Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Stupid Question?

Ok so this might be a stupid question and please tell me if it is but...do all Triumphs not have fuel gauges or is it just the Speedy's & Americas? I guess I just assumed that all bikes have fuel gauges...silly me. And what do the Brits have against knowing how much fuel is in the tank? Makes it more exciting to possibly run out of gas?!? Sorry, if this has been asked & answered previously but I couldn't find anything on the topic.

There is a petcock with a reserve setting, when you switch over you know it's time to find a gas station. Many bikes don't have a fuel gauge.

I never had a bike with a fuel gauge. Most bikes before fuel injection have 3 positions on the petcock. On,off,reserve. You run the bike with it on the on position and when that runs out you switch to reserve and find a gas station. Many people learn how far they can go on the on position and know to start looking before reserve.

Do the injected bikes have a petcock?

Most know the bike gets about 135 miles on a tank.

I start thinking about gas at 100 miles. Its not that hard once you know when you are gonna run out. Always run with the trip odometer running and reset it each time you fill up.

Well ok then, I learn something new every day. Thanks for the info.

I think the FI bikes have a low fuel light.

the FI bikes have no petcock, just the warning light

Not all bike have fuel gauges, but some do and some don’t. Most bikes that have carburetors, the odometer is your fuel gauge. Most bikes with fuel injection and analog speedometer have low fuel lights. Most bikes with fuel injection and digital read out displays have digital fuel gauges. And definitley NOT a stupid question.

Also, my EFI averages about 180 miles per tank (depending on how hard I am on the rocker)and that's with airbox mod, short TORs and remap. When the low fuel light comes on I have about .9 gal to play with, about 40-45 miles

I've gotten 200 miles out of one tank, but it was pretty empty. My low fuel light doesn't usually come on until I've gone 170+ miles. I also have short TORs and a remap. Mine's an 09 America with EFI.

Mid-level bikes are often built to a price point. Things like gauges, tank floats and sending units add cost to a bike that isn't really necessary on a carbed bike.

Nope, not a stupid question. My Trophy has a fuel gauge and a reserve setting on the petcock... and it is carbed. Bikes like the Goldwing and Venture Royale have fuel gauges... maybe they are more common on touring bikes.

I've had a few bikes, but only my old Honda CBX550 had a fuel guage. It had a petcock but instead of a reserve position it had a "prime" position. The petcock had valve operated by a diaphragm in it that shut off fuel flow when the engine wasn't turning over, and if the carb's dried out the "prime" position bypassed the valve. Funky huh?

I dont think I have ever had a bike with a fuel gauge. Trip meter is what I live by. It sucks when someone moves it though. If that happens you open up the cap, look inside and shake from side to side.

... and chop off the offender's fingers as an object lesson for them to never do it again.

I need to get fuel every 135 miles. So unless I am trying to make up distance I usually stop at the next quality gas station after the 100 mile mark. When I say quality I mean a station associated with refining standards like Shell, or Exxon. I don't like to run poor quality gas in any of my vehicles. Plus I am thinking beer about every other stop.

My Thunderbird 1600 has a fuel gage and warning light. I think the R-III does also. But like someone said since they don't have a fuel petcock with a reserve, it's needed. I'm not sure about the Tigers, Daytona, Sprint, and Speed Triples.

The Speed Triple has a digital gauge, I would think the rest of them with digital consoles probably do too.