Ran out of Gas - Gauge issue?

[Klurejr]

I have 139,000 miles on my Gen 1 - so it is very possible my gas gauge is having a problem.

For the first time ever I ran out of gas - but the Gauge said I was at 1/8 of a tank and the light did not come on.

My wife rescued me as I was on the freeway a few miles from home. Unfortunately she did not pay attention to how much gas she put in the can - was more than 1 gallon, less than 2.
I immediately went to a gas station and put 3.7 gallons in - that is filling to the bottom of the filler cap.

Once I had filled up the tank my Gauge went back up to above the full line like normal

I typically fill up every second commute and that commute is about 35 miles each way - so roughly every 140 miles... I know we are still on winter blend gas here so my mileage is not as good as summer blend.... but maybe my mileage has gotton really bad as well???

I reset my trip meter and will pay close attention to it now.

 

[jwarden]

Even if the gas mileage has dropped for some reason there seems to be a problem with the gauge if it showed 1/8 but ran out. Is the float hanging up?

 

[Klurejr]

It is possible the float has an issue - I would have to remove the tank and pull the feed assembly out to really know. I wont ride it for a few days cause we have rain this week - but I probably will on Friday.

 

[Isleoman]

It’s pretty simple to pull the float after you’ve run it close to dry again. You must have slammed a lurid wheelie down too hard Glad you wife was there for you.

My last gas issue was forgetting my wallet and discovering it 100 miles from home on empty. I called my wife to see if she would bring me my wallet and my plea fell on deaf ears. She suggested I should pan handle, luckily the gas station attendant loaned me $10, which I repaid the next day with a $50. My wife’s next bday present will be reduced by $40. I’m glad this thread came up because I never followed thru on my plan to squirrel $20 away in my tire repair kit.

 

[Klurejr]

my last three tanks of gas have been fine. I think maybe It was a combination of going fast on winter blend fuel so my MPG was not like it normally is. I was doing 90mph+ commutes that week due to low traffic - normally it is not like that.

 

[Isleoman]

Don’t know if summer blend is upon us in the NorthEast yet, I do know my mpg is back up to 50 from 45. I think the heated gear takes a small toll on mpg as does the blend.

 

[Klurejr]

Summer blend started a few weeks ago in San Diego - I know instantly because when I cold start it in the morning it takes half the time to warm up to operating temp and starts on the first crank. Winter blend is garbage for Carbureted motors.