Is it hard on your bike to run it out of fuel on purpose?

[lacofdfireman]

Probably a dumb question but I've never done this and I'd like to. I am usually seeing my "f" light come on and start counting up on the trip meter at about 150-170 miles. Once I see it I usually will fuel up,within 10 miles or so. I don't think I've ever even with my fuel light on put over 5 gallons in it and so I'd like to actually see how far it will go with the light on. I know there are variables like wind, speed terrain but I have a 360 mile commute to work each way so thought I could carry a small 1 gallon gas container on my saddlebag like this and run it till it stops then put in the gas and find a gas station.

I'm just wondering is it hard on the fuel pump or anything else running it out of fuel like this? I'd probably do it 3-4 times on a round trip and just average out my miles to see what it does. Is there any harm in it or anything I would want to know about restarting after running it dry? Just an idea but it would be nice to actually know some limits.





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[Jonny675]

Not sure how much damages it causes but I used to do it on my sports bike as they only had a light that came on when fuel was low,I used to stay local and plot a route that had petrol stations,I took a small canister of fuel to top up just to get to petrol station,I never let it cut out,I waited till it started to splutter.that that gave me a rough idea.
However on the s10 you get good range and if you know that fuel will be a problem make sure you fill when you see a petrol station even if you don't need it or carry a proper fuel carrier designed for bikes.

 

[Juan]

You have a 360 mile commute to work each way? Any you do it every day by bike? That's tough on you, your fuel tank and your pocket. But perhaps that's better than my 6 miles each way in very heavy traffic, taking 40 minutes or so (by car).

 

[Dogdaze]

The problem is overheating of the fuel pump, you should be able to get away with it 2-3 times, any more than that and who knows what damage sets in. As long as you are carrying a spare can of fuel and then the fresh fuel will cool the pump down quickly.
Juan, you should walk the 6 miles, it would be just as quick,............... almost. And I do believe that locofdfireman commutes 2/3 time per month, not every day.

 

[squarebore]

I did exactly as you suggest but only once. Can't see how it would hurt anything. I stopped as soon as it started coughing.


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[rider33]

the pump is in the tank I believe so to an extent it is cooled by the fuel. Also the lower you run the gas tank, the more likely you are to find out if there is any gunk in the bottom of it to clog filters, injectors, etc. That said the S10 is a fairly current model so I seriously doubt an occasional run dry is going to lead to any issues. If this were a 10 or 20 year old bike and you tended to do it a lot that might be a different story.

 

[Checkswrecks]

the pump is in the tank I believe so to an extent it is cooled by the fuel. Also the lower you run the gas tank, the more likely you are to find out if there is any gunk in the bottom of it to clog filters, injectors, etc. That said the S10 is a fairly current model so I seriously doubt an occasional run dry is going to lead to any issues. If this were a 10 or 20 year old bike and you tended to do it a lot that might be a different story.

The problem is overheating of the fuel pump, you should be able to get away with it 2-3 times, any more than that and who knows what damage sets in. As long as you are carrying a spare can of fuel and then the fresh fuel will cool the pump down quickly. Juan, you should walk the 6 miles, it would be just as quick,............... almost. And I do believe that locofdfireman commutes 2/3 time per month, not every day.

+1 to both writing about heating the pump and getting away with it a few times. But as rider33 added, when you use the last bit of fuel, you'll also sweep the dregs of the tank into the filter. Current motorcycles have really small filters that are built into the pump assembly. I can't think of anybody starting a how-to thread here about bypassing the internal filter to run an external one, but they are common in some other bikes, like the VStrom.

 

[JRE]

Not worth finding out...that way at least. Better to manually siphon (or drain) out what is left in the tank and measure it.

 

[motoguy]

The fuel pump is mounted from the bottom up in the tank. The pump is surrounded by fuel with a simple screen or sock on the bottom and a "pre filter "( which looks like corrugated cardboard) inside the plastic housing(I've had mine apart several times now). Electric fuel pumps rely on the fuel to cool and lubricate the pump itself. The pump will run for about 30 seconds or so trying to get fuel pressure then shutting off with every key cycle. IMHO I don't think it will over heat but the gearing that pump uses to pump the fuel will be dry and if done enough would wear out and leak not being able to build enough press to run right. If you carry extra gas, why not just put in the extra when it tells you to? Or give Tobasco a call and have him build you a bigger tank?
Here is a pic from BWC of the fuel pump disassembled.

I now include this as my yearly maintenance.

 

[JBB]

Not worth finding out...that way at least. Better to manually siphon (or drain) out what is left in the tank and measure it.

Don't think this would be dependable information. There's always small low spots or other areas where fuel puddles and can't get to the fuel drain. This is referred to as "unusable fuel" and every tank has some. On a different bike, I had run the tank dry before I pulled it to do some other work. I turned the tank upside down and shook the remaining fuel out- it was 3/4 gallon! The only reliable way to check range is as the OP is wanting to do. The problem is as the other posters are suggesting.

 

[EricV]

Go ahead and run it dry, but don't do it multiple times to get an average. Simply use the one value as your known point of failure and keep that in mind when you're running on reserve. Obviously if you're riding uphill into a headwind the next time, it will likely give you less miles on reserve. If you're riding slower or faster it will be different.

In other words, do your baseline run at a steady speed and under conditions that aren't severe. That will establish a known point to empty under those conditions. Everything different you can fudge factor in if you encounter a point where you are stressing about it. You should already know about what mpg you get. You can typically get 5.8 gallons of fuel out of the tank, but it's rare to be able to use those last few of tenths of a gallon.

I have a modified float arm. In stock configuration it gave me slightly over 1.5 gallons of reserve fuel, which I felt was excessive. I had the pump out for install of a bulkhead fitting for a fuel cell, so used that opportunity to bend the float arm just a bit and now my reserve is 1 gallon. Totally a hit or miss attempt, but it worked out nicely. I typically get 42 mpg at interstate speeds, so plan on having 30-50 miles of reserve depending on speed and conditions.

Note: Even at 35 mpg, 5x35=175 miles. That's leaving you a pretty good margin with another 1.1 gallons of fuel in the tank. So don't get nervous until after 175 miles. ;D

 

[OldRider]

Pull the tank and drain it. You'll get your answer with no chance of any fuel pump damage.

 

[EricV]

Pull the tank and drain it. You'll get your answer with no chance of any fuel pump damage.

Volume isn't the same as range under the owner's personal riding style. We all know riders that seem to get better or worse mileage than we do, even on identical bikes. The volume of the tank is known, 6.1 gallons. It's all about how many miles you can go under your own riding style and understanding when you should stress about that flashing bar, or not. Plenty of people have reported getting over 200 miles on a tank with the Super Ten. But not the riders running 80+ on the interstate for the whole tank.

 

[Rasher]

Not sure there is that much to be gained, a few folk here have already done this test, to use units we all understand it seems there is about 5L left in the tank when it starts the low warning, this can be anything from below 40 to over 60 miles depending how you ride.

I would not trust the gauges to be all that consistent either, add to that neither will your riding style so I bet if you did this 3 times you would get 3 results.

If I am low of fuel and not sure how far to the next fuel stop I slow down a bit and know I can eek out at least 50 miles thanks to the work done by others on this forum.

 

[Cycledude]

I suspect if running out of fuel damages the fuel pump there would be a warning sticker about that on the bike or mention of it in the owners manual.

 

[JRE]

I suspect if running out of fuel damages the fuel pump there would be a warning sticker about that on the bike or mention of it in the owners manual.

 

[squarebore]

I got about 390kms when I did this test and could only fit 20.5 litres in the tank. That means 2.5 litres unusable then. This would suggest you won't suck up any dregs as the pump doesn't draw from the lowest part of the tank.


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[tomatocity]

During a 2014 trip we discovered that Sinclair offers a non-ethanol high test gasoline. I got as high as 59 mpg with my 2012 Tenere and a friend got as high as 49 mpg with his Gen2 KLR. I could tell the difference as we got back into NV and CA.

Rotopax or Kolpin would be a solution. I have a 1.5 gallon Kolpin can and mount a friend gave me. Good insurance and peace of mind for trips.

 

[Rasher]

Dunno what the obsession with the dregs in the tank is all about, if the pump sucks from the very bottom of the tank it will get the dregs regardless of fuel in tank, if it doesn't it won't.

You could argue each time you fill up you mix the dregs back into the fuel, as does riding in general as the fuel sloshes about and stirs up the dregs.

Maybe heavier crap sits at the bottom below the pumps reach which is why when a tank is tipped up and emptied crap is found.

 

[motoguy]

Dunno what the obsession with the dregs in the tank is all about, if the pump sucks from the very bottom of the tank it will get the dregs regardless of fuel in tank, if it doesn't it won't.

You could argue each time you fill up you mix the dregs back into the fuel, as does riding in general as the fuel sloshes about and stirs up the dregs.

Maybe heavier crap sits at the bottom below the pumps reach which is why when a tank is tipped up and emptied crap is found.

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