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How many miles on a tank of fuel? Fuel seeping out of cap

JGBoise

Just got it firing!
Joined
Mar 29, 2018
Messages
11
Location
Boise, ID
If I fill it up near the top then gas seeps out onto the tank so I never try to top it off.

Sometimes I can go just 50 miles and it shows half tank left. I usually get 120 miles and it's showing very little fuel left. I think the electronic fuel gauge isn't so accurate. What is a ballpark figure for maximum miles you can go on a tank?

Love my California 1400 I can't stress that enough. I just took it to a retired BMW mechanic near Boise who owns a few Guzzis and likes to work from home. He did a valve adjustment. My bike has 6k mi but I couldn't find evidence that the original owner did the 700 mi initial valve check. He said the spark plugs were extremely clean (like brand new) and only a few valves needed just the smallest but if adjustment.
 
I get 170 miles then the fuel light comes on and had 45 miles on the reserve
didn't want to chance any further than the 45 miles
 
My California fuel gauge seems to stay on "full" for about the first 1/3 of the tank, then starts to decrease. I get about 160 miles, similar to caswain above.
 
My 1400 Customs’s gas gauge is extremely pessimistic. It registers full up to 80miles then drops like a dive bomber, going on “ reserve “ anywhere from 115miles onward. I have run 150 miles supposedly on fumes, but when I top off the tank only have put in 3.5 gallons. Based on that, I would say you are good for 200+ miles before you are truly empty.
 
I have run mine dry at 75km (45 miles) with the reserve light on. It is a generous reserve, but it makes the range seem smaller than it really is.

Stephen
 
You know.. looking at the parts manual it appears it would be fairly easy to remove the fuel gauge (13) and adjust the height of the float, if by no other means than simply bending the wire so that it is suspended higher in the tank. I might give it a try. Fuel Tank
 
I have run mine dry at 75km (45 miles) with the reserve light on. It is a generous reserve, but it makes the range seem smaller than it really is.

Stephen, is there any problem restarting with the fuel injection when you run it dry?
 
I have had the dubious honour of running out of gas a few times, testing the limit of my range. The problem is fuel consumption varies, especially with ambient temperature, elevation, and possibly dependent on how aggressive the right hand behaves. My fuel consumption per distance appears to improve with more aggressive riding, but that just might be what the dashboard is saying, and possibly contributing to the reason why I've had to push to the next gas station.

No problem restarting after refueling.
 
You know.. looking at the parts manual it appears it would be fairly easy to remove the fuel gauge (13) and adjust the height of the float, if by no other means than simply bending the wire so that it is suspended higher in the tank. I might give it a try. View attachment 14658

If you want it to read higher for longer wouldn't you have to bend it downwards?
 
Restart was normal. I actually had 500ml of fuel in my pannier as an emergency reserve. It was dark, raining and cold at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. I had dropped Elizabeth off at a restaurant with a log fire and live music to order a meal while I went looking for fuel. The pump was starting to suck air, and got me within 200m of the service station, which unfortunately was up the hill. After many years, I finally got to use my spare fuel (refreshed each year). Bike started immediately. It was hard to leave the restaurant and plunge back into the freezing rain for the final hour of the ride down to Sydney for the weekend.

Stephen
 
I have run mine dry at 75km (45 miles) with the reserve light on. It is a generous reserve, but it makes the range seem smaller than it really is.

Stephen
Good to know. I have run mine to just 50km after the reserve light comes on and I was getting nervous so knowing I could have up to 25km more is nice to know. I
 
There's no guarantee the fuel consumption is going to be the same each time. The more you push this, the likelihood you'll be pushing it (the bike) sooner or later.
 
If I fill it up near the top then gas seeps out onto the tank so I never try to top it off.

My 1400 touring also seeped fuel out, but not from the gas cap. The square seal under the plate that holds the fuel gauge arm was pinched. Re-installed and all is good.

Sometimes I can go just 50 miles and it shows half tank left. I usually get 120 miles and it's showing very little fuel left. I think the electronic fuel gauge isn't so accurate. What is a ballpark figure for maximum miles you can go on a tank?

I go into reserve at 200km. Filling up at this point takes 12.5 litres. Ran it to dry once to test and I did 110km with the reserve light on. Filled up with the bike on the side stand with the fuel level up to the little breather hole inside the spout and it took 18.8 litres.

My gauge is pessimistic but consistently so. The factory spec of 20.5 litres +- 0.5 litres does not reflect my findings.

Also, filling up right to the brim with a hot engine will overflow the tank leaving you a puddle of fuel underneath the bike unless you ride off immediately in which case the excess fuel will still be expelled and end up on the rear tyre.


Love my California 1400 I can't stress that enough. I just took it to a retired BMW mechanic near Boise who owns a few Guzzis and likes to work from home. He did a valve adjustment. My bike has 6k mi but I couldn't find evidence that the original owner did the 700 mi initial valve check. He said the spark plugs were extremely clean (like brand new) and only a few valves needed just the smallest but if adjustment.
 
My 1400 Customs’s gas gauge is extremely pessimistic. It registers full up to 80miles then drops like a dive bomber, going on “ reserve “ anywhere from 115miles onward. I have run 150 miles supposedly on fumes, but when I top off the tank only have put in 3.5 gallons. Based on that, I would say you are good for 200+ miles before you are truly empty.

I was just having this discussion over the weekend. I'm on full for quite away's and then I can watch it go down pretty quickly. I'm glad it's not just me.
 
AND it's not just Guzzi...

My '13 Victory Cross Tour does the same thing.
Stays on full for about 80 miles, hits half around 110, then drops to E by 115.
Around 125 low fuel light comes on.
I have gone as far as 175 miles on a tank & when I filled had less than a 1/2 gallon left.
I usually fill up around the 130 mark.

I often wonder how we managed "back when" there were no fuel gauges or idiot lights.
I surely do miss the old double petcocks with one being the "main" & the other being "reserve".
Around 300 miles on a tank......big sigh.......
 
AND it's not just Guzzi...

My '13 Victory Cross Tour does the same thing.
Stays on full for about 80 miles, hits half around 110, then drops to E by 115.
Around 125 low fuel light comes on.
I have gone as far as 175 miles on a tank & when I filled had less than a 1/2 gallon left.
I usually fill up around the 130 mark.

I often wonder how we managed "back when" there were no fuel gauges or idiot lights.
I surely do miss the old double petcocks with one being the "main" & the other being "reserve".
Around 300 miles on a tank......big sigh.......


My 2007 Triumph Speedmaster has a petcock and an odometer you better remember to reset every time you fill up.
 
Just to add my experience on my 2016 Eldorado.
When I first got the bike it was getting in the mid 40s for mpg, but it wasn't running all that well. It could go well over 200 miles on a tank of gas (I seem to recall the tank capacity is something like 5.4 US gallons). The loopy gas guage, however, contributes to a lot of emotional anxiety. It stays on full for a long time, and then goes to empty with the low fuel light illuminated when there is still nearly 2 gallons of fuel left in the tank. Intellectually I know there is plenty of fuel, and miles, left but having to stare at that low fuel light is unnerving.

Because it wasn't running all that well I had Todd do his full boat magic to the bike and it suddenly was running REAL well. But the mpg dropped to about 32. That gave me a maximum range of about 170 miles and had the low fuel light coming on at around 110 miles. Living in the west, with some long gas station intervals, it became really unnerving. Especially since one drive I routinely took was 167 miles between gas stations.

A three mile cushion wasn't enough. So another email (and map file) back and forth between Todd and I. The results were that, despite that I couldn't tell any difference in the way it ran (still great) it was now getting about 39 mpg, which puts me back in the 200+ miles per tank range. In another age, Todd would be burned as a witch!

But the gas guage is still goofy. I'm on a trip right now and my low fuel light is consistently coming on with nearly two gallons left in the tank. I know I could get in there and "adjust" the float wire but it would just cause it to go even farther on "full" and give me no indication of what is happening in the tank for an even longer length of time. Then when the low fuel light came on I really would be low on fuel.

Now I know if the gas gauge starts dropping at between 70 and 80 miles I'm getting 38-40 mpg and that I can go about 200 miles in a pinch. I start looking for fuel at about 150 miles, which is about when the low fuel light comes on.

On a related topic, when the low fuel light comes on, the trip odometer display starts counting the number miles you have driven after the low fuel light comes on, and stops reading the number of miles you have driven since you reset it when you filled up the tank. No fun for us mathmatically challenged individuals. But I recently discovered, by accident, that if you tap the display mode switch one way or the other, it goes back briefly to showing you the overall miles you have traveled. It's probably in the manual but who reads that?

I have decided that all these quirky things about this motorcycle are actually clever design parameters intended by Moto Guzzi to amuse their riders on those long stretches of boring black top where scenery and homicidal auto driver's aren't enough to keep you awake. See, they just care more than other motorcycle manufacturers.
Garwood.
 
I know this thread is getting a bit old but I find it interesting so I am going to add a bit to it.

I just got back from a 2,500 mile, 8 day ride from Wyoming to the Seattle area and back. 2016 Eldorado with touring windshield, hard saddle bags and top box. no passenger. Todd's fueling package. A lot of varied driving circumstances with nothing to do but look at scenery and contemplate the gas gauge/low fuel light.

Assuming that the tank holds 5 gallons and I fill it right up to the neck each time, here are some interesting results (interesting if you lead a pretty dull life):

80 MPH into a fairly strong head wind. Two lane highway in remote part of Montana: Fuel gauge started down at 54 miles. Fuel warning light came on at 95 miles. I then drove another 62 miles (after slowing down to 60) and breezed into the first gas station I found where the tank took 4.7 gallons. That equals 33 MPG. Before I filled the tank I looked in it with a flashlight and I swear I didn't see anymore gas in there. So a max of about 155 miles on that tank. Less if I had maintained 80.

70 MPH on the Interstate. No adverse conditions: Fuel gauge started down at 74 miles. Fuel warning light came on at 120 miles. When I filled it, it was getting about 38 MPG, which means I could have gone 190 miles before I would have had to call Triple A.

60-65 MPH on two lane highways (I got this result several times): Fuel gauge started down at a bit over 80 miles. Fuel Warning light came on in the mid 130's. I was getting between 39 and 41 MPG. So I probably could have squeezed out 200 miles on the tank.

55-60 MPH on lovely State Highway 20 in Washington (If you haven't done that one, you should): Fuel gauge started down in the low 90's. At 140 the low fuel light still hadn't come on but I filled anyway (this happened twice). I was getting between 42 and 44 MPH. So the tank range in those circumstances would be about 215 miles.

So I got a range of MPG from 33 to 44, depending on circumstances. What that means on this particular motorcycle is one needs to learn what to expect for mileage, depending on what you are doing and use the gas gauge as just one parameter to tell you when to fill or when to drive by that fuel station in the boonies! By the end of my voyage I wasn't taking any chances and I filled more often than I really needed to.

Another interesting phenom. I turned over 11,000 miles on the bike about half way through the trip. At one point I noticed that it seemed to be running freer than it has in the past. I have read accounts by people who claim that these engines don't get broken in until after 10,000 miles. I think I may believe it. All the way home the engine just purred and I never got below 40 MPG, even at 70-75 on the Interstate.

I am now up to 12,062 miles on this machine. I do my own servicing as there is no Guzzi dealer even remotely close to where I live. I have had absolutely no trouble with it. No condensation in the speedo, no failures to start, no broken cross-over pipe (yet), nothing. I replaced the first set of tires at 9,000 miles but they would have gone to 10,000 I'm sure. The thing just runs.
Garwood.
 
As the third owner of my 2014 1400 California Touring bike there are some surprises. Removed the chrome tank trim and saw that the gas cap overfill drain hose was missing. From the Spare Parts Catalog (see LuffWolf's Post #6 above for the "old" image, or look at Page 79/86, 2017 version, Group: Tank / Code: 09.010 / Description: Fuel tank), a hose should run from the gas cap nipple to a 3-way union (AP810U4666). Removed the tank and…no union. The vent hose on the underside of my tank splices at a straight connector to another hose that ends under the frame. Ostensibly these hose sections should connect to the other two ports on the 3-way union. The I.D. of the vent hose is about half the I.D. of the overfill drain hose. Is that right? Reducing the drain hose to a smaller diameter seems iffy, at least if/when too much fuel goes in the tank. Since I don’t have the union, does anyone know if the union has one larger nipple and two smaller ones to confirm this is what the factory intended?
 
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