Zumo User Forums

How does Fuel Gauge Settings work? my bike has a 15 liter tank, and I can get 15 km per liter on the highway, 3 liters is reserve , 12 liters regular, what numbers do I put in the Fuel Gauge Settings? do I turn on Fuel Tracking (Disabled - out of motorcycle mount?
and how does Dynamic Fuel Stops work? i can't turn that on, it's disabled, does it work?.
What value do I put in Remaining Fuel Warning?
I can ride 180km on the highway on 12 liters before reserve

To me the XT fuel setting are useless bloat that I would love to delete. Last bike I owned that didn't have a fuel gauge was back in the 90's. I certainly don't need estimates from the XT when I have actual fuel level right there on my dash. I understand the 800 doesn't have one (you have the carb model, yes?) but at only 110-120 miles to switch to reserve is the feature really worth bothering with?

So really, do you need to use it? Or is it something that you might be interested in? I found some features are disabled when the XT is: A) not mounted in the motorcycle mount, and B) not in the motorcycle mode. This may be one of them.

rbentnail wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 9:19 pm To me the XT fuel setting are useless bloat that I would love to delete.

Indeed! I don't use it either, but I don't rely solely on the gauge when touring. I get avg 200 miles on a tank so my routes include fuel stop waypoints at ±150 mile intervals. Those planned fuel stops are my fuel level security feature as well as my "time to take a break" feature.

rbentnail wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 9:19 pm To me the XT fuel setting are useless bloat that I would love to delete.
I understand the 800 doesn't have one (you have the carb model, yes?) but at only 110-120 miles to switch to reserve is the feature really worth bothering with?

So really, do you need to use it?

ya the 2005 Kawasaki 800 carb has no fuel gauge. I saw that fuel Icon on my XT screen and was wondering if it's worth using, I guess you summed it up nicely. guess I'll ignore that fuel icon now.

twowheelstom wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 10:04 pm ya the 2005 Kawasaki 800 carb has no fuel gauge

I did not think that any bike in the 800 size range built in 2000+ would not have a gauge, especially one suitable for touring.

Peobody wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 10:21 pm

twowheelstom wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 10:04 pm ya the 2005 Kawasaki 800 carb has no fuel gauge

I did not think that any bike in the 800 size range built in 2000+ would not have a gauge, especially one suitable for touring.

I had the 650-750's of the 80's and 90's. The biggest fuel worry was switching back to run after filling up so you actually had a reserve next time. Although cruiser styled, they weren't really what I would now call a touring bike. Being light and zippy they were great around town but on the hwy could be a bit buzzy and without a windshield was a lot of work riding for more than 4 or 5 hrs in a day. I had a '04 Kaw 1500 Classic that I set up for more touring with a Mustang seat, hard bags and windshield. Much better for the hwy, and it had a fuel gauge. FJR's for me since 2008, easily 250 miles per tank. I typically stop at 3/8 used, then again at another 3/8 used and fill back up. That easily gives me at least 90 miles to find fuel.

I reset the trip odometer every time I fill up. It will do between 250 and 280 miles to a tank, so I start looking for fuel at around 220.

But the fuel gauge isn't bad either.

The various Zumo trips and bike stats - I can't be bothered with. Although I used to use the total riding time as an indication of when to change my bullet camera SD card - it would record about 4.5 hours before overwriting older recordings.

jfheath wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 10:53 pm I reset the trip odometer every time I fill up. It will do between 250 and 280 miles to a tank, so I start looking for fuel at around 220.

But the fuel gauge isn't bad either.

The various Zumo trips and bike stats - I can't be bothered with. Although I used to use the total riding time as an indication of when to change my bullet camera SD card - it would record about 4.5 hours before overwriting older recordings.

The newer FJRs (since 2013) have all kinds of cutesy stuff like that- 2 trip odometers, 1 trip timer that resets with ignition cycle, 1 trip timer that has manual reset, fuel range, instant & average fuel milege, ambient temperature, coolant temp, blahblahblah. And deeper in the menus there's maint schedules you can set up. I didn't. I ignore it all on the gps, too. I just want a gps, don't need or want all the other stuff. Like my old nuvi, just with the screen and power of the XT. Simple & straightforward.

Being north of 70 (years), I have a much more accurate fuel warning system. As my friend and riding buddy puts it, "We run out of ass before we run out of gas."

-dan

twowheelstom wrote: ↑Fri Feb 09, 2024 2:35 pm How does Fuel Gauge Settings work? my bike has a 15 liter tank, and I can get 15 km per liter on the highway, 3 liters is reserve , 12 liters regular, what numbers do I put in the Fuel Gauge Settings? do I turn on Fuel Tracking (Disabled - out of motorcycle mount?
and how does Dynamic Fuel Stops work? i can't turn that on, it's disabled, does it work?.
What value do I put in Remaining Fuel Warning?
I can ride 180km on the highway on 12 liters before reserve

The fuel page makes its calculations based on the unchanging numbers you input. It only knows the distance recorded by the GPS since you reset it at the last fuel stop.

It only provides estimates because it does not actually know how much fuel is being used, or the current fuel level, so it cannot account for changing conditions.

It's useless, IMO. It's too much trouble to remember and reset, especially since my goal at a fuel stop is to get back on the road quickly.

The BMW Navigators (based on similar Zumo models) actually had a connection to the bike CANBUS, and could detect how fast fuel was being consumed and how much fuel was in the tank. The GPS fuel gauge was not always precise, but it was usefully accurate.

I only fully trust my trip meter, and previous experience with my fuel consumption. I know my tank is 7.1 U.S. gallons, I have 1 gallon left when the DistanceToEmpty display shows zero miles remaining, I can usually count on 48 mpg or more. Maximum range so far has been 374 (anxious) miles. I start looking for fuel at 250 miles if I'm in new territory, even sooner in some sparsely populated areas of the western U.S. (see maximum range, above). My bikes fuel gauge has always worked as intended, the mpg display and distance to empty is accurate. Unfortunately, the "fuel strip" used to measure the fuel level has a reputation for sudden failure, so I cannot rely on the gauge.

I still remember the "find a gas station NOW" trip meter mileages for my bikes going back to 1980.