Fuel tank capacity lower than stated?

R

Red Dingo

Active member
Have a 98 Cbr F3, and read the fuel tank was 20 liters total, being 17 main with a 3 liter reserve. I was always getting 250-300+k on approx 10 liters of fuel or so which I figured to be about half a tank. Well just figured I could get a fair bit more mileage before actually needing fuel, but have never ran it that low. Well was out yesterday with my gf and all of a sudden the bike is sputtering, hit the reserve and was fine but this really threw me for a dilemma. Also when i did get fuel i put around 11+ liters or so in. Re-read the manual I have and confirmed it's what I stated above.

Is this a typo? Is it maybe 13 liters being 10/3? Any other thoughts?
 
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A quick google search shows a '98 F3 tank capacity of 17L including 3L reserve. So around 13L used or so you should need to switch to reserve.
 
Bah, read this and always assumed the "included" reserve was added to the volume of the main tank. Dont know why I thought this but it makes a lot of sense now, lol. Thanks.
 
Red Dingo said:
Have a 98 Cbr F3, and read the fuel tank was 20 liters total, being 17 main with a 3 liter reserve. I was always getting 250-300+k on approx 10 liters of fuel or so which I figured to be about half a tank. Well just figured I could get a fair bit more mileage before actually needing fuel, but have never ran it that low. Well was out yesterday with my gf and all of a sudden the bike is sputtering, hit the reserve and was fine but this really threw me for a dilemma. Also when i did get fuel i put around 11+ liters or so in. Re-read the manual I have and confirmed it's what I stated above.

Is this a typo? Is it maybe 13 liters being 10/3? Any other thoughts?
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300Kms on 10 liters of fuel is = 70.57 MPG - Thats insane! Ninja 250's typically get less than 60.
 
Yeah never really thought about it as my other mode of transportation is a pickup, and well almost anything is better than that. Dont do anything special, run 87 octane, no problems (thanks to a previous post) and keep the rpms on the lower end if I can I guess. Don't speed too much, just enjoy the trip and don't go high into the power band. Will have to start charting it or something so I can figure it out and try and pass the info on to the truck lol.
 
Red Dingo said:
Yeah never really thought about it as my other mode of transportation is a pickup, and well almost anything is better than that. Dont do anything special, run 87 octane, no problems (thanks to a previous post) and keep the rpms on the lower end if I can I guess. Don't speed too much, just enjoy the trip and don't go high into the power band. Will have to start charting it or something so I can figure it out and try and pass the info on to the truck lol.
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Use fuelly.com to track.

 
Theres no way you are getting that much mileage on 10 L of gas. I have a way smaller bike than yours (350cc) and I only get 220 on a full 10 L tank.
 
Is the bike vertical when you are filling it or on the side stand? You can normally get another litre or two into the tank with the bike vertical. If you fill up on the side stand, you are probably carrying 15L or so with the last 3 on reserve so it makes sense.
 
Yeah the issue was for whatever reason I was adding the reserve capacity to the total size, not including it. It's a 17 liter tank, not the 20 I was at first thinking. Even taking filling up on the side into consideration, its the phantom 3 liters of gas I thought I had on top of that which is why I had the problem.

I still do have a really high mpg compared to the same models on fuelly.com and other websites and don't know why. I've even had other people comment when filling up on group rides. Will hopefully be doing a nice little road trip next weekend if the weather cooperates and I can pay real attention then with the gps as a data collector to verify.
 
Pegassus said:
Theres no way you are getting that much mileage on 10 L of gas. I have a way smaller bike than yours (350cc) and I only get 220 on a full 10 L tank.
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Hate to burst your bubble sparky, but, on my 99 VFR I could get 380 to 410 km on a tank of fuel. Tank was not run dry, but fuel light was on. And to make it worse for you, my buddy would match that mileage on his 91 FJ1200. We did it quite a few times on the long trips. That equates to between 56 and 62 mpg. Mileage is not tied to just displacement. It is tied to driving habits first.
 
GreyGhost said:
Is the bike vertical when you are filling it or on the side stand? You can normally get another litre or two into the tank with the bike vertical. If you fill up on the side stand, you are probably carrying 15L or so with the last 3 on reserve so it makes sense.
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But will that drain into the over-flow valve? Because u are not always riding upright. Would the extra fuel spill?
 
Pegassus said:
Theres no way you are getting that much mileage on 10 L of gas. I have a way smaller bike than yours (350cc) and I only get 220 on a full 10 L tank.
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My DL650 is averaging about 4.4L/100km or about 500km on a 22L tank...
 
RockerGuy said:
But will that drain into the over-flow valve? Because u are not always riding upright. Would the extra fuel spill?
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I've never had any come out, if you filled it and then immediately parked it on the side stand, I am sure some would come out. When you lean in a corner, the forces should help keep the fuel in the tank relatively flat with respect to the bike.
 
GreyGhost said:
I've never had any come out, if you filled it and then immediately parked it on the side stand, I am sure some would come out. When you lean in a corner, the forces should help keep the fuel in the tank relatively flat with respect to the bike.
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Isn't it hard to tell? Most SS have a drain hose that runs beneath the bike. The caps are also not air tight to compensate for vapour pressure or a drop in fuel levels.

Somebody clarify??
 
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