Fuel tank capacity query Sport 1100i

[Guest Nigelstephens]

I am slightly mistified about what the manual claims to be the tank capacity (19 litres) and what I have observed.

Usually the low tank light comes on about 160 kms after filling the tank. I will then run it for about 1-20 kms before refuelling. I am usually able to put 13-14.5 litres in at most. I cant believe that the empty tank sound still has another 4 litres in the bottom.

 

is the manual correct? that is 19 litres.

[Alex-Corsa]

It sems to be so (14lit) But once I have dried it out and it got about 17lt till totally full. Light goes on and off at first "some" kms and who can tell that from his point is reserve? >Anyways as I said about 17lt capaccity (don't remember the exact number is it was 16.9 or 17.2 or so) but that what I have measured with empty tank on mine.

That's the only way to measure it(dry the tank out and refill),or if you want to do it then have a friend with a vechicle and some gas to support you along the way till the next petrol station.

[Skeeve]

I think it's habitual for manufacturers to quote their numbers in certain ways:

 

"Dry weight" - the prototypes are dismantled completely, then each individual part is cleaned, weighed in a vacuum chamber, and tallied. Since air, oil, water, grease, thread locker, fuel, air filters & batteries are "consumables," their weights are not included in any "Dry Weight" sums. Neither is the weight difference between all the billet aluminum & titanium parts that had to be exchanged for cast or steel parts for production.

 

"Fuel Capacity" - this is measured with a fuel tank that has been set out in the midday sun in equatorial Africa for an hour, to expand as much as is reasonably possible. This is then filled to capacity with fuel that has been chilled to -40F [you really can't expect anyone to ride in weather much colder than this, since the engine oil turns to jello and the battery can't turn the thing over when it's frozen solid...] The tank is then "burped" & shaken to make certain that all the air is out, and filled to capacity again. The volume of gasoline it took to fill the tank is monitored and recorded. This has nothing to do with what can actually be extracted from the tank, w/o going to extreme measures: this is why Suzuki claims a capacity of 4.3 U.S. gallons for the tank on a 1st gen SV650, even tho' when ridden empty it takes 3.5 gallons to fill to the gas cap. Dead reserve; ya' gotta love it!

 

"0-60mph & 1/4 mile times" - the motorcycle is equipped with a programmable air shifter that will only upshift at 500rpm past the torque peak (or redline, whichever comes first.) A trained capuchin monkey is used as the rider [either that, or a six year old. Monkeys are very strong for their size, but children are made of rubber & are completely fearless...] Since the rider cannot reach the ground, the bike is held up by assistants. Rather than a "christmas tree," they have optical gates that record the speed based upon when the bike breaks the first beam; no reaction-time lag to cloud the measurements that way! About a pint (4 deciliters for you metric types) are in the tank; no more - what are you trying to do, lose all the benefits we got from using such light riders? Anyway, the monkey is trained/kid is told to jump off when the bike stops rolling. That way, you can ditch the weight of the brake system too. It's o.k., since the bike is just used the one time for the speed testing & then shredded to hide all the special work that went into blueprinting the engine, oversize valves, stronger valve springs to get that extra 500rpm before redline, etc. etc...

 

 

[raz]

Last summer I lost the "gas station roulette" in the middle of nowhere and at 35°C (Yeah I know some of you folks have way way worse definitions of 'nowhere' and 'heat' ). Won't happen again that's for sure. Anyway, it was somewhere between 270 and 280 km after full tank (filled on side stand).

 

To make a long story short I actually managed to have a taxi buy some fuel (in a used oil container, probably 4 litres) for me before coming my way, for practically no cost except for the fuel itself. Then after riding 15 km I filled it up with some 12 litres.

 

This would sum up to about 17 litres, as you say. The warning light is pretty useless as it sometimes lights up after 140 kms (when running straight) or as late as 220 kms (on a curvy road). I tend to use the trip meter and fill it up around 200 kms. That's usually 11-12 litres.