Gas..
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interesting question.............
well first I was thinking hey use a magnetic one like you put on your propane tank for the grill..... but wait were useing a liquid. to fuel your bikes.....
could always "chopper" it a sprint or datsun tank might be small enough to mod onto a bike..... a little impractical......
maybe a stick you can maybe stick sown in your tank and then pull out and see how high it is wet.????
I dont see an easy way of doing this for ya.
What I do personaly is I have checked how far I can go berfoe hitting reserve on any of my bikes, then when I fill up I reset the trip meter on the bike. when I look down and my milage is close to such givin number I stop and put gas in. and reset the meter at such time...... rinse and repeat...
hope this helps. :twisted: :lol:
well first I was thinking hey use a magnetic one like you put on your propane tank for the grill..... but wait were useing a liquid. to fuel your bikes.....
could always "chopper" it a sprint or datsun tank might be small enough to mod onto a bike..... a little impractical......
maybe a stick you can maybe stick sown in your tank and then pull out and see how high it is wet.????
I dont see an easy way of doing this for ya.
What I do personaly is I have checked how far I can go berfoe hitting reserve on any of my bikes, then when I fill up I reset the trip meter on the bike. when I look down and my milage is close to such givin number I stop and put gas in. and reset the meter at such time...... rinse and repeat...
hope this helps. :twisted: :lol:
I have been on this forum a long time and never heard of any one doing this at all much less successfully.
Trip-ODO is your friend.....just reset it each time you fill up like WIL was saying. Run a few tanks out to see how far you go before you hit reserve, and you will know when it's close to time to fill up....generally most shadows will go 120-160 miles before going to reserve - I alway get gas by 120-130 range to be safe.
Trip-ODO is your friend.....just reset it each time you fill up like WIL was saying. Run a few tanks out to see how far you go before you hit reserve, and you will know when it's close to time to fill up....generally most shadows will go 120-160 miles before going to reserve - I alway get gas by 120-130 range to be safe.
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My Nighthawk has a gas gauge, but it would not adapt well to the Shadow. But it does work reasonable well. Honda should have put a voltage regulator on it though, since the display of the gas in the tank goes up and down depending on how much of a charge the battery has!
But, that aside, it shouldn't be too hard to put a T fitting on the hose coming out of the petcock (provided you don't have a vacuum-actuated one!) and a T on the vent hose going to the tank, and connecting the two of them with some gasoline-safe clear tubing. Run the tubing out toward the triple-tree, and make sure that it runs vertically froma point below the tank to a point above it.
When fuel is in the tank, the level in the clear tubing will show you how high the fuel level is in the tank. From there, you can figure out about how much you have.
A word of caution though: a motorcycle fuel tank is an irregular shape. It doesn't have a (roughly) volumetric constant like a car tank does. "Half full" on a motorcycle fuel gauge is not a linear progression toward the number of miles that you can go. Some parts of the tank will drop vertically much, much faster than other parts even if fuel consumption is constant. So, for that reason, a fuel gauge on a motorcycle is not going to be as reliable a method for determining your riding range as using the trip meter, as others have suggested. Also, remember that the bottom 1/3 of a motorcycle fuel tank is typically the reserve, and so we need to be sure not to count that is viable fuel when making a fuel gauge of any kind.
--Justin
But, that aside, it shouldn't be too hard to put a T fitting on the hose coming out of the petcock (provided you don't have a vacuum-actuated one!) and a T on the vent hose going to the tank, and connecting the two of them with some gasoline-safe clear tubing. Run the tubing out toward the triple-tree, and make sure that it runs vertically froma point below the tank to a point above it.
When fuel is in the tank, the level in the clear tubing will show you how high the fuel level is in the tank. From there, you can figure out about how much you have.
A word of caution though: a motorcycle fuel tank is an irregular shape. It doesn't have a (roughly) volumetric constant like a car tank does. "Half full" on a motorcycle fuel gauge is not a linear progression toward the number of miles that you can go. Some parts of the tank will drop vertically much, much faster than other parts even if fuel consumption is constant. So, for that reason, a fuel gauge on a motorcycle is not going to be as reliable a method for determining your riding range as using the trip meter, as others have suggested. Also, remember that the bottom 1/3 of a motorcycle fuel tank is typically the reserve, and so we need to be sure not to count that is viable fuel when making a fuel gauge of any kind.
--Justin
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flanny,
Not sure if it can be done easily..........
Anyway, fuel gauges are for cars and GoldWings! (((LOL)))
I just use my "Trip Meter"
Zero it at every Fill-Up and when it gets to about 120 miles, fill up again.
If I'm traveling with a passenger and luggage; because gas mileage goes down (due to the added weight and sustained freeway speed) I'll fill-up when the "Trip-Meter" gets to about 100 miles.
Plus, on a small bike like an ACE or a Spirit, you can open the gas cap and physically see how much gas you have in the tank. (can't do that in a car, right?) So you see; there's really no need for a gas gauge on a small motorcycle like an ACE or a Spirit!
Phil
Not sure if it can be done easily..........
Anyway, fuel gauges are for cars and GoldWings! (((LOL)))
I just use my "Trip Meter"
Zero it at every Fill-Up and when it gets to about 120 miles, fill up again.
If I'm traveling with a passenger and luggage; because gas mileage goes down (due to the added weight and sustained freeway speed) I'll fill-up when the "Trip-Meter" gets to about 100 miles.
Plus, on a small bike like an ACE or a Spirit, you can open the gas cap and physically see how much gas you have in the tank. (can't do that in a car, right?) So you see; there's really no need for a gas gauge on a small motorcycle like an ACE or a Spirit!
Phil
On my 750 Spirit, I go 100 miles before I run out of gas. I feel the motor hesitate and click the fuel **** up to reserve. Everytime I refuel, I reset the trip odometer. I always know where I am at. I know this is very 'old school" for a new Honda but it isn't a problem.
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