Fuel tank capacity and float

[rickosuave1987]

I have the stock 18"front wheel and my odometer is consistently 5% over.

[jbfla]

Originally Posted by Jay In Milpitas

19 or stock 18" front wheel, JB?

18" wheel.

jb

[Eco Mouse]

Just did my first fuel up after bending the float arm. I basically got 183 miles before it started blinking, and just decided to go to 200 miles before filling up.

I was at 3.2 gallons, and there was plenty of fuel over the fuel pump.

I probably could have gotten more miles, but the majority of the 200 miles were 2-up, and when we each had our own turn by ourselves, we flogged the hell out of it. Plus, we've got the 13t/45t sprocket combo.

We basically got 62.5 mpg (based on the odometer reading) and we are OK with that. So, now we will just ride 200 miles, then fill up.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Eco Mouse

Just did my first fuel up after bending the float arm. I basically got 183 miles before it started blinking, and just decided to go to 200 miles before filling up.

I was at 3.2 gallons, and there was plenty of fuel over the fuel pump.

I probably could have gotten more miles, but the majority of the 200 miles were 2-up, and when we each had our own turn by ourselves, we flogged the hell out of it. Plus, we've got the 13t/45t sprocket combo.

We basically got 62.5 mpg (based on the odometer reading) and we are OK with that. So, now we will just ride 200 miles, then fill up.

Thanks for posting the report.

Did you lengthen the wire, or merely bend the wire to make the float even with the bottom of the sender?

[Eco Mouse]

The wire has a 90° bend in it, so by straightening that just a smidgen, gives you a wee bit more length... but ultimately just bending the wire down is all I did. Because you can't really do too much to the wire with just a push stick down through the filler opening.

I took a metal rod, cut a notch out of the end so it wouldn't slip off the float wire, and just reached in and pushed in a few key areas on the wire until it was down about as far as you can go.

[SpudRider]

Thanks, EM.

I will soon be removing the fuel tank of my RX3 to repaint it. At that time I will drain all the fuel, and remove the fuel gauge sensor. I will bend the wire before I replace the sensor.

[Eco Mouse]

Don't forget to check for rust. I've got rust inside mine, and when I got it, there was only 350 miles on it.

I'm going to spray some naval jelly or rust converter down there next empty tank.

But I'm going to order a whole new tank, so I can enlarge it by welding on extension wings, instead of those non functional plastic pieces.

[SpudRider]

Thanks for posting the tip. I certainly will check for rust while I have the fuel tank removed.

[SpudRider]

I completed painting the fuel tank, and the rest of my RX3 motorcycle. I did not find any rust in the fuel tank.

While the fuel tank was removed for painting, I removed and adjusted the fuel gauge. I bent the float wire of the fuel gauge until it was level with the bottom of the gauge. The fuel gauge now flashes the yellow warning light after I have used 2.9 gallons of fuel. I am happy with this adjustment.

[Eco Mouse]

I'm starting to tinker with the idea of buying an RC3 tank (a supposed 5 gallon tank) and seeing if it could be retrofitted to the Cyclone.

Where I'm planning on riding, I need 300+ miles minimum on a tank, fully loaded down. Carrying extra fuel should be a last resort.

Many years ago during a forum-wide MPG challenge, I rode 371 miles on my KLR. I ran out of fuel twice, and had to tip the bike to the side to get the bit of reserve to the other side to the fuel line side. I still believe that I could have milked more miles if I made a specific ride loop using my hyper-milage driving tactics. Instead the 371 miles were achieved with some off-road dirt play, commuting to work, then a long trip in the mountains before I finally coasted into a gas station.

[Lee R]

My Stelvio if ridden responsibly gets mpg in the 40s, 46 as the highest for me with an 8.5 gallon tank, 391 miles are possible. I plan 300 mile intervals on long trips and it's got the comfort to pull that off. The RX3 needs more fuel capacity imo.I fill up at 150 miles.

[SpudRider]

Originally Posted by Lee R

My Stelvio if ridden responsibly gets mpg in the 40s, 46 as the highest for me with an 8.5 gallon tank, 391 miles are possible. I plan 300 mile intervals on long trips and it's got the comfort to pull that off. The RX3 needs more fuel capacity imo.I fill up at 150 miles.

But you cover those 150 miles very quickly. I average 68 mpg with my RX3, but I am gentle on the throttle. Therefore, I fill the fuel tank after I ride about 200 miles, and I still have 0.7 gallons in reserve to bathe the fuel pump.

[dpl096]

Originally Posted by detours

Excellent write-up! I intend to try this at my next valve adjustment.

Im anxious to see your results ...... Did you bend it down ?

[detours]

Originally Posted by dpl096

Im anxious to see your results ...... Did you bend it down ?

Yeah, I did my valves on Sunday and while the tank was off I followed the steps to bend the float wire down to the level of the platform.

It's really tight clearance to remove the unit. Both the switch and the float are the exact dimensions of the oval mounting hole. So you have to gently twist the unit to line up the float and slide it out. Then it's an easy bend and reverse steps to re-install.

I should have filled the tank in one gallon increments and tested the float, but I was on my way to do LED testing and didn't think about it. I'll run the tank down soon enough, but I'm sure I'll have the same results as others here.

[SpudRider]

After performing this modification, my fuel gauge still reads full after burning a gallon of fuel. However, the yellow warning light flashes after I have consumed 2.9 gallons of fuel, and that is the most important factor for me.