Well, this weekend I was finally able to get through the tank of gas that came in the 09 Ultra. When I was filling it up, it seemed to take forever to top off the tank. Does anyone else have to dink with the pump to get the gas level up to the baffel in the filler neck? I never had any trouble filling the Heritage.

 

Same problem on the 08 Ultra. Takes forever to "top it off".

Do some searching here on the forums. There is a device that some people have used that slips over the nozzle at the gas pump, and ensures a "top off" without spillage. I haven't used one, as I'm a little concerned about storing something with gas residue on it in one of my packs.

 

Not sure if this is worth it or not?

http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/g...bmLocale=en_US

 

I have the same issue with my 08, just wait until you spill gas down the side of the bike, no fun, I found that if I stand on the left side of the bike I can look into the tank and have better control over filling it. I guess this is a issue with the 6 gal. tank. I never had problems with my Road King and never here anyone with 5 gal Electa Glides complain of it.

 

Same problem with my 09 Street Glide

 

Thanks everyone for all the info....that's why I love these forums. I was just wondering if this was a vent problem, but obviously this is a characteristic of these new tanks. Be safe!

 

I've found that if I hold the pump just inside the tank and slow the fill rate as it gets near the top I don't have any problem. Works fine on my '08.

 

This is one of those embarassing topics that I don't like to talk about much. Seems that everytime someone brings this up, some dipstick replies that if you can't fill up your bike then you shouldn't own one!

Glad this post hasn't had any of those "insightful" replies yet.

I'll give my $.02... My 09 RKC is a pain in the but to fill. Here in California (and some other states too) we have the gas nozzels with the vapor recovery boot. That prevents (or at least makes it very difficult) to see in the tank while you're filling up. You have to manually hold the boot up to get it to dispense fuel. Otherwise the pump cuts out every few seconds. Plus, the gas pumps around here only have 2 speeds; fast and holy-crap fast! Barely squeezing the lever puts it at fast. That means that gas shoots out of the tank when it gets full (which, again, you can't tell because you can't see in the tank while filling). On several occasions, I've had gas spew all over my tank, seat, windshield, clothing, etc.

So, humiliated, I went into the HD dealership and got the Fill-N-Go Fuel Tank Funnel (more commonly sold by McCuff). Probably the best $20 I've spent. So far (several months), it's worked flawlessly. Place it on the gas tank, insert the gas pump nozzel through it and into the tank. Squeeze the lever (works great on both "fast" and "holy-crap fast"). It clicks off when it's full. And by "full", I mean the fuel is just barely touching the baffle. Every time. No spills!

 

Yes filling tank on newer bikes is an accident waiting to happen.
(characteristic of these new tanks) that is putting it mildly I call it **** poor design.

 

Yeah, I don't have any trouble filling my 07 Road King all the way to the bottom of the neck, but the new 09 Ultra is a real problem. We don't have vapor recovery nozzles in PA (yet), but no matter how carefully and slowly I fill it, my choices are to splash it all over the side of the tank (first fillup) or spend three minutes and fill it almost up to the bottom of the neck (second fillup.) I'm using the same pump at the same station all the time, so it's not a fast pump.

My real question is this: How full does it have to be so that I have six usable gallons in the tank? I'm tempted to carry a gallon of gas in a container and run it dry so that I can find out. With the Road King I knew, because I ran it until it was chugging, then put over 4.95 gallons in it (to the bottom of the neck.)