How much fuel do you prefer to carry?

On Aug 11, 10:10 am, "BDS" wrote:
"Rocky Stevens" wrote



Never thought of it that way. I ride a motorcycle, and motorcycles
have a "reserve" tank (not really a separate tank) that you can switch
to when you "run out" of gas This way you know when you are low on
fuel, since most motorcycles do not have fuel gauges. Personally I
would rather have a damned fuel gauge; trying to turn a valve by your
knee while riding at highway speeds, all the while losing engine
power, is not the safest way to go. (Sorry for the non-aviation blurb;
lack of a fuel gauge in motorcycles is just a pet peeve of mine).

After you gain some experience riding you will learn to fuel up after having
driven x number of miles. You will also become comfortable switching to
reserve if you need to without any trouble and while riding at highway
speeds.

Motorcycles are generally not the safest mode of transportation out there,
so if it is safety that you are primarily concerned with, perhaps a
motorcycle is a bad choice for you.

I rarely run out of gas BECAUSE I fill up every x number of miles.
Unfortunately this also has the effect of making the switching to
reserve a very rare event, and thus not intuitive at all. I've been
riding for about 15 years, and I still need to remind myself where it
is in relation to me when I am riding.

I've always ridden cruisers, and for the first time got a sportbike
last year. I was surprised at how great the difference in fuel
consumption was depending on how I rode it (RPM wise); this led to a
switch to the reserve tank! In any event, a fuel gauge would be very
helpful.

"Rocky Stevens" wrote

I've always ridden cruisers, and for the first time got a sportbike
last year. I was surprised at how great the difference in fuel
consumption was depending on how I rode it (RPM wise); this led to a
switch to the reserve tank! In any event, a fuel gauge would be very
helpful.

Some Harleys have them.