227.6 miles

[SVonhof]

That is what I needed.

I got 227.5 miles on the tank.

I was on an overnight trip with my wife where we went over the Sierra's. On the way home, I didn't get gas when we left Mammoth Lakes, and instead continued on, figuring I would get gas at June Lake. I figured I would get it in the small town of June Lakes, which is smaller than I remembered and there was no gas station in town. There was one at the turn onto the June Lake Loop. Not quite half-way through, we stopped and asked at a general store if there was any gas on the loop. Nope, just at the beginning, which I had already passed, but the closest station going north was only about 13 miles away. The bike said I had a range of 27 (using B.D.F.'s in-line low fuel warning eliminator), so I figured I would be fine.

Well, I got to about 227.2 or 227.3 and the bike started to sputter. Pulled in the clutch another .2 miles later and coasted to about 227.5. I could see the gas station, which was across 395 and just up the hill that starts the road to Tioga Pass (through Yosemite).

I pushed the bike across the intersection and started going up the hill, but needed to take a breather. Figured maybe it would have a little bit of gas to get me further up the hill since it was now on an incline. Lucky for me, it started right up and I was able to ride it up to the street that leads to the gas station and push it the rest of the way.

My lovely wife meanwhile was hoofing it carrying the two helmets as I left her behind when it started up (her suggestion).

So, now I know:
1) don't trust the range reading as it was empty and said it had 9 miles of range left
2) don't pass by gas stations when you getting low and don't know for certain there is gas soon
3) B.D.F's bypass works! The bike never did give me a warning other than the red light when the engine died

All in all, it could not have worked out much better. My wife was very understanding, the gas station was really close and it wasn't broiling hot or raining.

[VirginiaJim]

You can't trust range function as it changes constantly depending on throttle conditions.  You're lucky your wife didn't kill you.  I know I'd never hear the end of it.

[just gone]

My lovely wife meanwhile was hoofing it carrying the two helmets as I left her behind when it started up (her suggestion).

We have a word for those: KEEPERS aka KEEP HER HAPPY

[SVonhof]

When we were home (really hot once we started dropping back into the Cali Central Valley), and had cooled off in the pool, she said we should make this an annual trip. She loved taking the path we did and would not want to do it the opposite direction (she likes going East over Sonora Pass and West over Tioga).

[maxtog]

1) don't trust the range reading as it was empty and said it had 9 miles of range left

That is precisely why Kawasaki disables the range indicator when it hits "reserve" (the take-over-the-screen alert, which I reach in and clear).  For me, I almost always hit reserve at around 190 miles (+/- 5).  When it hits, I know I have 1.1 gal left, which is around 47 miles, but in my mind, I make it 37 miles for safety.  I set my B trip meter to 0 and use that as a count-up meter so I know how far I have been since "reserve".  Has worked like a champ for 6.5 years so far.  (Those who wish to replicate this method will need to know their typical per gallon fuel consumption based on their own bike and riding conditions).

IMHO, what would be better is if Kawasaki kept the alert, allowed the user to clear it with a simple press of the handlebar button, and it changed the reading to a "miles since reserve hit" automatically (and even keep the range indicator).  But it is what it is and we can't make it do any of that.

2) don't pass by gas stations when you getting low and don't know for certain there is gas soon

If you are on reserve and don't expect to pass another gas station in 35 miles, you better take what you find

3) B.D.F's bypass works! The bike never did give me a warning other than the red light when the engine died

Which is both good and bad, depending on what you want and what you expect.  With no alert, there is no more concept of "reserve" and no warning AT ALL   The alert appears to be a very good/accurate measurement of 1.1 gal remaining... at least it is on my Concours.  And there is no way you can miss the alert.  Without the alert, you have to pay more attention to how much gas you have and there is no point at which you know exactly how much gas is remaining... you have only a highly variable range indicator.

[B.D.F.]

Well, first off, it is great that you and your wife took that little mishap with good humor. As you said, it was not horrible weather conditions, and not that far to get to the next station. Running out of fuel is never desirable but it can range from an mild annoyance, which is what your situation sounds like, to a catastrophe (blowing a long- distance IBA run due to running out of fuel).

Second, something is off with the math and / or readings: if the range indicator read 27 miles left, and you rode 13 miles, and the range indicator said the remaining range was 9 miles before you actually covered the 13..... something is amiss. Unless you were riding in stop- and - go conditions, when you have to take extra precautions and not trust any one, single reading from the remaining range as it will bounce around quite a lot. That said, in any kind of steady- state riding, I would have, have, and will again do exactly what you did: use the 'whole' tank of fuel. But again, you either have to be riding in a steady- state condition ( no acceleration, deceleration, no appreciable uphill/ downhill travel, and not excessive (read: South Dakota) gusting wind.

I will often get w/in 15 miles of indicated range before re-fueling and if in a congested area with a lot of open fuel stations, will occasionally go below 10 miles but it is risky, and I always keep a very close eye on the range as it bounces around and use the lowest reading. I have seen the range indicator bounce more than 20 MPG in stop- and- go riding and again, always use the lowest reading.

Finally, if anyone really wants to use the entire fuel tank and take the risk, I always suggest carrying at least a half- gallon on the bike, and a couple of gallons is even better. Not a true aux., plumbed- in fuel tank, but just some ready fuel to pour in the tank. IMO this is not desirable but works, and would be a second- to last ditch effort for me (last ditch is pushing the bike, walking, begging kind passersby for a dribble of fuel or similar    ).

I often wish I could control the actual range function but unfortunately, that is outside my abilities. The low fuel warning eliminator eliminates the warning of course, and allows the range remaining function to continue to work but it is not quite how I would choose to use it given the choice. I would de- bounce it and use the lower reading unless and until a LOT of longer range readings were seen, and then adjust the range remaining accordingly.

As an aside, I just got done testing the low fuel warning in my Envoy over the weekend.... by mistake. A series of very short trips close to home, all with the low fuel warning popping up (it does not appear when the ign. is turned on, only after a couple of miles of driving under that condition) several different times. The last risky trip was time sensitive; a gentleman had made a slot available for us (an architect) and I took the chance I would make it to his office.... and we did. Really, I did not care about running out of fuel after we had our appointment but I was trying to to annoy the man; in the end, we made both his office and a fuel station with no walking / pushing / AAA needed but I was kinda' waiting for this to happen.

Brian

That is what I needed.

I got 227.5 miles on the tank.

I was on an overnight trip with my wife where we went over the Sierra's. On the way home, I didn't get gas when we left Mammoth Lakes, and instead continued on, figuring I would get gas at June Lake. I figured I would get it in the small town of June Lakes, which is smaller than I remembered and there was no gas station in town. There was one at the turn onto the June Lake Loop. Not quite half-way through, we stopped and asked at a general store if there was any gas on the loop. Nope, just at the beginning, which I had already passed, but the closest station going north was only about 13 miles away. The bike said I had a range of 27 (using B.D.F.'s in-line low fuel warning eliminator), so I figured I would be fine.

Well, I got to about 227.2 or 227.3 and the bike started to sputter. Pulled in the clutch another .2 miles later and coasted to about 227.5. I could see the gas station, which was across 395 and just up the hill that starts the road to Tioga Pass (through Yosemite).

I pushed the bike across the intersection and started going up the hill, but needed to take a breather. Figured maybe it would have a little bit of gas to get me further up the hill since it was now on an incline. Lucky for me, it started right up and I was able to ride it up to the street that leads to the gas station and push it the rest of the way.

My lovely wife meanwhile was hoofing it carrying the two helmets as I left her behind when it started up (her suggestion).

So, now I know:
1) don't trust the range reading as it was empty and said it had 9 miles of range left
2) don't pass by gas stations when you getting low and don't know for certain there is gas soon
3) B.D.F's bypass works! The bike never did give me a warning other than the red light when the engine died

All in all, it could not have worked out much better. My wife was very understanding, the gas station was really close and it wasn't broiling hot or raining.

[maxtog]

As an aside, I just got done testing the low fuel warning in my Envoy over the weekend.... by mistake.

My G37 will pop up a low fuel warning (that doesn't take over anything of importance) and stays on the dash screen until fillup along with a single "ding" (per car start) to announce it happened.  It then shows an "estimated miles left" on that little display, which is nice.   So I get the warning, a known amount of fuel point (a virtual "reserve"), and an estimate of miles.  But I noticed that as it counts down, when it gets to about 10 miles remaining or so (can't remember the actual number), it just changes the miles to a "---" so Infiniti, too, decided it is eventually too risky to show a variable number; but at least they do it for a while.

I tend to not push low-gas too much, so in the 9 years I have been driving it, I have seen that sequence only twice (which is why I am not terribly familiar with it).   I also have never run out of fuel in any vehicle, ever, my whole life.  Hopefully that record will remain

[SVonhof]

This was a first for me, and likely the last in any vehicle I ever own. I never let it get that low.

And Brain, about the calculations being off? I had to get off the loop road and cross over and merge onto 395 which took some gas (no longer a steady state) and then we were going uphill for a little while as well. Combine the two and it makes sense to me.

My wife asked why I didn't go south when we got to 395 to get to the southern start of the loop, and I am glad I didn't. Looking at the map, that would have been 6.1 miles and I would have been pushing the bike a while (the way I went, it was 4.7 miles).

[Conniesaki]

The bike said I had a range of 27 (using B.D.F.'s in-line low fuel warning eliminator), so I figured I would be fine.

Well, I got to about 227.2 or 227.3 and the bike started to sputter.

My lovely wife meanwhile was hoofing it carrying the two helmets as I left her behind when it started up (her suggestion).

3) B.D.F's bypass works!

All in all, it could not have worked out much better.

Made me chuckle that one post contains these (seemingly) contradictory statements 

[SVonhof]

Made me chuckle that one post contains these (seemingly) contradictory statements 

That's the way I roll! I always look for the bright side!

[roy826]

I have ran mine to 222 miles. Put 5.3 gals in it on fill up. I was close to walking. Don't recall what it said miles left were.

I won't do that again. It was a simple over sight on my part. Plenty of stations along the I-20 Eastbound route I was on.

[B.D.F.]

You pushed the bike 4.7 miles? ??

Yeah, as I said, the readings do bounce around unless the bike is moving at a steady pace, so it is really not possible go gauge these things with one reading. But running out with the indicator showing 9 miles remaining is furthest off that I have heard of on a C-14. Given your initial situation, showing 27 but having to go 13, I also would have made the ride, assuming the reading was not bouncing and the bike was riding steady- state.

Brian

This was a first for me, and likely the last in any vehicle I ever own. I never let it get that low.

And Brain, about the calculations being off? I had to get off the loop road and cross over and merge onto 395 which took some gas (no longer a steady state) and then we were going uphill for a little while as well. Combine the two and it makes sense to me.

My wife asked why I didn't go south when we got to 395 to get to the southern start of the loop, and I am glad I didn't. Looking at the map, that would have been 6.1 miles and I would have been pushing the bike a while (the way I went, it was 4.7 miles).

[B.D.F.]

You probably had a half- gallon or so left, depending on how you fill the tank on your bike. My own C-14 will hold a hair over 6 gallons but I fill it over the splash plate and into the neck a bit (really full). The tank holds 5.8 gallons per Kawasaki.

Sounds like you could use the option people keep asking me for- a warning that is easy to clear and maintains the range function. That is do- able but would get complicated, require an MPU, circuit board and a bit of code to make it happen. I doubt it could be sold at a price that would make it worthwhile, never mind recovering any part of the development costs. In other words, it could be done but would be priced too high for anyone to actually purchase them.

Brian

I have ran mine to 222 miles. Put 5.3 gals in it on fill up. I was close to walking. Don't recall what it said miles left were.

I won't do that again. It was a simple over sight on my part. Plenty of stations along the I-20 Eastbound route I was on.

[maxtog]

I have ran mine to 222 miles. Put 5.3 gals in it on fill up. I was close to walking. Don't recall what it said miles left were.

I won't do that again. It was a simple over sight on my part. Plenty of stations along the I-20 Eastbound route I was on.

If you only put 5.3 gal in it, you should not be near empty/walking.  I have put 5.8 and even 5.9 gal in mine more than once, filling a little above the "plate"  (but try to avoid running it so low).  Although Kawasaki says the tank holds 5.8 gal, it seems to actually hold 6.0 to 6.1 gallons at sea level (they probably are filling BELOW the plate a bit, giving room for expansion); and I was impressed it worked down to 0.2 gal remaining (just because a tank holds X gal doesn't mean that is its "working" capacity).  Of course, when you get quite low, you risk a corner or hard acceleration or braking causing it to suck air, and that is just not good; so I would never recommend going as low as 0.2 gal.

[SVonhof]

You pushed the bike 4.7 miles? ??

No, from where I turned onto 395, in the direction I went, it was 4.7 miles. The other way would have been 6.1 miles, so I would have been about a mile and a half from gas.

[Conniesaki]

Y'all need AAA! It's cheap!

[roy826]

Y'all need AAA! It's cheap!

I am a AMA member so they'll bring me some gas if I run it out. 

[Conniesaki]

I am a AMA member so they'll bring me some gas if I run it out. 

 


Aw crap, we do have to have cell service 

[SVonhof]

We have AAA, but one package below the motorcycle towing package. I was talking about upgrading to that, but have not done it yet.

In our case, we were so close, we could have bought a plastic cup at the gas station, filled it with gas, put that in the tank and ridden to the station with ease.

[ThrottleJock]

Yup mine ran out of gas with estimated range of 14mi on the dash the first week I had it, had to hoof it a mile in leather soles. I've been thinking about mounting a liter fuel bottle in one of the saddlebags but I'll probably have to run out of gas again before I get around to it.