Gas reserve "amber" light; does the intensity increase as you deplete the reserve?

[p6x]

Riding back from Dime Box, the reserve light came on. I almost missed it, because it was really pale. I had to modify my vision angle to verify that it was actually lit.

I stopped at a gas station, and it is definitively difficult to see when it is lit. Compared to the neutral and oil pressure.

Is it the same on your Guzzi? or does the intensity increases as you deplete the rest of the tank?

I only had 1.109 Gal left which I guess means I saw it more less at the time it came on.

[Lucky Phil]

The intensity varies on mine, not that it means much really. The last thing I'm about to rely on with an Italian motorcycle that's 20 years old is the fuel warning light and the Neutral light. The trip meter is my guide. Then again I've twice rolled into petrol stations coughing on fumes. Which either supports my theory to the perfection of my range calculating or not, depending on your perspective.

One thing I never do is let an Italian motorcycle warm up on the side stand with the neutral light illuminated. That's just too tempting for the Italian God of electrics. 

Ciao  

[docc]

Yes, compared to the other "warning lights", the Low Fuel light is much more likely to sneak up on you and stab you in a kidney because you weren't watching the elapsed mileage.

I watch for mine to flicker an intermittent *glow* at about 138-145 US miles.  Then it goes out. Maybe glows again at idle or very low throttle (opening the throttle cools the sensor with return fuel and extinguishes the warning light.)

Early V11 tanks and later (internal pump/filter) tanks differ, but the actual expected range may not be much different . . .

165 to 175 and I'm on the roadside doing the Left-Tip-Slosh-Get-Me-There drill . . .

 

[Lucky Phil]

2 hours ago, docc said:

Yes, compared to the other "warning lights", the Low Fuel light is much more likely to sneak up on you and stab you in a kidney because you weren't watching the elapsed mileage.

I watch for mine to flicker an intermittent *glow* at about 138-145 US miles.  Then it goes out. Maybe glows again at idle or very low throttle (opening the throttle cools the sensor with return fuel and extinguishes the warning light.)

Early V11 tanks and later (internal pump/filter) tanks differ, but the actual expected range may not be much different . . .

165 to 175 and I'm on the roadside doing the Left-Tip-Slosh-Get-Me-There drill . . .

 

Really docc, I'm sure my bike would easily do better than that. say more like 195-200 miles.

Ciao

[docc]

7 hours ago, Lucky Phil said:

Really docc, I'm sure my bike would easily do better than that. say more like 195-200 miles.

Ciao

Well, on a steady state throttle, as in rolling down a freeway, I have seen as much as 40 mpg and am confident my tank will deliver five US gallons (maaaaaybe 5.1). So, sure, 200 miles in those conditions. Yet, I absolutely love-love rowing this gearbox and ripping up-and-down through the revs. I am total hell on tires and brakes and fuel economy.

On a chilly day when the weather feels like the Sport is climbing the Stelvio pass, and I'm pretending to be Omobono Tenni, I can see as little as 32.5 mpgUS.

                                                                             But it's worth it . . .

[Scud]

My experience with the low-fuel lights is that they are not that useful - knowing range and watching the odometer is better for me. Although I am spoiled with an accurate fuel gauge on my Stelvio, and I would welcome that feature on my V11. The low fuel sensor is currently not working on my Scura, so I am thinking about fuel at 120 miles, and I don't push it past 150 miles. Sometimes gas stations are far apart in the lonely places I like to ride. And I have seen close to 200 miles from a tank on a long journey, but that would have been on a boring stretch of road.

[LowRyter]

yes, it gets brighter 

[Weegie]

AFAIK all the fuel warning lamps work the same way on nearly all Guzzis of this era

It's a thermistor, so the resistance lowers with increasing temperature, which is mounted in series with the lamp. When the thermistor is covered by fuel it's kept sufficiently cool by the surrounding fuel (its in a metal jacket). This keeps the resistance high enough to stop the lamp lighting

When the level drops, the thermistor gradually gets uncovered, the resistance drops and current can pass through the lamp. That's why the lamp initially starts to glow, it will become brighter the more of the thermistor gets uncovered and it gets hotter resistance dropping further. However because the thermistor is passing current self heating also takes place.

So (I see LowRyter has beat me to it) it will become brighter as level drops, but personally I'd never rely on it and I too use the odometer.

They are also quite fragile and can be irreparibly damaged by connecting, I think it's the electric petcock on some bikes to it by mistake. The one on my Sporti is "tits up" and they are expensive to replace, if you can even find them

[p6x]

13 hours ago, Lucky Phil said:

The intensity varies on mine, not that it means much really. The last thing I'm about to rely on with an Italian motorcycle that's 20 years old is the fuel warning light and the Neutral light. The trip meter is my guide. Then again I've twice rolled into petrol stations coughing on fumes. Which either supports my theory to the perfection of my range calculating or not, depending on your perspective.

One thing I never do is let an Italian motorcycle warm up on the side stand with the neutral light illuminated. That's just too tempting for the Italian God of electrics. 

Ciao  

I am happy to have it confirmed, because I was wondering if there was something not right with that low glow. I had to move my head like those lizards to make sure it was even there in the first place.

The trip meter would be my guide, however yesterday's ride was variegated in terms of rpm. The last leg was with the hammer down, and that would have inferred with the overall consumption. I really did not know what to expect. But I am glad that ghost light came on at the time it did. Although I knew how many miles had gone by, I really did not know what kind of mileage per gallon to expect.

I have done a lot of tests and I thought it was better than the 39 mpg I got yesterday. So far, riding around H'town, I always had been around the 43 mark.

I have so far always let mine warm up on the stand. I start it, and then go and get dressed. But I am well aware the most efficient warming of an engine is not idling it in neutral. This is only for convenience.

[p6x]

11 hours ago, docc said:

Yes, compared to the other "warning lights", the Low Fuel light is much more likely to sneak up on you and stab you in a kidney because you weren't watching the elapsed mileage.

I watch for mine to flicker an intermittent *glow* at about 138-145 US miles.  Then it goes out. Maybe glows again at idle or very low throttle (opening the throttle cools the sensor with return fuel and extinguishes the warning light.)

Early V11 tanks and later (internal pump/filter) tanks differ, but the actual expected range may not be much different . . .

165 to 175 and I'm on the roadside doing the Left-Tip-Slosh-Get-Me-There drill . . .

 

As in my previous reply to @Lucky Phil, taking the trip meter into account is a hit or miss so far. Or at least for me. I am yet to have established a proper gas consumption chart that I can relate to mileage.

However, I am satisfied that for my first "low gas" warning, the remaining volume in the tank matched Guzzi's prediction and as far as I can see, what you guys are getting from a full gas tank too.

The external temperature has to be a factor too.

[p6x]

9 hours ago, Lucky Phil said:

Really docc, I'm sure my bike would easily do better than that. say more like 195-200 miles.

Ciao

This was my thought too. But I have to surrender to the evidence; I only got 170 miles out of my almost exclusively highway ride yesterday. Albeit at higher revs than initially anticipated. I go with the flow.

[p6x]

55 minutes ago, Scud said:

My experience with the low-fuel lights is that they are not that useful - knowing range and watching the odometer is better for me. Although I am spoiled with an accurate fuel gauge on my Stelvio, and I would welcome that feature on my V11. The low fuel sensor is currently not working on my Scura, so I am thinking about fuel at 120 miles, and I don't push it past 150 miles. Sometimes gas stations are far apart in the lonely places I like to ride. And I have seen close to 200 miles from a tank on a long journey, but that would have been on a boring stretch of road.

This is what I am worried about, which was a worry I had back in the 70's when I was riding in Europe. Then, gas stations were not self serve, and past a certain hour, they would be closed. Riding a two stroke engine which had even less autonomy than yesterday's Guzzi was always like rolling the dices of uncertainty.

And if you are from that era, all we had were Michelin maps, no GPS and no App telling us where the next open fuel station would be located.

I remember times when I slept on my bike, at the pump, waiting for the station to open in the morning.

In Texas, as long as you are following a highway, you have gas station aplenty. Once you switch to FM roads (Farm to Market), the same cease to be true. That worries me a bit, because I had some ambition in doing some trips in part of Texas where fuel is far apart. If you go to Big Bend Park, once inside the park, you have miles and miles of road, and no gas. There is a gas station at the entrance of the park, but you will need to make it last.

[Scud]

I have a 1 liter metal fuel bottle that I can carry in a backpack for those situations. That's about an extra 10-12 miles, which is better than pushing or waiting for help. But if I'm doing that kind or roads I'll probably be on the Stelvio with it's 8.5 gallon tank. Horses for courses.

[p6x]

5 hours ago, Scud said:

I have a 1 liter metal fuel bottle that I can carry in a backpack for those situations. That's about an extra 10-12 miles, which is better than pushing or waiting for help. But if I'm doing that kind or roads I'll probably be on the Stelvio with it's 8.5 gallon tank. Horses for courses.

This is the thing; back in the days, there were plenty of motorcyclist. Seeing you stopped on the side of the road, they would stop and propose assistance. Any kind, including board and lodging sometimes. Those were the days.... just because you rode a bike.

But that FM road I took from Burton yesterday, I did not cross a single car, nor did I see anybody in Dime Box. Only on my way back did I cross an 18 wheeler. I could be breaking down and staying on the side of the road, sweating forever....

[LowRyter]

So as long as we're just talking about gas and fuel and have pretty much gone off topic, I'll play.  So far as my Greenie, I've never gone more that 160 miles, and it was coughing when I went to the gas station.  I've never gotten better than 37mpg from it.

And I'll mention my Ducati.  I average about 43mpg from it, it has has a much smaller tank.  I took a recent trip to Ark on it.  I wanted to make some curvy roads.  I'd never ridden with the crowd I was riding with.  When I showed them my route, they all declined, too many twisty roads for too many miles.  So we would meet for lunch in Marshall, they'd take the interstate and I'd take my route.  I didn't consider: 1) our motel was 50 miles further out than I'd done before and 2) there are no gas stations in rural Ark.  Anyway, I'd had a blast of aggressive riding and was following some great roads when my low fuel light came on.  After riding a ways, I saw a sign that said I was 30 some miles from Marshall.   I ride through a couple of small towns with no gas.   I finally get to a town, I see someone by his house and ask if there's gas station here?  He said to follow him.  I did, filled up, called my guys who said they were eating at the "Daisy Queen in Marshall".  I asked the attendant "How far is it to Marshall?"  He said "You're in Marshall".  "OK, where is the Daisy Queen?"   He pointed at a drive-in about two blocks away, "Over there".

 

wheew.