My new 2011 V-Strom went 86 miles till the first bar went off full, is that about right. I thought my 07 can off sooner.

John

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2011 650 V-Strom (white)
2013 CRF250L

That sounds about right tho' I've never clocked it. Seems like you I can ride forever before the first bar disappears. I don't pay much attention to my fuel guage until I'm down to the last two bars and, even, then, I figure I've got at least another 80 miles to go before I have to refuel.

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2013 Northeast V-Strom Rally!

2011 pearl white DL650A
58 y.o.
6'2", 270 pounds

Hey Baba,
We'll have to get together for a ride sometime! I have the same year and color bike with caribou cases that I just bought on Tuesday (don't even have it on the road yet). I'm still bonding with it. I'm a couple hours west of you in Plainfield. I can show you some great roads out here. (I imagine you can do the same. I haven't been to Peperell in many years but its pretty country as I remember)

I can top off the tank to the very top and the top bar never comes on.
I even fueled it without using kick stand and to the very edge and still no top bar. It came on a few times in corners but thats it.
I can go 235 miles until the gauge starts to flash. I have never got down to the last flashing bar,don't need to push it home.

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1981 Yamaha 650 Special(first ride)
1986 Yahama Fazer 700 FZX(sold in 99)
2005 DL 650( best ride so far)

Depending on how fast I ride my first bar goes away anywhere between 85-95 miles.

Would love to rendevous for some western-Mass riding...next Spring. Enjoyed my last ride '12 ride, yesterday, with a scoot out 62 from Sterling to Quabbin, up 202 through Athol/Orange to 119 and 2A and then across 70 to my friends' barn where I put Blanche up for the winter. Admittedly, I got teary-eyed a few times leaning through corners knowing that this would be my last "riding fix" until the end of March.

Your neck o' the woods has some fabulous roads! I've been through Plainfield on 116 a few times and there's lots of exploring out thataway still to be done. I'm keen on finding more dirt roads to ride, too.

I hope you come to enjoy riding your Wee as much as I do mine. I want for no other bike and am totally satisfied (overjoyed!) with her performance and comfort.

Looking forward to April 2013!

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2013 Northeast V-Strom Rally!

2011 pearl white DL650A
58 y.o.
6'2", 270 pounds

80-100 miles is pretty normal.

It's the sensor, not just the gauge that keeps the top bar on. The actual tank sensor output does not change at all until you've used enough gas to allow it to start falling. It just sits at 0.31 volts output. Then it has to fall enough for the output to cross the threshold that turns the top bar off. I think it takes about a gallon before the sensor output starts to change, then about another gallon before the falling output crosses the 4 bar threshold. That gives you around 100 miles.

This means that whatever clever electronics you added to the sensor, you still wouldn't get any change in signal until you'd burned off at least a gallon of gas. From that point on, the actual sensor output voltage is a pretty linear inverse function of how much gas is left. I actually looked at making an accurate fuel gauge that read out in gallons. It's actually pretty easy to do, but there didn't seem much point to doing it. I ride 200 miles then fill up. Normally I can ride 250 miles and still be safe. If I have to ride more than that, I have around 50 miles left when it starts flashing. That's pretty much all I need to know.

If the top bar never comes on it indicates a faulty sensor. I've read that sometimes they can be "revived" by adding one of the fuel injector cleaners to a tank of gas (e.g. Techron). There's probably some gas deposits gumming up the float mechanism of the sensor.

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Bob A.
Current bikes:
1990 Kawasaki Ninja 250 (Rebuilt)
2011 Suzuki DL650A

My first bar flashes at 110 miles to 125 miles depending on how far the throttle is twisted. Typically it is 115 miles.

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Vstrom 650 ABS

My 09 wee consistantly gets 104 until the first bar drops off

Thanks for all the replies, when I said 86 miles in the first post of this thread it actually didn't come off, but when I restarted the bike it went to the second light on restart, so don't really know where is will go off yet. Looks like all bikes are fairly close to each other, Thanks, John

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2011 650 V-Strom (white)
2013 CRF250L