Hey guys!

 

Recently purchased a 2010 48 sportster after a few rides I noticed the fuel consumption was bad, not being familiar with the bike I assumed it was normal. Went for a ride with a friend who owns a 72 he is averaging about 100ks before the low fuel light even come in.

Last full tank I only managed 77ks before the light came on

My bike has vance and Hines big radius pipes and screaming eagle pod filter. Apparently it has been tuned. I was given the screaming eagle flash tuner with the bike except I have no cables or software to run it.

Could it be a bad tune causing the bike to run rich?

Is 77ks normal for these mods and a tune? 

Should I try source the software and cables and try a retune?

Any help would be greatly appreciated! 

Cheers!

 

yes it's about normal depending on how hard you ride it, the tune has added a lot of fuel to what was a very lean standard tune to start with.

if the bike has had a tank lift done, you will also lose some capacity.

part of the fun of a bike with a 7.9L tank

Yeah it's been lifted 1.5 inch by the looks of it! 

Thanks for the info mate! 1st EFI bike I knew it wouldn't get much out of a tank but I was expecting around the 100km mark.

would it be worth my while buying the leads for my tuner and having a play with it ($60) or just leave the thing as is?

Hi,

check your spark plugs first to see if it shows running way rich then you could tweak the fuel table and VE table across the board

Thanks
Robots

I'm getting 21km per Litre or around 56mile per gallon on my 2009 883L (mind you its stock except for Screaming Eagle slipons)

 

My specs say I have a 3.3Gal tank so in a perfect world I should get around 260km per tank, but I'm no where that brave. Low fuel light comes on at about 150km.

when you fill it up, take a mental note of how much you put in when the light first comes on.

My light comes on with 3.25L left in it, so it's quite pessimistic. But it's no touring bike that's for sure.

I'm getting 18.5 km/l on my 48 with stage 1, heavy breather and V& H short shots, 95 octane fuel. The fuel light comes on at around 90km, no tank lift, mainly city/traffic riding with a bit of open road.

Fill it to the absolute brim, reset your trip metre, next time fill up to the absolute brim again and note kms on trip meter & litres used, then you can caculate consumption

 

 

Thanks for the help, I'll fill up again n see how I go!

My fuel light comes on 80-100k, but I don't fill up until 130ish at least. 2014 48 with stock tank height.

I got to just over 200km the other day before a refill and she took 9.32 litres to top up (which in theory meant I had 3L in the tank)

I got to just over 200km the other day before a refill and she took 9.32 litres to top up (which in theory meant I had 3L in the tank)

I get about 90 to 100km per tank before the fuel light comes on and another 20km before empty with no tank lift ,stage one upgrade and tuner , I also carry a 1 lt fuel bottle with me on longer rides to get out of trouble but love the look of the peanut tank just a little inconvienient at times

One thing that most need to remember is the HD tanks do not fill to the same point very well. So if you want to compare mpg you need to be very careful about how you fill it up at the pump. Sit on the bike, off the jiffy stand and fill it until the fuel sits right at the bottom of the cap area. Slightly, shake it side to side and make sure it stays there. Then repeat when you fill it again, this is the only way to get accurate testing when checking tank to tank. IF you average over 10 tanks then it's not necessary as you average out the fill amounts at the same time.

A few people have said it now but 77kms sounds low, even with a tank lift etc...

I have a 2013 48 with V and H short shots, tuner, high flow air filter and 2" tank lift and if it's mostly freeway riding I'll get around 120km before the fuel light comes on and can push it to 150km before I fill up (although I avoid going past 140km before filling up). If I've been around the city, stopping and starting a lot I still get 100km before the fuel light comes on and fill up around 110-120km.

IMO it might be worth looking at a tune/retune?

well that been said, on Saturday did a run down the coast and back, 105km and the light still had not come on... but typical run around town/stop start traffic I'll get 70km before light comes on.

mine the usual intake/exhaust but with a set of mild hammer performance cams in it, dyno tuned using powervision.

So average speed is the big determining factor.

Like I've said before, if you bought a 48 to do any sort of "touring" you are a nutter, it's a urban brawler. My ass and hands go completely numb before I run out of fuel anyway lol.

Definitely knew what I was buying... No intrrst in touring, urban brawler all the way. Like my original
Post stated, I was just curious on the ks as 77 seemed not enough even out of the small tank. I've been on bikes since 8 years of age. I ride it hard. Probably my main problem. Wanted a streetbob but didn't have 25k to spend on a toy.

Definitely knew what I was buying... No intrrst in touring, urban brawler all the way. Like my original
Post stated, I was just curious on the ks as 77 seemed not enough even out of the small tank. I've been on bikes since 8 years of age. I ride it hard. Probably my main problem. Wanted a streetbob but didn't have 25k to spend on a toy.

A lot of guys put 883 iron tanks to get a few more km out of it , thought of doing that myself but trying to get a good condition second hand tank is like sourcing hens teeth , either that or carry a fuel bottle

I've got a Seventy Two, open filter, VH straight shots w/baffles, VH FP3 tuner, no tank lift.

On my day to day commute which 50/50 street and freeway I get 86ks until the light, if I fill up straight away there's normally just under 2lt left, so that's 18k/pl? On the freeway I get about 120ks before the light.

I've run the VH FP3 auto tune a bunch of times so it's running fairly nice.

Hey mate!

I've got a 2012 48 with 2" tank lift, slip on mufflers without baffles but stock intake and no tuner.

I'm in the US so forgive the units, but as you say there's a massive difference between around town and highway mileage:

Around town - light comes on about 45 miles (75K's) and I fill it before 60 (100k's).

Highway - Light comes on about 60 miles (100k's) and I recently coughed and spluttered into a servo at 83miles! (138 k's) I was sitting on about 80mph the whole ride (135kmh). I've found cold air temp helps mileage a bit as well.

I generally work on the rule that the light comes on with a quarter tank left and make sure i use the trip meter every time i refill!

Either way it's definitely worth tuning your bike mate, for piece of mind if nothing else