The gauge is weird, for me it sticks on full for a while then drops quickly to two bars then a while later to 1 then when it starts to flash red and the petrol pump symbol on lower dash lights up you have about 3.6l left so start looking for a pump if you are out in the wilds.
I find the range very accurate however.

 

To be honest, I have never owned a vehicle (cage or motorcycle) where the fuel gauge was linear.

Some were worse than others. Some gauges stuck on "F" forever, while others stayed on "F" for about 10 kms and dropped quickly to "E" and stayed there for 250 kms.

There is no excuse. Just design laziness.

 

It's the same old 'inaccurate fuel gauge" storey. The Africa Twin's fuel gauge is no different to any other vehicles fuel gauge. The indicator drops at the same rate the float measuring the fuel level drops inside the fuel tank and the rate the float drops from full through half to empty is dependant on the shape of the fuel tank, dropping faster at narrower points and slower at wider points.

Accuracy aside, the bars of Honda's fuel gauge, like the vast majority, are divided into 9 segments to indicate eight eighths and reserve, the same as the old needle gauges that had eight segments plus reserve.

 

Technology has existed for a long time already (e.g. past 15+ years) to better audit fluid levels of toxic and dangerous liquids. With the addition of knowing the squirt rate of the injectors, manufacturers have the available means to follow down the emptying fuel tank more precisely. They just don't want to, or they are unable to justify perhaps the extra cost of doing so because they won't get the value back from the potential purchaser.

 

I just use one of the trip meters to track my fuel level/range, the gauge is exceptionally useless. Especially because the last bar accounts for like 100km range, which is almost 1/3rd of my usual tank range.

 

I'm with you on this fuel gauge accuracy on any bike is shite, fuel gauges on bikes is something I never had on my earlier bikes, don't have on any dirt bike, and don't get me started on my KTM 890 gauge that only starts moving after half a tank. I can't see this as an issue at all

 

F to E is only 10L and reserve is 9L for me

 

Dear HONDA...

 

As in most all bikes, different volumes at different intervals..

 

Absent image, @AT-Dragon ?

 

It doesn't make sense why with all the cpu's already on the bike they can't just compute a function taking care of the shape of the tank and use the same old floater system to give an accurate estimate of the fuel in the tank.
Also, why don't inform accurate speed and temperature readings if the sensors and displays are there already, so it's not a cost issue. It just doesn't make any bloody sense!

And don't let me start with the Engine Brake and the other senseless details on the dashing screen...

And then... all the other rather impenetrable things reported and experienced on this really wonderful, sophisticated and complicated beast we are really fortunate and mostly very happy to ride.

 

It doesn't make sense why with all the cpu's already on the bike they can't just compute a function taking care of the shape of the tank and use the same old floater system to give an accurate estimate of the fuel in the tank.
Also, why don't inform accurate speed and temperature readings if the sensors and displays are there already, so it's not a cost issue. It just doesn't make any bloody sense!

And don't let me start with the Engine Brake and the other senseless details on the dashing screen...

And then... all the other rather impenetrable things reported and experienced on this really wonderful, sophisticated and complicated beast we are really fortunate and mostly very happy to ride.

It wouldn’t matter, it’s a volume to time ratio, this is a extreme example but, think about the time it takes the bike to burn through a gallon of fuel compared to a spoon full. So when you get to (generally) the bottom and smaller section of the tank it will go quicker.

I agree on the display info, I posted in my improvement thread about us being able to create (within reason) our own custom dash design so you can have the most relevant information for where you are riding.

 

Regarding better fuel status: Honda business doesn't want to invest to make it better than good enough. There is no return on the value.

Compared to the DCT, there is excellent market return value.

It is pretty lazy on Honda's part.

 

What happens if you change how hard you're riding mid tank?

Every single car I have ever owned and every bike, had a fuel gauge that wasn't linear. Many people will fill up when the needle indicates half full, so many auto manufacturers (and bikes, i have to assume) will let it go slightly past halfway before it indicates that it is half full. The consumer thinks the vehicle gets good fuel economy.

In my case, every single time, the gauge drops quickly from halfway to a quarter. I can get 300 miles on the first half of the tank, and then only 100 on the next quarter. The vehicle will then go 100 miles before the fuel level low light illuminates, leaving me with about 40 miles of range, if I am driving normally.

I have a suspicion that the fuel left in the tank when the light illuminates has to take you X distance (maybe the aforementioned 40 miles) as almost every single car and every bike has been able to go ~40miles with the light on. I generally fill up my bike when the light is on, and invariably, it's 3.9 gallons or so, indicating I still had about a gallon left in there.

 

I got that wrong. It's not the last bar that is the 3.6 litre reserve, it goes into reserve when the last bar flashes blue. So the actual calculation is:

18.8 litres full.
15.2 before it starts flashing blue (18.8-3.6).
1.68 for each of the 9 bars (15.2/9).
5.28 left when it is on the last bar (3.6+1.68)
Which means that the last bar actually represents 28% of the whole tank!
So that's why when I refill with it on the last bar it doesn't take as much fuel as I expected.
Crazy Honda design.

 

I did a 125 mile ride, in road conditions including empty country roads, busy urban traffic, fast motorways, and some extreme filtering through slow and stationary motorway traffic. The results are:

10 litres used for 125 miles.
Real consumption of 56.8 mpg (uk gallons) which is exactly what the bike computer reported.
Or 12.5 miles per litre.
My range calculation = 235 miles.
Bike computer calculation = 235 miles.

The fuel gauge followed an odd pattern. For the first half of the ride (Kenilworth to Oxford) it just dropped one bar - that was the empty country road part. Coming back it dropped steadily to four bars (going fast on the motorway), and then as I struggled through the jams, it dropped fast to two bars. It was at two when I refilled.

Impressively accurate range forecast, with an irrational fuel gauge.

 

(yep)

My V85TT goes to "E" at just less than half a tank. Tank is 23L.

 

Knowing your tank range is key. I know I can make in excess of 200 miles per tank and fill up every 160 to 180 miles to be sure to be sure.

 

I also checked to see how much difference there is between filling on the side stand and filling upright. Looks like it might be a 3/4 of a litre.

 

No, i was wrong. I tried again and found that on the sidestand I can fill to the top of the plate, wait a short time for the level to drop a bit, add some more, repeat, until it doesn't take more. Then holding the bike up to vertical makes no difference to the level. That way I managed to get the range to read an additional 15 miles (250). It would be interesting to see a diagram of the tank. My old airhead GS doesn't have any kind of complicted mechanism, i just fill it up to the brim (36 litres).