford to run it. Thats my point of view as long as i can do a few hours between fill ups then thats ok with me

[Curzon]

Fuel gauges on any bike are a waste of time in my opinion! They can never be accurate with the combination of the motion of a bike and the relatively low tank volume compared to cars. I would never rely on it in any case prefering use common sense an mental arithamatic to keep my mind active.

My previous bike, Yamaha XJR1300 had a digital bar gauge, which was abiguous at the best of times, and the fail safe of a fuel tap with reserve position. Although even the fuel tap is not completely foolproof! I once gave myself quite a scare when touring the highlands of Scotland, where fuel stations are very scarce. At one point I was just congratulating myself on the astonishing extra range, I had just managed to eek out of a tankful, when I realised with alarm, I had left the tap in reserve at the last fill and realising I was in the middle of nowhere an miles from any town.

I have now come to appreciate the low fuel warning light and reverese tripmeter countdown on my 08 Fi Vara. I zero my trip at every fill with the tank size of the Vara I know I can get somewhere between 200 to 260 indicated miles before the light comes on, depending on how I've been riding. So if the low fuel light is on and I'm over 200 miles, I start considering my refueling options.