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Distance until empty value after filling with fuel. (2011 RT)?

W

westcoastkevin

New member
OK,
New to me bike. 2011 R1200RT
I have been waiting until the light comes on to fill it with fuel.
I notice that when I fill it with fuel, the distance until empty value does not immediately update.

The number creeps up slowly for the next 5-10 minutes/miles until it eventually reads 260 or thereabouts.

Is that normal? I would have expected it to immediately change while I am filling it, or certainly on the next restart.

Thanks,
Kevin
 
Westcoastkevin,

I'm pretty sure this is normal. I have a 2013 RT (same generation as your 2011) and noticed that upon fill up, the fuel guage would stay where it was before I fueled. It would then creep up until it showed full. Similarly, the miles-to-empty would increment up until I had 260-270 miles. I believe the reason for this is that the miles-to-empty calculation is based on your average miles-per-gallon. This changes as you ride, so yes, the miles-to-empty will change also.

Cheers,
Mark
 
My 2011 RT does about the same thing. The miles-to-empty takes a few minutes of riding after filling the tank to settle at about 320+/- miles to go.
 
kmellzey said:
Westcoastkevin,

I'm pretty sure this is normal. I have a 2013 RT (same generation as your 2011) and noticed that upon fill up, the fuel guage would stay where it was before I fueled. It would then creep up until it showed full. Similarly, the miles-to-empty would increment up until I had 260-270 miles. I believe the reason for this is that the miles-to-empty calculation is based on your average miles-per-gallon. This changes as you ride, so yes, the miles-to-empty will change also.

Cheers,
Mark
Click to expand...

Same on my 2009 but my miles till empty after fill-up is normally around 305.
 
On my 2008 RT, I'd set the #2 odometer to zero at every fill-up. I'd figure I'd need to get fuel somewhere after 250 miles had elapsed. I thought the bike's determination was always pessimistic in terms of range.

Of course, when you see the right kind of sign (this photo at the Utah/Nevada border), you might have to re-think:

IMG_1594.jpeg
 
ExGMan said:
On my 2008 RT, I'd set the #2 odometer to zero at every fill-up. I'd figure I'd need to get fuel somewhere after 250 miles had elapsed. I thought the bike's determination was always pessimistic in terms of range.

Of course, when you see the right kind of sign (this photo at the Utah/Nevada border), you might have to re-think:

View attachment 80626
Click to expand...

This ^^^^^^^
OM
 
And you’ll see almost exactly that same sign on UT95 heading southeast from Hanksville, UT on the scenic byway past Bears Ears Nat’l Monument, Frye Canyon, and Natural Bridges Nat’l Monument. Lots of lonely roads in UT and NV, and when you add in places that are on the map but have NO services, like Warm Springs in NV, you really need to make sure your fuel management game is up to par.

On both my BMWs with fuel gauges and remaining miles indicators the distance remaining indicator will rise during the first 15 miles or so after a fill-up and be fairly accurate from there on. Some of it may be due to a slightly sticky float assembly, part is certainly due to the fuel monitoring system recognizing a fresh fill and re-calculating based on present rate of consumption.

Best,
DeVern
 
Where we live, south of Alpine, Texas it is 80 miles between the last fuel station in Alpine and the only fuel station in Study Butte. And going either direction there is NO SIGN. Our house is 26 miles north of Study Butte and 54 miles from the station in Alpine. We get occasional folks needing to use a phone since there is no cell coverage. I usually just give them gas. :)
 
PGlaves said:
Where we live, south of Alpine, Texas it is 80 miles between the last fuel station in Alpine and the only fuel station in Study Butte. And going either direction there is NO SIGN. Our house is 26 miles north of Study Butte and 54 miles from the station in Alpine. We get occasional folks needing to use a phone since there is no cell coverage. I usually just give them gas. :)
Click to expand...

Nice!
 
westcoastkevin said:
OK,
New to me bike. 2011 R1200RT
I have been waiting until the light comes on to fill it with fuel.
I notice that when I fill it with fuel, the distance until empty value does not immediately update.

The number creeps up slowly for the next 5-10 minutes/miles until it eventually reads 260 or thereabouts.

Is that normal? I would have expected it to immediately change while I am filling it, or certainly on the next restart.

Thanks,
Kevin
Click to expand...

I have a 2010 RT and I ran out of gas immediately after the light came on. Fortunately I coasted off of the interstate into a gas station. It said I had over 40 miles to empty. Don't rely on it.
 
GTRider said:
And you’ll see almost exactly that same sign on UT95 heading southeast from Hanksville, UT on the scenic byway past Bears Ears Nat’l Monument, Frye Canyon, and Natural Bridges Nat’l Monument. Lots of lonely roads in UT and NV, and when you add in places that are on the map but have NO services, like Warm Springs in NV, you really need to make sure your fuel management game is up to par.
Click to expand...
Stopped and fueled in Hanksville Friday afternoon... yeah, prior to and afterwards better have a tank full!
 
Well, that trip meter is probably more accurate than the fuel gauge.

Most of the time your bike gets the same mpg.

Reset a trip meter to zero every time you fill up and be conservative.

Forget the fuel gauge.
 
PGlaves said:
Where we live, south of Alpine, Texas it is 80 miles between the last fuel station in Alpine and the only fuel station in Study Butte. And going either direction there is NO SIGN. Our house is 26 miles north of Study Butte and 54 miles from the station in Alpine. We get occasional folks needing to use a phone since there is no cell coverage. I usually just give them gas. :)
Click to expand...

A few minutes ago Voni drove off in her little red car to the Little Burro store - a small market about 4 miles away. Just now I glanced out and saw a white car and a guy carrying a gas can out of my shop. Upon further looking I see Voni's car and I see her showing him where to put the now empty gas can. She ran into the guy at the store and brought him here to get enough gas to get to Study Butte/Terlingua. Another - local this time - miscalculated those 80 miles. In the 14 years we have lived here I have given away/ sold far more gas from gas cans than I have poured into our own vehicles.
 
Mine is very reliable in that the light comes on at 45 miles remaining and when I fill it up there's a gallon left in the tank (put 5.5 gallons or so in a 6.6 gallon tank). This happens every time. I have grown to rely on it but if I was on a trip I wouldn't push it to that point every time. I tend to run it down when I'm just running around and commuting (before I started working from home full time back in March).

As for the reset lag, mine doesn't reset until I start the bike and it almost always jumps to the normal 240+ mile range (it varies a little based on the last tank's average) in about 5 seconds. I have had a time or two where it took a lot longer to reset but I don't understand why. Regardless, even those times it never took more than 5-10 minutes.
 
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