Filling the gas tank

[dadsafrantic]

I am new to the GS 500 world.  I have a 2006 F.  I am presntly getting an average of 53+/- MPG.  The problem is that I am not sure how to get the gas tank all the way full.  I rock the bike and add a little at a time when the gas gets to the filler neck.  Is there some trick I should know about?

Thanks,

Dadsafrantic
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[hmmmnz]

try filling it on its side stand,works for me. but there is no point over filling it

[Codger]

53mpg is probably on the upper end of what most of us can achieve.  I have a lot of high speed running at 45mpg.

Unless you are making a particularly long haul and need to stuff the tank, just fill till it hits the filler neck.
I hold the nozzle level with the filler neck, when the fuel is high enough to trip the nozzle, it is good enough.

[pandy]

Welcome to the board, Dadsafrantic! 

I keep my bike upright, and I "trickle fill" it toward the end. When the gas reaches the filler neck, I either stop the flow, or slow it waaaaaay down if possible. The level of the gas will go down, and I trickle a bit more in. I can generally squeeze another 1/2 to 3/4 gallon in this way. Of course, if one is in a hurry, then forget this....but if you're wanting the most miles out of your tank, this works for me! 

[ducati_nolan]

I do the same as pandys above post, however, the reason that the gas takes a long time to fill once you reach the bottom of the filler neck, is because all of the air that gets trapped has to bubble out. So i just used a small right angle drill to put a couple of holes at the top of the filler neck to allow the air to escape more quickly, so hopefully it won't take so long to put that last 1/2 gallon in there. I just did it and haven't filled up yet, so I'll take it to the pump this evening and let you guys know how it works out. I'm thinking that it should work pretty well, I just hope that my fuel filter catches the shavings.

[ducati_nolan]

Yeah so I just got back from the gas station, and the little mod that I did worked great! Usually just a couple miles after I hit reserve, I can fit about 3.0 to 3.1 gallons in it even if I'm really patient and try to fill it past the bottom of the filler neck. This time after riding it on reserve for only about 5 miles, I was able to fit 3.58 gallons into it and I barely needed to slow down the flow when the level reached the bottom of the filler neck. It's easy to do if you have the right kind of drill, and it gave me an extra 25 miles or so of range. I'm happy I'll repost this on a new thread outlining how I did it.

[annguyen1981]

I take the tank off the bike.  and hold it submerged in a vat full of gas until no bubbles come out.

[Rangerkyote]

I take the tank off the bike.  and hold it submerged in a vat full of gas until no bubbles come out.

Been doing that myself for awhile.  The damn thing is, I'm worried about rust because my tank doesn't have any paint now.  Also hurts like hell on my hangnails.

[97gs500e]

try filling it on its side stand,works for me. but there is no point over filling it

+1

[PuddleJumper]

Welcome dadsafrantic,
I have an '04 and get 52 MPG on my commute. 70-80 MPH on freeway.
I go 204-206 miles before reserve, and can put 3.7 - 3.9 gals. in when I fill up. I put the bike on the center stand, when the gas gets to the bottom of the sleeve, I slow down till about 1 inch from the top, wait till it goes down. Repeat 2 more times. At that point the gas is a little ways up in the sleeve. Maybe 1/2 inch. It takes 10 min or less. On easy back road rides I have seen as high as 62.9 MPG.
My bike is bone stock, I'm 5'7" and weigh 180 lbs.
Be Safe.

[ducati_nolan]

DRILL IT! seriously, a couple of holes in the filler neck and you'll get more gas in there in less time. Perfect for when you're always late, less time at the gass station less often. Metal shavings don't hurt anything.

[PuddleJumper]

I've got plenty of range as it is. After 200 miles I'm ready to get off the bike anyway. I'll pass on the drilling technique.
Be Safe.

[annguyen1981]

Why not just angle the nozzle to "shoot" the gas towards the air pockets.  That always forces out some air a bit quicker when I do it.

[The Buddha]

Metal shavings - yea ... you want them in your engine ... yea ...
Cool.
Srinath.

[ducati_nolan]

Sheesh, I have a filter....won't hurt anything I just don't like hanging out at the pump that much

[RVertigo]

Attach a J tube to the end of the pump...  Then it'll spray gas behind the filler tube.

[dadsafrantic]

I am a slim 5'10" 235#  hahahaha so the 53 mpg ain't bad.  I really like the tank dip suggestion.  I will try that soon.  I may try it on my wife's Volvo also.

 

[coyotee]

ever stop and think there might be a reasion for the design of the tank? (NO DRILLING EXTRA HOLES)

dont try to overfill your tank, its an annoying mess when you do.
i fill up every 140 miles(ish), i have no reserve.

since cleaning my carbs and lining my tank i belive im getting close to 70mpg
shocking to me, so i think ill push the envelope a little more from now on

[scratch]

dadsafrantic - Welcome!  One thing to be aware of is on California bikes, we have that charcoal canister that the tank is vented to (if installed); if you overfill too much, the gas goes into the canister, and charcoal and gas mix together to make mud, and that mud clogs the ability of the tank to vent and you get some serious gas starvation issues.

[ducati_nolan]

easy solution to the california models....take off the canister, everyone screws up every once in a while and gets some gas out the overfill line once in a while. I can't imagine that it would take much time to evaporate though, dosen't seem like it would be a problem but I don't have a CA model so I wouldn't know.