f700gs ,petrol reserve readout?

ianmc

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I have tried doing a search, but I can't find the answer I am looking for, so here goes, the thing I don't understand is,
when the warning light comes on, the petrol icon starts to show the miles counting going up, at what point do I know how many mile have I got left to get petrol, I find it a bit confusing, so I am getting petrol as soon as I see the petrol warning light come on, well I have gone up to 21 miles once,
before I had the 700 I had an R 1200gs, this would show how many miles I had left in the tank to get to a petrol station, easy, but I just don't understand the 700,sorry,
so can some kind person put me straight, please,
 
It’s exactly that. At some point in the past the 650GS had a readout that counted down miles left once reserve is reached. However, due to the complex shape of the under seat tank, it was apparently rather unreliable. When the 700GS was introduced, I believe they changed the software to count the number of miles ridden since reserve is reached, as it is obviously much easier to count up based on the odometer. However, as you say, it’s not particularly helpful. The 1200GS (and the 750GS that replaced the 700), have a more regular-shaped tank above the engine, with a float to measure tank level. Hence range calculation is more reliable.
Look on the bright side - it’s better then the fuel strip on the previous generation 1200GSA that used to fail regularly.
 
It’s exactly that. At some point in the past the 650GS had a readout that counted down miles left once reserve is reached. However, due to the complex shape of the under seat tank, it was apparently rather unreliable. When the 700GS was introduced, I believe they changed the software to count the number of miles ridden since reserve is reached, as it is obviously much easier to count up based on the odometer. However, as you say, it’s not particularly helpful. The 1200GS (and the 750GS that replaced the 700), have a more regular-shaped tank above the engine, with a float to measure tank level. Hence range calculation is more reliable.
Look on the bright side - it’s better then the fuel strip on the previous generation 1200GSA that used to fail regularly.

Actually the 2011 and on bikes experienced the change. If one really wanted the former kilometres to empty functionality it can be activated using the Motoscan app.
 
I have tried doing a search, but I can't find the answer I am looking for, so here goes, the thing I don't understand is,
when the warning light comes on, the petrol icon starts to show the miles counting going up, at what point do I know how many mile have I got left to get petrol, I find it a bit confusing, so I am getting petrol as soon as I see the petrol warning light come on, well I have gone up to 21 miles once,
before I had the 700 I had an R 1200gs, this would show how many miles I had left in the tank to get to a petrol station, easy, but I just don't understand the 700,sorry,
so can some kind person put me straight, please,

Agree with Matty, due to the complex design of the fuel tank, BMW cannot offer an accurate range countdown once the light is on.

For several bikes I have done my own fuel range test, carry a can of fuel & run to dry. My latest test, on F800GT (similar tank to F700) did 54 miles to dry on my typical ride. Best to plan to run out avoiding busy/narrow roads, motorways etc.

I now have 40 miles max to fuelling in mind, less if high speed/motorway
 
As an owner of both the F700 ( 2016) and a F650 (2009) I was suprised to see the omission of miles to go that I had on mt F650. However as has been pointed out the triangular shape of both fuel tanks led to some pretty wacky estimates on the F650.

I usually reset my trip after a re fuel and start looking for fuel at 200 to 240 miles
 
Actually the 2011 and on bikes experienced the change. If one really wanted the former kilometres to empty functionality it can be activated using the Motoscan app.

Ah yes, I remember the 650GS SE I tried before getting my first 700GS also didn’t have the countdown feature. Given how potentially unreliable it could be, it’s probably for the best. There’s always the trip counter.
Happily the 760/850 have restored the range to empty, presumably because the tank is now a regular shape above the engine and has a float mechanism. IME it’s very accurate, I’ve had it down to 0 miles and there was just over 1L left in the tank.
 
Happily the 760/850 have restored the range to empty, presumably because the tank is now a regular shape above the engine and has a float mechanism.

Irksome on my 750 when the light comes on with a range of 60 miles to empty, only needs to be half that
 
It’s a volume of fuel left in the tank (3.5L I believe), so given the excellent fuel economy it’s likely to be 60 miles or so, but varies, and in fact the reserve is slightly less than on older and larger bikes in the range. Personally I’d rather know too soon than too late - depending on where you are 30 miles isn’t much, and on the 700GS I rarely went past 20 miles on the counter once the reserve light was on as at fill up time, sometimes there was barely 0.5L remaining in the tank ;)
 
It’s a volume of fuel left in the tank (3.5L I believe), so given the excellent fuel economy it’s likely to be 60 miles or so, but varies, and in fact the reserve is slightly less than on older and larger bikes in the range. Personally I’d rather know too soon than too late - depending on where you are 30 miles isn’t much, and on the 700GS I rarely went past 20 miles on the counter once the reserve light was on as at fill up time, sometimes there was barely 0.5L remaining in the tank ;)

thank you for all replies, looks like to me, that when the counter kicks in, I will get some petrol from around the 20/30 mark,
 
I suspect that the most substantive reason for a low fuel warning is to avoid running the tank to empty as the fuel pump is cooled by the fuel and gets overheated if it runs dry.
 


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