Stranded Twice 08RT

wezul said:

A how how how how . . .
Have mercy!

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That's the place!

I miss Texas.
Austin way back in '75 was something.
Made a trip down to San Antonio to see Frank.
Then made a little border run.
Damn that was super dangerous fun.
It's on the bucket list.

Sorry for the hijack.
Now back to our show.

I guess I will slide by the dealer...yesterday filled up the GSA and reset everything. Computer said range was 423...I typically get 360 miles before I chicken out and top my tank, regardless of what the display tells me.

Used the odometer but kept eye on countdown as well. Toward end of ride display had 306 miles ridden, range left of 262 and MPG was calculated at 42...I stopped for fuel and added a little over 7 gallons...don't see going 262 miles on the other 2 1/2 that was left...unless I was going 30MPH and unless I was at 10K altitude...going 568 miles on one 9 gallon run seems a little wishful!

Steve, it won't hurt to have the dealer calibrate it - but on the R1200R (much smaller tank than your GS) - I find the last 75-50 miles is where the gauge seems most accurate. I get repeatable fill quantities based on the gauge/miles. The first half of the gauge is fantasy. When mine gets below 1/2 is where I can get some idea of how much further I can go.

Yeah, my 05 RT and the other two GS's were like that and were real close after the 1/2 tank and almost dead on to actual fuel capacity. This 09 GSA was fine until we started talking about it two tankfuls ago. Have to go to Austin this week anyway...I'll call them this AM to set up an appt.

Well, now my 08 RT just quit on a ride and left me stranded, I had to hitch a ride home and come back with my utility trailer to get the bike. At only 3300 miles !
I haven't yet been on a ride on that bike and felt confident in it's reliability in over a year's worth of time since spending $20K + , on a bike!
This is the bike that has sounded like something in the engine was rapping under load. The dealer in August cleaned out the computer and re-programmed it with another software and the thought was it was pre-detonating. It did seem 'better" than before. but yesterday's ride , it eventually ran rough again and then just quit fast. Looked into tank and saw gas sloshing around, gauge said about 3/8 tank. I pushed it to a gas station anyway, filled it up - only about 4.5 gallons, still it would start, run like crap for about 5 seconds, then quit. eventually it wouldn't even fire at all. I charged the battery overnight on the trailer, since I ran it down trying to not be stranded. Dealer has it today.

Boy, that's a rough day. Please keep us informed what the dealer finds. I had the reprogramming done as well. The knock sensor was not turned on according to the tech that did the work. That was about 7000 miles ago. The pre-detonation is much better, I only use big name gas stations for my 91 octane.

RT Tank range??

PAULBACH said:

Good advice from Deilenberger. This is the same advice given to all riders on a Beach's Tour. Reset the odometer and when it reads 200 - get gas as soon as possible. Rob uses brand new BMW's but never trusts the gas gauges.

And after 200 miles or kilometers it is time to stretch the legs, relax and avoid DVT.

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I'm curious : My R12R is good to about 220 miles then I fill up. Best run has been 265 with the computer showing 10 miles to end. I have had a near miss with 30 miles still showing and 249 miles on the odometer, but generally I am content to fill anywhere after 200 as a rule.

My question is this: Are all the RT drivers only going 200 miles between fills ? That seems to defeat the purpose of the fairing and big tank. That makes my RR smile

Thanks !

Interesting question. Ever since I ran out of fuel with 114 miles to empty, I have been following the wise advice to look for a station at 200 miles. When I filled up last night I took 4.3 gallons and the guage was over 1/4. I believe the tank is suppose to hold 7 gallons. When I ran out of fuel I put 1 gallon in and she fired up. I then proceeded straight to the gas station about five miles away and topped her off at 5.3 gallons. Now my math states a tank that holds 6.3 US gallons. The math has come to 45.3 miles per gallon the last two fill-ups. 6.3 gallons x 45.3 = 285 miles. I am comfortable with a trip meter between 200 and 225 miles I am filling up. Running out of fuel on a two lane hwy with cars zipping around me scared the #$%^$$ out of me. I won't let that happen again and I don't even look at that silly guage anymore.
Jeff

Fuel gauge

Just a little update to my dilemma with the misfunctioning fuel gauge. The day after I ran out of gas my fuel gauge/onboard computer went bazooka. With almost a full fuel tank of gas it showed a yellow warning triangle light. The fuel gauge went to zero and the countdown to empty started flashing and countding down every second (weird). So, I called RideWest, and to my surprise they told me to bring the bike over immediately. They fixed it while I was waiting in the showroom. And since that this is an 09 RT the repair was performed under warranty, and by the way I'm very pleased with the overall quality of service and the dealership itself. I've been told that they recieved a new batch of sending units and presumely, they've been somehow updated. As of now, I'm on the second fuel tank since the repair was done and as of now, everything seems to work fine.
And one more thing, the fuel tank capacity in my RT is 6.9 US gallons. Which equals about 300 miles per tank.

I got the bike back today, they had it done Friday, 1 day, to their credit.
Now it has a new "improved" ? fuel pump controller module ,
p/n 16147720776 $142.13, on warranty. I hope it is finally reliable!

ka5ysy said:

I'm curious : My R12R is good to about 220 miles then I fill up. Best run has been 265 with the computer showing 10 miles to end. I have had a near miss with 30 miles still showing and 249 miles on the odometer, but generally I am content to fill anywhere after 200 as a rule.

My question is this: Are all the RT drivers only going 200 miles between fills ? That seems to defeat the purpose of the fairing and big tank. That makes my RR smile

Thanks !

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When I'm commuting back and forth to work, I typically fill up every two days. With a daily round trip of about 100 miles, that puts me just at or around 200. I don't want to risk running out by going a third day on a single tank.

When I'm out and about, just enjoying riding by myself, I will normally run it to around 275 before filling up.

The farthest I've gone on a single tank, the trip odometer registered 320 miles.

So to answer the question, from my perspective, filling up at 200 miles may just be a preference and a safeguard against getting too close to empty.

But all the above is just one person's perspective based on experiece with a single RT.

Doug asked

My question is this: Are all the RT drivers only going 200 miles between fills ?

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Ah, no. Not all the RT drivers. I routinely go 320 to 350 miles till I fill my RT up. This is local everyday riding. On road trips I have stretched it to as much as 429 miles (Alititude in CO and NM) before I finally stopped. Soon after I first got my RT I ran it nearly dry with a gallon can of gas in the saddle bag. I managed to pull into a station before I was completely out. I put 8.1 gallons in. So I now know for sure how much gas my RT takes. I know exactly how far I can go after the computer says zero miles. And that is 40 miles.

These fuel tanks are all over the map. Scott T from Texas has an 05 RT which is stated to have a 6.6 gallon tank and he puts 8.1 in. Gregory can put 6.9 gallons in his 7.1 tank and I can squeeze 6.3 in to my 7.1 gallon tank. Interesting......