Bike died in left lane on Gardiner

[espro]

Had my bike lose power doing 90 on the Gardiner during rush hour today. It was kind of an "oh crap" moment, as I looked at the trip meter which showed ~100km on it and wondered what was wrong. Was in the left lane, there was no way I could have gotten to the right side safely and there wasn't a shoulder there anyways. After i came to a stop with my signal on as far left as I could be I switched to reserve and the bike started. Made it off to a gas station and refilled, put in 7L, making my last tank 16km/L. WTF? Will know what running out of gas will feel like in the future, but this was totally unexpected. Similar random loss of fuel economy ever happen to anyone else?

[LoneRonin]

I ran out a couple weeks ago on the 401 at Kipling..It was completely my fault because I left home knowing I need gas, but then I started riding and got so into it and completely forgot. I was lucky I have roadside assitance, the tow truck bought me gas and I just had to pay 4 bucks for it, otherwise its 60 bucks just for them to come out to you, plus the gas costs.

[mxs]

So you didn't run out of fuel ....

I have the same bike you and it happened to me as well, except that I really run out and could not cross the why in the rush hour. I was already on reserve!

Nowadays, when I hit 150km on trip meter I always switch to reserve, knowing that 180ish is probably the most I can get away with, if most if the tank is steady speed riding, I could probably pull 200 clicks out of the tank before bone dry and that would mean 20km/l. Your is a tad high, but if you do mostly city with frequent stop and go, it is probably in the ballpark. Or you might be running a bit rich. Is your bike stock?

[adri]

Lost power like that once but I was taking my exit anyway and it didn't totally die. Got my gas cap vented. Hasn't happened since. Never had a sudden drop of mileage though.

[espro]

Well prior to this tank I was averaging pretty high at ~21-23km/L which is why hitting reserve at just over 100km came as a shock to me. Bike is bone stock, not even the 3x3 mod done on it. I did a lot more highway riding on my last tank than I had previously though

[JZ67]

Made it off to a gas station and refilled, put in 7L, making my last tank 16km/L. WTF?

You are getting about 38 mpg (61 km/3.78 litres) which is not far off spec for your bike at 40 - 45 mpg http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/fe...dr_z400sm.html obviously your riding style will change how your bikes fuel mileage will perform. Knowing that, now you will be able to get a handle on how many k's you will get out of your tank and fuel up accordingly to avoid the same problem in the future

[mxs]

Well prior to this tank I was averaging pretty high at ~21-23km/L which is why hitting reserve at just over 100km came as a shock to me. Bike is bone stock, not even the 3x3 mod done on it. I did a lot more highway riding on my last tank than I had previously though

Not sure what's your gearing. Stock? If so, it's likely that your why riding is more thirsty than non hwy. It works the other way around for me because I have bigger sprocket in front and smaller in the back. Cruising at 120-130 (dash reported) means throttle half way open and very good economy. But I have 3x3 done and jetted it borderline lean half throttle for a crisp throttle all the way ....

So, your bike is just fine I am guessing.

[JZ67]

if your mileage concerns you greatly keep an eye on it over the next few fill ups, maybe it was a one off occurrence, maybe you have something failing...hopefully the former.

[kcalB]

I normaly try to fill up my tank b4 i hit reserve. But on ocasion i have to switch it over..... Does this cause any damage? I figure its a pretty bad idea to do this on a two stroke. Since gas also lubes up the pistons :S

[daytona675]

Yes, I've had this same problem. My bikes usually hitting reserve at 230-250km. I was at 140 trying to start and it just wasnt happening. I start playing around with everything, switched to reserve and there so goes. I didn't wanna chance it so i went over and gassed up right away...dunno what happened there. Hasn't happened since.

[SBL]

WOW! I didn't relize gas milage was so different from bike to bike.

My VTR250 in the city gets 60-65 MPG, on the highway 75-80 MPG about 320 Km @ tank

My FZ6 on the highway gets 340Km @ tank, about 15 liters. I think that works out to about 45-50 MPG?

I thought most bikes get about 300 Km per tank. Guess I was wrong.

[mxs]

Small V-Twin will drink less than high strung I4. And small thumper will take less than small V-Twin ..... you will not find many surprises outside of this blue print. Carb vs. EFI will have some impact as well.

[skip]

Every bike is different. I get an average of 24km/L on my DL650 for a range of roughly 500+km on a tank.

As for the original poster, factors like riding style has a big impact on fuel economy. Also on a tall bike like yours if you were doing alot of highway riding into a headwind it would also have an impact.

[SBL]

WOW! I didn't relize gas milage was so different from bike to bike.

My VTR250 in the city gets 60-65 MPG, on the highway 75-80 MPG about 320 Km @ tank

My FZ6 on the highway gets 340Km @ tank, about 15 liters. I think that works out to about 45-50 MPG?

I thought most bikes get about 300 Km per tank. Guess I was wrong.

OK, my original post ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I thought a bike would go about 300Km per tank, hence bigger tanks for bigger bikes. Just like most cars I've had do about 600Km per tank.
So this weekend I found out different.
Riding 110-115 on the 401.... 341Km per tank
Riding hard through twisties close to redline....244Km per tank.
So yes I understand the part about riding style would effect gas use, but 2 different bikes being ridden the same style I thought would get about the same Km per tank.
Hmm, learned some thing new..

[bobjohnson]

I normaly try to fill up my tank b4 i hit reserve. But on ocasion i have to switch it over..... Does this cause any damage? I figure its a pretty bad idea to do this on a two stroke. Since gas also lubes up the pistons :S

The gas doesnt lube up the piston, unless youre premixing. I think your bike has direct oil injection so as long as the oil tank is filled youre not doing any harm.

[kcalB]

The gas doesnt lube up the piston, unless youre premixing. I think your bike has direct oil injection so as long as the oil tank is filled youre not doing any harm.

fair enough thanks. Then i am confused as to what running lean means. I thought it was not shooting enough gas into the engine therefor no oil was getting in.........I've got a lot to lean.......watch my posts, I got a job at shop, start next week, i'll keep learning stuff and eventually be giving worthwhile information on the tech thread.....Not over night but eventually

[bobjohnson]

Lean on a 2 stroke can mean 2 things, either the carbs arent putting enough fuel into the cylinders, or there isnt enough oil getting mixed in with the fuel. When you run out of gas, its such a short amount of time that it wont really do any damage to the engine. Its not something you should make a habit of, but running out of fuel and switching to reserve happens so rarely it would never be an issue.

I was wrong too, your RZ doesnt have direct oil injection.

[espro]

Well, looks like things are back to normal. Trip meter showed 92km after I got off the Gardiner today, filled up, 22km/L for this past tank. *Shrug*. Got a long ride coming up next weekend, so we'll see what happens then

[adri]

Well, looks like things are back to normal. Trip meter showed 92km after I got off the Gardiner today, filled up, 22km/L for this past tank. *Shrug*. Got a long ride coming up next weekend, so we'll see what happens then

Try going to 200 km before filling up (make sure your tank can do this first), you may notice a slight increase or at least get a more realistic reading on your mpg or km/l. This is because any margin of error in terms of how you're filling won't make as big of an impact. Try it for a couple tanks and let us know

I push my 14 litre tank to 320 km before filling up (in the city I average 26 km/L). If i filled up every 92 km I would be filling up every 2-3 days.

[FZ1Oakville]

Strap a gas can on the back of your bike for next time....