Ran out of gas while riding V100 Mandello

[azccj]

So today I went riding the V100 Mandello. I started the trip with a full tank minus about 1 gallon. Rode for about 112 miles at which point the low fuel lights, yes there are 2 of them, came on. At this point the dash on the V100 does a bit of a weird thing. The reading which shows how many miles you have left in the tank goes blank, and the trip computer automatically begins showing how many miles you've driven on reserve. So it starts at 0.1 and continues to add miles as you drive along. Odd but it works, a couple of my BMWs did the same thing back when I owned them. Now my plan was to continue riding the bike on the 65 mph road I was on, to a gas station which is located about 3 miles or so from the 75 mph interstate I was planning to take toward home. I figured I should be able to make it, believing I remembered the owner's manual indicated that the reserve was 4 liters of fuel. I flipped through the trip computer and saw this tank of fuel was averaging 48 mpg. I then flipped back to the reserve miles driven and kept riding.

Funny the things you think of in these situations as the miles keep getting added to that reserve miles driven display. Things like, I wonder how far I might have to walk? I wonder if someone might give me a ride to the gas station if they see me walking along the roadway? Will I need to buy another gas can at the gas station/convenience mart? Do they even sell gas cans at convenience marts or will I need to break the law by dispensing gasoline into an unapproved container like a gallon water jug????

Anyway, I looked at the dash when I was about a mile from the gas station. The reserve miles driven display showed 48 miles, and I thought, well at least I wont have to walk over a mile if she sputters out now. Not 20 or so seconds later the sputtering started, at which point I pulled in the clutch and the engine died about 1/4+ of a mile from the gas station. I can confirm that the V100 can roll a good distance without the aide of the engine, as I was able to roll just to the turnoff that led to the gas station, which was then slightly downhill, and I was able to roll right up to the gas pump.

I took 4.269 gallons of fuel to fill the tank up full. On that tank I got 49.33 mpg, calculated as odometer miles driven, 210.6, divided by fuel put into the tank, 4.269. I was able to travel just under 49 miles on reserve before the usable fuel in the tank was consumed.

[twowheeladdict]

The low fuel light comes on way too soon on the V85TT.  I put 5.2 gallons to fill it up. 

[PeteS]

The low fuel light comes on way too soon on the V85TT.  I put 5.2 gallons to fill it up.

On my 2025 V85 the low fuel light had come on. I kept riding long after the fuel gauge showed 1 bar (out of 8) and it still only took about 4.7 US gallons. This bike has the best gas mileage and longest range of any I have ever owned. Close to 300 miles on a tank, maybe more.

Pete

[BigDuke6]

Great post - good information and a fun read.  I'm glad you were able to coast right up to the pump. 

Honestly the best part is just riding the V100 Mandello.  That bike is gorgeous and I can only imagine how good it would be to ride.

[Joliet Jim]

This post fondly makes me remember my old Triumph and when the fuel started to sputter I would reach down to turn open the reserve tap only to discover it was already open.  ooops

[9fingers]

If you are going to run out of gas that is the way to do it! I did the same thing last year on my Royal Enfield 500 about 1/2 way through the Catskill park....nursed it along the back roads in 5th gear......pulled in the clutch for the downhills......roll ed into the only gas station around with the tank empty! A little too close for comfort. I was so used to the 5.5 gallon tanks on my other bikes I forgot to fill up before entering the wilderness area........never again.

[Huzo]

On my 2025 V85 the low fuel light had come on. I kept riding long after the fuel gauge showed 1 bar (out of 8) and it still only took about 4.7 US gallons. This bike has the best gas mileage and longest range of any I have ever owned. Close to 300 miles on a tank, maybe more.

Pete

I posted on how to fix that issue on the V85 a few years ago. It’s called “V85 fuel gauge remedy”

[Perazzimx14]

I ran out of fuel (same bike) twice this year with the fuel counter reading at least 20 miles to empty. 1st time was about 1/2 mile from home. Glided into a parking lot walked home and got a gas can. 2nd time I was about a mile from home fortunatley I was at speed when the bike shut off. I coasted to the right turn into my development, scrubbed just enough spped to make the right hand turn then coasted downhillabout 100 yards to the left hand turn to enter the street I live on. My street the 1st half  is an incline to which the bike barely made it to the crest but then the second half is a gradual declinewhere I started to pick up speed and tuned into my driveway where about 1/2 way up I ran out of speed. Chunked it in gear, put the sode stand down got off and pushed the bike about 50 feet into the garage.

[MGrego]

My mileage experience is very similar to yours (except for the running out of gas part).  Appears the V100 reserve is about a gallon.  If I ride 25 miles or so after the fuel light comes on, I can only get about 4 gallons in.  Averaging 45 MPG that makes sense for a 4.5 gallon tank.

I also noticed I have to point the gas nozzle towards the rear of the bike or the gas splatters out.  I suppose that's a function of the shape and rearward direction of the V100 fuel tank.

Glad you didn't have to walk 

[Moparnut72]

Of the three Guzzis I have owned 50 miles seem to be the reserve amount of fuel left to go about 50 miles. I only verified that on my Audace.
kk

[twowheeladdict]

This post fondly makes me remember my old Triumph and when the fuel started to sputter I would reach down to turn open the reserve tap only to discover it was already open.  ooops

Benn there, done that.   

[MGrego]

Any V100 owners noticing negative pressure in the tank when opening the cap on refueling ? 

I'm getting a whoosh of "tank suck" when opening the gas cap very similar to my 04 California EV.  On the EV turned it out to be a bad check valve.  Just wondering id anyone else noticed this or just me.  No effect on performance that I can tell though.

[azccj]

Any V100 owners noticing negative pressure in the tank when opening the cap on refueling ? 

I'm getting a whoosh of "tank suck" when opening the gas cap very similar to my 04 California EV.  On the EV turned it out to be a bad check valve.  Just wondering id anyone else noticed this or just me.  No effect on performance that I can tell though.

Most of the time my V100's gas tank is pressurized a bit so air rushes out, not in, when I open the gas cap. Same on my V85tt.

[blu guzz]

my first "big" bike was a 650 Suzuki 4 cylinder.  translations were not so good in those days and where I thought I had 4.2 gallons, I really only had 3.7.  As you have guessed, I learned the hard way.

[mechanicsavant]

Running very low on fuel is a great way to shorten the life of the fuel pump . Fuel also helps cool the fuel pump ! That said I too have run a ways on reserve (28 Mi. ) being the farthest , and 4.2 gallons to refill . A V7/850 is my newest Guzzi @ 20k Mi. I’m averaging 55 MPG . Anyhow after @ about 200 Mi. I’m ready for a stretch & short break . Low fuel light seems to come on around 225 Mi.

[MGrego]

Most of the time my V100's gas tank is pressurized a bit so air rushes out, not in, when I open the gas cap. Same on my V85tt.

Hmmm, I assumed the rush of air was a vacuum, I'll need to investigate further....

[bad Chad]

Just this week, headed to a local station that carries ethanol free gas, my light was on, and I was about 40 miles into the reserve.  The big block Breva, like all big block Breva/Norge has a 6 gallon US tank.  No problem getting to the gas station, didn't sputter or any such, but it took 6.043 gallons per the pump.   Perhaps the pump was off, or perhaps my tank has expanded due to al the years of running ethanol gas?   Either way, I must have been ultra close to running out.

[MLR]

My Mandello makes the "whoosh" noise when I open the fuel cap as well. I thought it was pressure but I've never tried checking.

[ridingron]

Running very low on fuel is a great way to shorten the life of the fuel pump . Fuel also helps cool the fuel pump ! That said I too have run a ways on reserve (28 Mi. ) being the farthest , and 4.2 gallons to refill . A V7/850 is my newest Guzzi @ 20k Mi. I’m averaging 55 MPG . Anyhow after @ about 200 Mi. I’m ready for a stretch & short break . Low fuel light seems to come on around 225 Mi.

I consider this to be an old wives tale. I put 220K miles on my non-Guzzi bike running pin to pin on the gas gauge. Zero problems. Another bike was at over 100K miles, pin to pin, with no fuel pump problems. Regardless of the brand, I run pin to pin. Yes, the pumps are in the tank. Of course, your results could be different.

[twowheeladdict]

Running very low on fuel is a great way to shorten the life of the fuel pump . Fuel also helps cool the fuel pump ! That said I too have run a ways on reserve (28 Mi. ) being the farthest , and 4.2 gallons to refill . A V7/850 is my newest Guzzi @ 20k Mi. I’m averaging 55 MPG . Anyhow after @ about 200 Mi. I’m ready for a stretch & short break . Low fuel light seems to come on around 225 Mi.

Nice to be able to take breaks at places other than gas stations.  I also map out the stations that have ethanol free fuel and with a longer range can get to them. 

[guzziart]

I posted on how to fix that issue on the V85 a few years ago. It’s called “V85 fuel gauge remedy”

I'll have to check it out.  Yeah, I think the "low fuel" comes on way too soon (and the self cancel turn signals take way too long to cancel).  Running out of fuel is no fun, my riding boots are very comfy for riding and foul weather protection but not so great for walking for gas.
Art

[bronzestar1]

Unfortunate that it happened to you, but a good learning point for the rest of us (I have a '24 V100 Aviazione Navale, still breaking it in)!  Most of the Italian twins I've owned recently got terrible mpg, between 30-40.  So for planning purposes, I'll start looking for a gas station at around 150 miles, just to be safe! 

[Dirk_S]

Anyone who’s ever owned a fuel injected Ural is probably chuckling at this thread. Such privilege to have so many miles left over when the light comes on…or that the light even comes on at all.

[Moparnut72]

Not self cancelling turn signals. They turn off after 30 seconds in the event the rider forgot to cancel them manually. Nothing complicated about adding self cancelling turn signals to a motorcycle. My Harleys that I once had used a micro switch on the bottom of the steering stem. It can also be programmed into the ecu. I fail to understand why not all bike manufacturers don't include this feature.
kk

[Motormike]

This post fondly makes me remember my old Triumph and when the fuel started to sputter I would reach down to turn open the reserve tap only to discover it was already open.  ooops

Been there done that!  Maybe twice, now that I think about it.

[Bulldog9]

Reminds me of my first long ride on my 2014 Norge. One of the first bikes I've ever owned with a fuel gauge and I was mightily impressed to see I still had half a tank after going 200 or so miles. Then when the motor suddenly died I wasn't so sure.

I was on the back side of Mount Rainier in Washington state and coasted about 9 mi down the mountain. Once forward momentum was no longer possible I set up on the side of the road and waited for a car to come by.

Paid some hippie kid $40 to go find me a gas can and $5 worth of gas. It's my delight he came back about 2 hours later. Lesson learned the hard way, always go by your odometer never trust gas gauges or lights.

[Huzo]

Everything works just fine until it doesn’t.
I can predict within 15 km on a 500 km ride, when my light will come on, but as you say Bulldog, it’s a good idea to know how much your tank has done.
Just going by the odometer carries the risk that you have to factor in whether you’ve been descending down from the high plains for 200 km or flogging the tripe out of it up a mountain pass, trying to catch a bloke on his R1.
Clearly you should do both.
I find that on my Norge which has a safe useable range of 450 km and 500 if I had to save my life, I am faced with the decision at the 350 km mark when passing a really good servo, whether I should continue for another 100 km to make it to a known crappy one.
I will usually ask the GPS how far it is to the next one if I know it’s good and am happy to go within 30 km of empty if armed with that information.
As for unreliable gauges on my Norge and V85…I just fixed both of them.

[pressureangle]

My '97 1100 Sport injected has a 'low fuel' lamp. It comes on at nearly exactly half a tank. The tank is tiny, I don't think I've ever put 4 whole gallons in it. I used to be annoyed at the light, now it's just amusing.

Be sure to reset the trip meter lol

1982, early March. Riding a '72 Norton Commando from Detroit to Daytona (see the folly already?) ran out of gas in the bottom of Cincinnati, had to push it in the rain uphill to the next exit alongside I-75 traffic and 20 foot high concrete walls. Somebody had pulled the reserve standpipe out of the petcock. Rats.

[Bulldog9]

Not self cancelling turn signals. They turn off after 30 seconds in the event the rider forgot to cancel them manually. Nothing complicated about adding self cancelling turn signals to a motorcycle. My Harleys that I once had used a micro switch on the bottom of the steering stem. It can also be programmed into the ecu. I fail to understand why not all bike manufacturers don't include this feature.
kk

My 1978 XS 750, and 79 XS 1100 had self canceling TS, AND tipover shut off. Ridiculous many modern bikes dont.

[azccj]

I can't believe that I did it again. While out riding today I thought I had about 8-9 miles still left in the tank, when engine began to sputter and quickly cut out. Once again the Motorcycle Gods were with me as this time I was just coming over the crest of a long hill and was about a mile+ from the gas station I was intending to fill up at. If it wasn't for a traffic light which forced me to come to a stop, and then enter the Target store parking lot because I was holding up traffic, I would have been able to coast all the way to the pump. I did have to push the Mandello up a slight hill in the Target parking lot to get it on to the side walk, at which point I coasted on the sidewalk the rest of the way into the fuel station.

This time the bike only went 39 miles while on reserve before running out of fuel, which is 10 miles less than the last time. It took 4.248 gallons to fill the tank, which is very close to what it took to fill the tank when I ran out it dry last time. So lesson learned. The fuel tank has about 4.25 gallons of usable fuel. Find fuel within 30 miles when it goes on reserve, just to be safe.