Hi all,
Just went out riding in my 2006 Monster 620 and the fuel light came on. This is only my second tank of gas since I got the bike so I am still trying to figure out how far I can go on a tank.
Do you know if the light comes on if there is 1/2 gal left? 1/3 gal? Just wanted to gauge so I don't end up pushing the bike for miles... :-[
Look in your owner's manual to see how much fuel the tank holds (the last Monster I owned was rated at 4.36 gallons with 0.92 reserve). Fill up the bike when the fuel light comes on. Subtract the bigger number from the smaller one and you have your answer.
It's a good idea to NOT trust the fuel light, but trust your trip odometer instead. Once I'm past 100 miles I start thinking about refilling the tank. If I'm out on the road, I'll let it get to 120. If it's easy highway riding I'll go as high as 150. Usually I'm happy if I don't ever see the low fuel light, but fill it just a bit before it comes on.
By the way, one time I ran the Monster completely out of fuel - dead empty - I loaded it into a pickup truck and took it to the gas station to fill it up. The 4.36 gallon tank took 4.8 gallons of gas. It was filled higher than recommended and I felt the need to ride it for about 15 miles before parking it in my garage, but it was good to know what it would really hold. My Honda tank is a 4.7 and I put 4.6 something into that one with no chance to put more.
According to your owners manual, it's 3 cubic decimeters out of a total capacity of 14 cu. dm.
Since a cubic decimeter is a liter, it seems stupid that they use cu. dm., but there you have it. 3 L is just shy of 0.8 gallons. 14 L is about 3.6 gallons. The reserve, therefore, works out to about 20% of total capacity.
I got about 125 miles per tank on my '05 620, but never ran it dry. I was able to go 20-30 miles after the low fuel light came on. Much will depend upon your riding style. As ScottRNelson says, I started planning to fill up when my trip mileage hit 100 and started getting a bit antsy around 120.
It looks as if you've lost your manual. You can easily download one in .pdf format from ducati.com. (Please tell me it's not that you have a manual and just decided to go online and ask instead of checking it.)
My 08' S2R 1k is very consistant at 140miles before the light comes on and then it get scary, cuz the one time I thought i'd test it, I ran out of gas. That was with 11 miles on the low fuel gage. If I take long trips, I make sure I fill up every 100 or so.
the fuel light usually goes on somewhere between .8 and .5 gallons for me, meaning on my 620 i have about 20-25 miles before it gets really really low, i think one or two times i went 30 miles or so but then it only had something like .3 gallons left.
basically with a 620 if you do straight highway miles you get around 130-145 miles before you absolutely have to fill up, meanig you only have something like .3 gallons left when you do.
with fast stop and go and idling city riding you get around 110-120 before you should really really have to start to fill up.
Thanks everyone. It has been very helpful.
@mstevens - Sorry to disappoint, but I do have my manual. I knew the tank was about 3.6 gal but just wasn't sure how many miles that would buy me since it was only my second "long" trip out. I was a little worried when I saw the light come on because I wasn't prepared for a fill up... too much fun, I'm sure you'd understand. [moto]
It's also good to know my bike's fuel consumption is consistent with others out there. My trip odometer read 124mi when I filled up at the gas station.
Quote from: garien on May 24, 2010, 02:35:28 PM
@mstevens - Sorry to disappoint, but I do have my manual.
So you knew how large your reserve was then asked how large it was?
Maybe the issue is that you didn't ask the question you wanted answered.
Perhaps my question should have been "how many more miles can I go when the fuel light comes on". My question was more on when I should be worried when riding, and since it was only my second ride out I didn't have much to go on, so I wanted to see what other's experiences are.
Thanks again. All your information has been very helpful, and did ultimately answer my question.
I say push it and see how many miles you get. I easily get 150 miles or so out of my 620 before it needs to be filled (highway or not). I guess it depends on what type of person you are. I tend to push the limit on these kind of things.
Quote from: garien on May 25, 2010, 03:23:27 AM
Perhaps my question should have been "how many more miles can I go when the fuel light comes on".
The answer to this is that if you try to go more than about
20 miles once you hit reserve, you're taking a big chance of running out. You can't always get the last drop of gasoline out of the tank before the engine dies, and on fuel injected bikes you're taking a chance of damaging the fuel pump, which is cooled by the gasoline around it. Plus you also take the chance of forgetting exactly how many more miles you should be able to go and end up trying to go too far.
My '06 S2R1000 takes 2.8 gallons +/- from the low fuel light. Last night i rode 10 miles after light came on and took 2.9 to fill.
I have made it 20 miles without running out onthe light.
(EDITED because i am a bonehead)
I ran out less than 25mi from the light, 05 620.
Usually get the light day to day commuting ~120mi.
I fill up at home and have a 50mi daily ride, so I fillup every other day (once in a while I'll do day3).
On a trip / ride I'll pack it full.
I made it to 143 last Tues midnight before light, made it home at 156mi - computations going the whole way. 3.6gal my ass!
Unless I know where fuel is, i target 100 - 120 for a fillup.
Commuting I get 50MPG btw, trips it pushes 60 - 65 (fewer cold starts / traffic).
I get 150 miles out of my 620 before the light comes on with normal commuting
If I've been riding the highways on weekends etc, I notice I've gotten up to 170 once
For everyday riding, I just fill up at 150 regardless......I have run out once
Quote from: gh0stie on May 27, 2010, 08:31:15 AM
I get 150 miles out of my 620 before the light comes on with normal commuting
Exactly the same for my 620, i know i can ride another 15-20 miles before finding gas station...