[saberr9t]

My low fuel light consistently comes on when I'm 120 miles into the tank as measured by the trip odometer. I would ignore the light but I'd feel stupid if I ran out of gas so I've been heeding the warnings and filling up within 10 miles of the warning light coming on. When I fill up, the tank takes less than 4 gallons which is what I would expect based on the trip odometer. If the tank has a usable capacity of 4.8 gallons plus a reserve of 0.8 gallons shouldn't the reserve light not come one until I reach the reserve after using 4.8 gallons?

Anyone else having this issue?

 

[BigD]

The tank capacity usually "includes" reserve.

 

[saberr9t]

The tank capacity usually "includes" reserve.

You very well may be right but I question that conclusion.

If that's the case it is a change for BMW. The manual for the 9t and the 12r both indicate a usable capacity of 4.8 and a reserve of 0.8. The light for the 12Rs I owned came on after using 4.8 gallons. I often put over 5 gallons in the r12r tank so I know it could hold 4.8 plus a reserve. The light for the 9t comes on after using 4 gallons. The manual indicates they hold the same amount of fuel though.

It wouldn't surprise me if the 9t held less fuel as the tank looks smaller but based on the manual I thought they were the same size and I hadn't heard anyone say otherwise. If someone confirms this tank is smaller thag would answer my question.

 

[Bonkorama]

Maybe its just new engine syndrome Saber. That is my guess...
Im thinking well get better mileage as the engine gets broken in better...
But i do agree with your assessment of the amount of fuel. 4.8 PLUS another .8 as reserve.

I actually got 150 miles out of my FIRST tank of gas, but i was really taking it easy for the first tank.
As i rode it harder, the mileage dropped.
And i plan on it dropping even more, as I'm gonna ride the KRAP out of it..

 

[Lost Rider]

On my R1200R, which I've ran out of fuel numerous times on, I never could get more than 5.2 gallons in the tank. That's filling it completely to the top when the recommended way to do it is only to fill it to the bottom of the orange filler neck.
I've not ran out of fuel yet on the ninet but assume it will be the same way. There's .4 gallons of space left at the top of the tank to avoid spilling fuel out is my guess.

That's on the R1200R though, but I don't see BMW changing things like that. If the bike had a 5.6 gallon tank, they would certainly market it. It could be just a bad translation if that's what the manual says, that wouldn't be the first time.

My light is coming on pretty regularly around 170 miles now that I have some miles on the bike, 42 mpg on average, exactly the same as my 12R.
120 miles seems a bit low for the light to come on but I don't know how many miles on the motor or how hard you're riding. I think early on during break-in maybe my light came on once at 135 miles.
4.8 gallons is the total amount of the tank capacity as listed with the recommended way of filling it. I don't think there's a .8 reserve and if the fuel strip is accurate it will turn on the light after you burn about 4 gallons.

If someone runs the tank dry, please let me know if my guess is correct or not.

 

[saberr9t]

Sounds like the issue is that the tank is smaller on the nineT. I think I'll just go by the trip odometer and refill at 150.

 

[Bonkorama]

I get a consistent 184 miles out of my '98 R1100rt before I get the light. For years actually. It has 115k on the odometer.

 

[saberr9t]

I get a consistent 184 miles out of my '98 R1100rt before I get the light. For years actually. It has 115k on the odometer.

I have a heavy wrist and have always gotten noticeably less out of a tank than the range of others on the message boards. The 550 miles I've put on it so far consists of (1) lazy country roads, two up at 75 mph, (2) solo in the mountains as fast as I can, (3) stop and go traffic and (4) interstate at 80+. None promote great fuel economy. I still think that either the tank is smaller or the low fuel light comes on earlier than on the R12R because I was never filling up before 150 miles on the R12R. Once I get to the point I can trust the trip odometer I'll be comfortable stretching it out to 150 or 160 and that's fine by me. The aesthetics of the smaller tank are worth a little range in my judgement so I have no complaints.

 

[Bonkorama]

Ditto, saber.

 

[1561]

After 1200km (745 miles), at all sorts of revs, my 9TEE's fuel consumption seems to have settled for 5.3ltr/100km (44.38MPG).

Reserve light comes on at about 280km (173 miles), I should get 340 km (211 miles) out of one fill .... haven't tried yet

 

[Maverick]

You could always purposely run out of fuel one time to try to figure out exactly how far one full tank of gas will take you. That would also let you fill it up full and see exactly how much gas it holds. Its kinda an inconvenience, but it seems like it would answer most of the questions that you've been asking.

 

[street]

On my R1200R, which I've ran out of fuel numerous times on, I never could get more than 5.2 gallons in the tank. That's filling it completely to the top when the recommended way to do it is only to fill it to the bottom of the orange filler neck.
I've not ran out of fuel yet on the ninet but assume it will be the same way. There's .4 gallons of space left at the top of the tank to avoid spilling fuel out is my guess.

That's on the R1200R though, but I don't see BMW changing things like that. If the bike had a 5.6 gallon tank, they would certainly market it. It could be just a bad translation if that's what the manual says, that wouldn't be the first time.

My light is coming on pretty regularly around 170 miles now that I have some miles on the bike, 42 mpg on average, exactly the same as my 12R.
120 miles seems a bit low for the light to come on but I don't know how many miles on the motor or how hard you're riding. I think early on during break-in maybe my light came on once at 135 miles.
4.8 gallons is the total amount of the tank capacity as listed with the recommended way of filling it. I don't think there's a .8 reserve and if the fuel strip is accurate it will turn on the light after you burn about 4 gallons.

If someone runs the tank dry, please let me know if my guess is correct or not.

I hope you don't have a charcoal canister on your 12R. Over filling can get charcoal into system and on plastic tank bikes, collapse the tank.

I've have a bunch of beamies and none have had reserve lights or gauges that were accurate. The electronic strip fuel sender the Germans like to use are lousy. I've replaced 3 in my 12R. My 90 trips the low fuel light pretty consistently with 1 1/2 gallons remaining. I had one sender in my 12R that triggered the low fuel warning with about a quart left. That was really bad.

 

[mikeo]

Just looked at my last fuel receipt.

The low fuel light came on after doing nothing but around-town driving at mostly high rpm (so gas mileage was expected to be low).

I made it to the gas station within about 5-8 miles of the light coming on.

I put in 3.89 gallons of fuel.

That's pretty close to the 4-gallons-used point at which the light should come on for the last .8 gallon reserve. The warning may even have lit up a little early due to sloshing the gas around in the tank with jack-rabbit starts and stops, not to mention lots of turns at intersections.

 

[spymeonme]

Just a general observation on running on a nearly empty tank. It is always a good idea to keep the tank as full with gas as possible in order to avoid fuel pump strain. I have come across GS owners whose fuel pump kicked the bucket because they kept letting the bike go into reserve. I asked my BMW certified mechanic the other day and he confirmed that the NineT uses the exact same pump as the pre-LC GS (and every other boxer for that matter). He positively advised against letting the fuel level get too low, too often.

 

[atblay]

I'm only on my second tank now, but my fuel light came on at 124 miles. I drove fairly conservatively for the first 50 of those and then rode the bike fairly hard (nothing ridiculous, just getting up to 5k rpm and back down in each gear), usually shifting between 4k and 5k rpm for the last 74. I was a little surprised the light came on that early. I put 3.9 gallons in the tank, filling it.

I do a lot of around town riding, and the bike computer calculates my mpg at 36 so far. I also have the tank bag on, which I'm sure doesn't help.

I agree with spymeonme. I don't think intentionally running out of fuel is great for the bike.

I'm now, sadly, sitting at home without mine, as my starter switch failed and is being replaced tomorrow morning. Can't wait to get back on the road tomorrow.

 

[Mankite]

How do you guys fill up? Do you stick the whole pump in the tank like a car or have it barely in so you can see it fill up? If in like a car will it stop before it overflows?

 

[thompcat]

Mine sounds like its pretty much in line with the rest. Somewhere around 125 135 miles the light comes on, but I only put in around 3.5-4 gallons at most. I fill it to the bottom of the neck on the side stand usually. If I know I'm about to hit the road hard and ride for a couple hours, I'll sit on it and stand it upright as I fill, gets me maybe another half gallon at best. I always reset the trip meter when I fill up but don't start thinking about getting more fuel until around 125, 150 miles at the most, regardless of what the light says.

 

[chrisho]

I am getting the light on around 3 gallons, my average mileage per gallon is near 50. I don't ride slow but as a friend once told me, the real key to riding fast is not to slow down

 

[Bill88]

someone else here has the same story as I do.
I did notice this thread and the next time I went out on the bike I sure did require a fill up
So about 2-4 miles after the light went on I filled it up and it took around 3.85 US gallons.
So I am to assume since this happened to another one or two here that these are the numbers. (around 3.85-4 gallons ) and then light goes on for a low fuel

 

[tofur]

So uh, my 9T is flicking on the reserve light after ~80-90 miles, and it will only take 2 gallons, standing upright. Something is amiss.