Today I went on a charity ride with about 70 other bikers.
The weather was awful with heavy rain so we were sticking to speed limits..
The photo shows how much I did (with my tank mod) and the fuel gauge.
The petrol symbol was flashing but the camera caught it between flashes....
I think this proves pretty well that the simple mod is very worthwhile..
I reckon if i had to, I could get 250 miles plus on a brimmed tank.
S.
What mod?
I've had 237miles from an unmodded tank & some of that was riding normally rather than carefully.
My record - not by choice may I add. 217.
Absolutely achievable Speedy, that's about 47 - 48mpg using 24L capacity, yep def possible.
With the added 2.1 liter I could have gone 395 km (245 miles) instead of 355 km (220 miles) while still having 2.75 liter left in the tank. Or 445 km (275 miles) till running out :facepalm:
I regularly to a 307K / 190 mile ride to my first stop of the day,
but haven't gone much further without a refill.
I don't have a factory fuel guage (using a KOSO dash) so I'm not
100% trusting in my ability to dial my current fuel gauge in.
I may do the tank neck mod and try and reach the next servo / fuel stop.
Please remember I have only had this bike 10 days so at this point in time I DONT trust the fuel gauge..
I know I could have ridden further... But how much further I wasnt willing to risk !
This weekend I will re brim the tank and note how much I put in..
From this I will know how much was left in..
I am 100% certain the way I ride I will get 50 - 54mpg on a decent run.
Normally I would never run a bike to the last cupful of fuel..
But with any new vehicle I like to know the limits of what is realistically achievable (Don't want to push this beast to a fuel station..).
On this charity run there were loads of sports bikes of different makes..
They all re fuelled at a half way stage..
I pulled over to the side and waited (with a knowing smirk)..
In the last three years the 14 is my 9th bike...
I can truthfully say that for me it is the best bike I have owned..
The bikes were:
BMW R1200GS X3 (appalling design of the rear wheel bearing / final drive)
Yamaha MT-01 X2
Honda CB1300 1 half faired and 1 naked
Yamaha FJR1300 (Stupid design of the rear suspension linkages.. Yamaha quote 5 hours to re grease.. Could have easily been cured by Yamaha by adding Grease Nipples like they do on their trial / off road bikes)..
S.
my longest tank was 396 ks or 245 miles. two of us with bag on rack. normal riding, not fast. 120k max. another 2 litres would be 434 ks/270 miles. id like that. 396 k day was a bit scary, just caught out between fuel stations, can remember thinking about pushing and being bashed by my lovely wife. i find my fuel gauge very accurate. first bar used to go out at around 100 ks, now at 90, not sure why. yes my air filter is clean. maybe my throttle gets turned more, not sure. whatever, hard to go back to a bike with smaller tank. once had a 500 kawa, mach 3, could use 20 litres in 100 ks. fun bike.
Hi Grog...
if its of any use my full tank loses 1 bar at 80 miles..
Hope this helps mate.
S.
I also loose the 1st bar @ about 80 miles.
I usually fill her up when only 2 bars left. In my above post, it was the first time I had the blinking symbol. Wanted to run the tank as low as possible to clean the fuel pump filters but the weather was so nice that I had to go for a ride.
BTW
@Speedy1959 the sprocket carrier bearing is a weak spot of the 14. Adding insult to injury, they used single-side-sealed bearings on the K2 (same with the wheel bearings) . Make sure you get double-sealed bearings when replacing. Changing the bearing is easy.
Thanks Andre about the sprocket carrier bearing advice...
I will look into this upgrade fairly soon.
my bike has done 26000 miles and she literally purrs.
Beautiful engine on a fabulous bike.
Thanks again for your advice mate.
Simon
Riding conservatively I can get 17.85km/l which equates to 392km on 22 litres. My weekly commute is 370km so it was just enough, unless I did a run to the shops.
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Monday, 02 October 2017, 08:52 PM
Thanks Andre about the sprocket carrier bearing advice...
I will look into this upgrade fairly soon.
Just one more thing on this off-topic. Even with double-sided seal the issue remains. Some change this bearing as a precaution every time they change chain/sprocket. Better that than having to change it at the side of the road. Someone I know had to change it while touring the alps. Luckily he was not alone so his mate was able to organize a new bearing. A quality bearing can be had for little money.
@grog I loose first bar at 90 - 100k as well.
Remember 80 MILES is about 128km !!!
Yeah, I know!! Heaps aye. But you've got the extra fuel at the top, 2.5L, we haven't yet.
Hi Col..
Just making sure you realized I was talking miles and not Kilometers...
On the subject of the hole.. Dont be tempted to drill it as you dont want metal filings going into the tank.
On the original USA forum where I originally got the mod from they used the "Tang" end of a file (Very hard steel).
I didnt have such a think so used an electricians type small screw driver..
Once the hole was punched through I then used a larger Phillips (pozidriv) type screwdriver to enlarge the hole.
Before I did any thwacking with the hammer and screw driver I stuffed a small piece of foam into the neck just in case a 1 in a million chance of a spark blew me up !
Also remember to take care not to smack your tank with the hammer.
It may be as well to put a folded bath towel in the area that the hammer may trespass onto..
Thanks for the spark advice!
Quote from: Andre on Monday, 02 October 2017, 11:09 PM
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Monday, 02 October 2017, 08:52 PM
Thanks Andre about the sprocket carrier bearing advice...
I will look into this upgrade fairly soon.
Just one more thing on this off-topic. Even with double-sided seal the issue remains. Some change this bearing as a precaution every time they change chain/sprocket. Better that than having to change it at the side of the road. Someone I know had to change it while touring the alps. Luckily he was not alone so his mate was able to organize a new bearing. A quality bearing can be had for little money.
I change mine with every chain & sprockets. Nowdays it's a habit, but every time I've done the job the bearing is rough and worn out anyway. Apart from the steering bearings, it's about the only bit of a 14 that wears out.