Range on a full tank

[Dr. Strangelove]

I may have a 200 mile butt, but only a 130mile bladder.
Rode from NO to Abilene today. Usual fillip was 3.3 gallons w about 120-130 on the odometer
My latest fuel strip seems to continue to work. Knock wood.

[Patch]

In the interest of adding more (mostly) useless data points ... today from a full tank (1/2 way up the tube) I was staring at 225 miles on the trip computer, 32 miles left showing on MTE readout ... 1 bar showing on the gauge and no low-fuel light. I only got 5.02 gallons back to the 1/2 way up the red filler tube as I always do.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Out in Cali now and the range on the tank is certainly variable.
I got 247 and the tank took 4.8 to that faint line on teh filler tube.

Yesterday, with lots of 2nd, 3rd, 4th gear on Ca49, I filled @ 213 miles and showing 86 left and it took 3.891, at just under 3 bars

I think what most affects mileage is wind resistance.

Edit: and today in west Texas with lots of headwind I had to fuel st 170, taking 4.8+ to mid filler tube.

[Bob Ain't Stoppin']

Your mileage is almost identical for the two tanks. Well within measurement accuracy achievable over that short distance.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Agree on those two tanks. Nearly ideal conditions. Today 207 and she took 4.8. A little worse but stuck in traffic in auburn and placerville, and more wind. Not bad I think.
In less than ideal, like lots of city, stop and go, or severe headwinds, it would be understandably far less. That's what I meant by variable.
OP asked for members' experiences and those are my recent ones

[flaps]

From what everyone is saying, it seems that the Roadster tanks vary in capacity, though I don't understand how. Where I ride, fuel range is very important, so knowing my fuel capacity is important. I've gotten 6.3 US gallons in my '08, filling it to the top. I purposely ran it dry and added 1 quart from a small bottle I carried with me for that purpose. It was only a few miles to a service station, where it took 6.1 gallons to fill. Of course in any normal weather the tank will start expelling fuel quickly, so it's important to be ready to go when filling this full. My cannister fell off, so I don't worry about sucking any charcoal slurry into my left throttle body.
I've also found that my mpg readout is accurate. My readout doesn't show tenths, like the GS and RT, so my calculations show that I'm at least getting the mpg that's displayed. I reset it and a trip meter at every fill up and can easily calculate how much fuel I've used at any time. Since the computer calculates its miles to empty from the fuel strip, and having replaced a couple fuel strips, I only give my fuel gauge and miles to empty a passing glance. My mpg varies from the mid 30's to 50, depending on how I'm riding, so there's no way for me to figure a standard fill up time. When I'm riding with someone on a GS, we're always stopping for gas before I need it, since they don't get as good of mileage and it seems that their tanks really do only hold 5.3 gallons.
I wonder why BMW lists the tank capacity at 4.8. Maybe because it's a metal tank and won't expand as easily as a plastic one like on all their other bikes. Or maybe the fuel pump placement makes it better to leave some fuel in the tank for cooling purposes. Anyone know the answer to that?

[arp]

One more data point:

253 mi
5.14 gal fill to bottom of filler tube
49 mpg indicated
49 mpg calculated (253mi/5.14)
33 mi indicated range remaining
40 mph indicated average
mountain passes and backroads, system panniers and top case

That is over 6 hours riding on one tank, though I did take a break.

[arp]

Another data point:

244.6 mi
5.36 gal fill up to the bottom of the filler tube
47 mpg indicated
45.6 mpg calculated (mi/gal)
29 mi indicated range remaining
35 mph indicated average
Mixed riding, mostly backroads, touring windscreen, system panniers and top case.

Just prior to fill up, the bike would clearly falter under hard acceleration in 1st gear.

[arp]

My best yet:

270.4 mi
5.26 gal fill up
50 mpg indicated
51 mpg calculated (270.4/5.26)

Fuel strip failed (4th time? I've lost count!) during this tank showing a full tank

35 mph indicated average

Mountain passes, backroads, touring windscreen, system panniers and top case.

[David R]

I just installed a scout fairing.

225 miles, 4.18 gallons = Just under 54 mpg. Bike computer said average 51 mpg.

Fill ups are not always exactly the same.

Amazing!

Look at my last post in this thread.

260 miles, 6 gallons. 43 mpg.

CALCUATED by me, 323 miles! My computer on the bike said the same thing.

[mpescatori]

Hello all, Maurizio from Rome, Italy.

I ride a 2005 R1200 ST, and the User's hanbook declares "21 liters". I have been made to understand that, unlike the older fuel tanks, the late generation Beemers have a "safety fuel cell" made of some kind of elastic material inside the "tank", which is actually not the ultimate container.

This means that once the fuel pump clicks "full", you can still trickle another 1.5 - 2.5 liters of fuel in there, which will boost your range by 30-50 Km (20.35 miles)

Also - and this is not to be overlooked - there is a huge difference between "Imperial gallons" and "US gallons"; Imp gals = 4.4 liters; US gals = 3.8 liters.
This "small detail" is often ignored by many "experts" who sing praise to vehicles which get wonderful, highly improbable mileage, only to discover they were using the "wrong" unit in the first place!

To the rider who plans to ride to ALASKA: Canada uses liters, so plan your trip by calculating miles or Kilometers / liter, not gallons.
If you poodle along in 6th gear at anything between 90 and 110 Km/h (55-70mph) your 21 liter tank should provide a comfortable ... 20x20=400 ... 400 Km or 250 miles before you cough to a stop.
In Europe, overland 4x4 travelers across Africa always plan to have an easy 50% reserve fuel on the estimated requirement of the day; may I suggest you either plan your mileage to drop to the pessimistic (and safe) 10 Km/l (30mpg US?) or carry along at least a 1 UK gal / 5 liter jerrycan as your reserve.

[Tybus]

I only commute on mine 70km/44 miles? round trip including a bit of inner city freeway 6 days a week.
I fill up about every 5-6 days depending on how naughty I've been riding.
I average 4.6L/100km. ( don't even want to try to convert that.)

This is better consumption than my previous bike which was a ZX6R and only did Freeway work.

[mpescatori]

4.6 liters / 100 Km means 21.7 km/liter.
Very good, but you do claim it is mostly freeway.

I, on the other hand, average 17-17.5 Km/liter, but do strictly urban city commuting in downtown Rome.

As in...

[Steve H.]

Fuel strip working,but I don't relay on it scynce there will be "the first time" I would'nt like to experience.Fueling up every 180 to220 mls by trip odometer.Zeroing it at every fuelup,it is simple.Never even close to run out of fuel,gives peace of mind.

[arp]

I think I'll stop now:

282.7 mi
5.35 gal (US) fill up to bottom of the filler tube
52 mpg indicated
52.8 mpg calculated (282.7/5.35)
40 mph indicated average speed

Mostly backroads, touring windscreen, system panniers and top case.

Again, just prior to fill up, the bike would clearly falter under hard acceleration in 1st gear.

My new policy: range = mpg x 10 / 2

[MTBeemer]

I've ridden my R1200R between Alaska and Montana 5 times in the past 26 months, 3 times on the Cassiar and twice on the Alcan. We've made the trip 3 more times in a cage during that same period. Last trip was this past June. Never had troble with fuel. I can cram about 5.3-5.5 gallons in the tank and average 45 MPG when loaded (we camp) I carry two MSR bottles; one with a liter of fuel and one with oil. Have never opened the fuel. I ride with my wife on her F650GS and she carries no fuel. There is plenty of fuel on both routes. Seldom is there more than 100 miles between stops and generally more like 50. Fuel can be hard to get late at night because places close and do not have card swipe. Highest price we saw was $1,94CDN per liter; more commonly it was running $1.36-1.45. Annie and I generally fuel up anytime we encounter fuel and have 100 miles or more on our tanks. Not a bad idea to carry a bottle of Yellow Heat in case of water in the fuel and a siphon hose just in case. The further north you go in BC and YT the harder high test is to find. That seems to be getting better, but plan on having to use 87 octane for some of the trip. My bike runs just fine on 87.

Make sure you alert your credit card company that you are traveling up north. It can be hard to straighten out at 5 AM in the Yukon with no cell service. Carry enough cash to buy a tank or two of fuel. And turn off cellular roaming on your phone in Canada unless you make prior arrangements with your carrier. Can cost $200 a day, DAMHIK. Tim Hortens have great WiFi and good food as well.