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'05 RT Fuel Tank Question

Hey Guys,
I've had my 05 RT for a year and a half but always wondered how the low fuel and reserve works.
The low fuel light come on after about five gallons drained and I always fill up within about 40-45 miles.
So the most I've ever added is about six gallons.
What happens when the computer mileage countdown gets to zero?
How big is the tank anyway? Seven gallons?
thanks,
SS
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hey Guys,
I've had my 05 RT for a year and a half but always wondered how the low fuel and reserve works.
The low fuel light come on after about five gallons drained and I always fill up within about 40-45 miles.
So the most I've ever added is about six gallons.
What happens when the computer mileage countdown gets to zero?
How big is the tank anyway? Seven gallons?
thanks,
SS

7.1 gallons on an '05 RT.

When the computer counts down to zero, there will still be some fuel in the tank. Fuel cools & lubricates the fuel pump, and as a precaution, BMW tries to help you never, ever drain it to nothing with the engine running - your day will not end well or cheap.
 
Thanks. So once the mileage countdown on the computer gets to Zero I should have about a gallon left. What does the counter do - go into a negative countdown or what? Certainly time to fill up.
Thanks.
 
Thanks. So once the mileage countdown on the computer gets to Zero I should have about a gallon left. What does the counter do - go into a negative countdown or what? Certainly time to fill up.
Thanks.

That's not how the GS works and I'd be surprised if the RT worked that way. When it hits zero you are out of gas. Sometimes. People have been known to run out of gas BEFORE hitting zero. Others have gone past zero some number of miles. It is, after all, a guestimate based upon mileage in the recent past.

The lowest I ever ran my '05 GS was to 4 miles left. I filled the tank with 5.1 gallons. Tank capacity on that bike was 5.3 gallons. That particular time I might have been able to make it to -4 miles. Or not.
 
I have the 05 RT. I had a problem finding gas years ago and did about 30 miles on "zero." It just stayed on zero. I don't recall exactly but it took 6.X gallons to fill.
 
I have the 05 RT. I had a problem finding gas years ago and did about 30 miles on "zero." It just stayed on zero. I don't recall exactly but it took 6.X gallons to fill.

Same experience, same model. Once you hit zero, finding fuel goes from a priority to critically essential. I try to stay away from that precipice. :thumb
 
Thanks for the input, i appreciate it.
I'm not trying to run the tank dry, I'm actually pretty strict with not letting it get too low.
I just needed to know the limit in case one day I get myself in that situation.
Thanks again.
SS
 
When the electronic reading indicates no fuel left you should still have at least a gallon of gas (your reserve). On my 06 RT with the same capacity of 7.1 gallons I know I have at least 40 miles before worrying about running out of gas once the electronic indicator shows 0. One thing I did and so can you is to remove the rubber neck fill insert from your tank, this allows me to add about another .2 of a gallon. So with that removed I actually have about 7.3 gallons total but either way you go about it you are not destined to running out of gas as soon as the indicator show zero as that is just not true for the RT. I have stopped before and actually added 7.2 gallons so I know I was too close for comfort that time but thankfully I have never ran out of gas.
 
The miles-remaining readout is only an estimate based on your recent rate of consumption (MPG) and the amount of fuel remaining. Seems to be reasonably accurate on my '11 RT. I haven't run it dry but have run the estimate down to 5 miles. Because the estimated miles remaining is based on current fuel usage which might change, you can get some interesting readouts. After a hard ride through twisties and hills (low MPG) take a careful cruise along a flat highway (high MPG) and the remaining miles reading actually goes UP. It's like making your own gas! If you do the opposite (easy then hard) you could be caught short as the gauge reading plummets.

Add to that the fact that the bottom half of the fuel gauge reading goes away faster than the top half (at least on my non-fuel strip RT) and you have good reason to fill up before you get too far down.

pete
"Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got." -Art Buchwald
 
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