hey, so i recently bought a harley from a dealership my first harley, a 2010 nightster 1200, and i love it, only issue is its got a tank lift and i am in canada so mind my measurement but i got 75kms, around 45miles until i had to fill up, now i looked in the tank, and theres still gas in there, but im guessing where the gas line is located it doesn't allow this gas to run due to the tank lift, but really 45miles, does this sound right?

 

Why did you have to fill up? Because of the fuel light? Dont go by that. How much gas did you put in it when you filled up? And a lift will slightly affect the usable fuel but would only be noticed if you regularly run your tank dry. So for 99.99% a tank lift will not affect range.

 

i filled up cause everytime i really pulled on the throttle it would jolt the bike becuase it wasn't getting enough gas. i havn't gone by the gas light since i bought it, but yeah basically i filled up to the top of the tank, then 75kms later, i was start to get the low gas jolting. i was also thinking of going to a custom shop and seeing if they can put the fuel line at the very bottom of the tank closer to your groin area, but again tho, i can't imagine on a 3.3g tank even with a lift i should only be getting 75kms-45miles, that seems INSANE!!

 

I dont think that will help. 2010 is fuel injected and the fuel pump is
in the tank. That bung on the bottom is pressurized fuel from the pump
to the injectors. You'd have to move the whole pump setup - not a
realistic solution IMHO. What you might want to do is pull the tank
off, remove the pump (get a new pump-to-tank gasket) and see if
the fuel "sock" or pickup is plugged or otherwise obstructed.

good luck,

T.

 

45 miles is really short. My light (no tank lift) typically comes on around 80 miles. I would think something else is going on, unless it is a ridiculous tank lift.


It seems pretty consistent, if not I would ask if you thought someone might be siphoning your gas.

 

only bought the bike 2 days ago, so it wouldn't be siphoning, i was also wondering on my old vstar tank, the gas would hit the top of the hole, then it would go down more, then i could fill it up slowly, im curious sportster owners, is it possible im not filling the tank up enough?? when i've filled it up, the gas is at the top of the hole, but there looks like theres still more space, but it could be because of the lift.

 

I typically fill mine with enough gas to bring the level to within about 1/4" to the hole. So basically almost all the way full. You shouldn't fill it 100% but you can fill it up pretty full.

 

My light usually comes on at around 70 miles with a 1.5" tank lift...didn't notice much difference after I did the lift.

 

Theres a guy over on XLforum a year or so ago that had the same problem. Might search over there. He would have sputering problems at 3/4 tank and below.

 

Now that I think about it, I believe he found a cracked tube thats attached to the fuel pump inside the tank.