I am just back from a trip in the Eifel in Germany and twice I was low on fuel (resp 6 km and 5 km left ) but at the station I could only add 18 and 18,5 ltrs which means that should have been at least 4liters left which with the evarage I normally must have meant anoth 50 KM. Is there a way to calibrate the sounding or is that a dealer thing. Normally near home I will never get it below 70 km left over.
Sounds like the sad but not unusual Ducati fuel gauge issue. Refill your bike, ride it as you would normally until your light comes on then get a fuel can with enough fuel to get you to a petrol station or ride with a mate and run the bike to empty. Record the miles you get from a full to empty tank You’ll know fairly accurately how far you will go on a full to empty tank. Then, please, tell the forum how you get on.
I was down to 10 miles on mine and just managed 19 Litres. Guess you need to factor in +8% speedo error (on mine) Also no mater what you try you can never fill a fuel tank full unless you spent a day at it
Let’s face it’s better to think you only have 5 miles left and then discover you have 2-3 litres left rather than the other way round! Pretty much all the Multistradas I’ve had have been on the safe side of running out. I once had the Red light flashing away at me and a range of 0 for about 5 miles and still only got 19 litres in.
A question then, is the tank size quoted in the Ducati specification, a calculated internal (or external ?) tank volume, a measured volume or an arbitrary ‘fill to a level’ volume ? What it boils down to is, we get to know the foibles of our own bikes over time so you know at what mileage you really need to fill up. I might be the first in our touring group to want to fill up but I know if the plan goes out of the window, I have about 1.5 gallons to play with when the light comes on. Andy
In case anyone is interested, 18.8m on 1299S ridin spiritedly after light came on. I got 15.5 litres in afterwards according to pump. I couldve fuelled earlier but Im not paying Clackett Lane prices. Ive done 25m on an 1198 reserve. But that was last 10m in 6th at tickover practically on autoroute. With some coasting.
Recently on a quick (using higher revs -) run the Fuel light on my V4 came on at 140m, the countdown miles on the dash then took another 30 miles to get to 6m left, it stayed at between 6 - 11 for the last 10 miles, so tank range was 170. Filled up with 19.8 litres so should have been just over 2litres left.
Filling up always frustrated me to the point of annoyance once the gurgling and bubbling started as the fuel reached the bottom of the fuel collar, signalling those several litres of empty tank/trapped air at the top. With no centre stand, I always sit astride the bike so it’s upright and easier to get more fuel in. Clearly, and with patience, those extra litres could be filled, but required lots of dribbling fuel in etc.. On tours, I prefer to go further and fill up less, so eventually I drilled four 10mm holes at the top of the plastic collar to let the trapped air escape from the uppermost volume of the tank more quickly, making those extra litres possible, easier and quicker to get in.
I've been driving this Ducati for over twenty years , and I never really trusted the gauge . I rely on three things , especially on long trips .... I reset the odometer every time I fill-up to the brim , so I kind of know roughly how far I can go If the fuel gauge shows lower than I believe , I do the old-fashioned thing .... ( back to BSA days ) ..... pull over , open the filler and look to see how much is sloshing around
A bit off topic.. We went to Spa/Francorchamps last Friday morning with a group of 17 friends with all different bikes, Ranging from a brand-new 300 km ODO Harley, 1987 Suzuki 1100, MV Agusta F4, Triumph whatever, couple of CBR 600, Kawa Versys, a Buell, couple of 1100/1200 Beemers, a 1987 K75 and my 20 year old 900 SS ie. We all filled up at the same gas station.. next stop: Total fuel during a tankstop 136 liters after 160 km with 17 bikes on mostly Dutch motorways , kind of sticking to the speed limit most of the time. A simple calculation: 17x160 km = 2720 km / divide by 136 liters = 20 km/liter average doing 100/120km per hour.. Amazing when you stick to the speed limits. Please do not ask about the return trip on Sunday morning with 24 bikes, yes 24, 7 bikes had gone ahead on Thursday. We passed Spa, Traffic jams opposite side on the motorway for over 25 km, 150 km of heavy rain, no fun whatsoever. But: we all got home safe and the 20 year old lady didn't skip one beat in the rain, gotta love Italian Electronics. Cheers!
Purely for academic interest, when my (2012) Multistrada 1200 low fuel light came on last week, I decided to fully drain what was left in the tank. Two bars showing on the dash, about 120 miles done and I drained out 6 litres. Refilled the tank (to the brim) which took 20 litres. Back tracking to when the low fuel came on, I’d estimate there were 8 litres in the tank or about 60 miles. Andy
Run it dry and it took 22.5 litres. Mind you that plastic neck in the filler makes it very difficult to fill up to the brim
