F800GS computed range on full tank wrong?

Don't take away my readout!


I like it and it seems to be pretty accurate for me. I usually have my computer set on the temperature readout until the bars get low then I switch over to see how long I have to go (I try to stop before it gets to 20 miles left).

Having been allowed to vent I must agree that I use mine the same and it has been fairly accurate, if not conservative, for me. i.e. when I pull in to a station "on fumes" I have always been surprised at how much more fuel was truly left in the tank than I thought.

Good news for all pre-2011 models. According to my local BMW Motorrad service partner then it is not true that the "range" will be eliminated when the software is updated on older models (pre-2011). It seams that I have been given incorrect information from the BMW people at Intermot 2010 in Cologne Germany. I am very sorry that I have passed on this incorrect information.

If anyone gets their software updated on a pre 2011 model then please verify that the "range" function will remain in the On Board Computer (OBC).

Woot!!! <--- happy dance

This will be key. If anyone has their dealer "update" the OBC and then discovers the fuel monitoring system has changed, please post your experience so the rest of us with older bikes can be on guard. I fully belive Karstenwind has done his/her best to get a definitive answer, but as we all know, it's possible to get a lot of differing answers when trying to ask BMW about something like this.

I get around 350 km to a tank, but I usually fill up about 330 or so. I use my trip counter, and reset it after every fill up. Usually, the range shows about 180 - 190 km (depending on how fast you are going), but I only look at it after I pass 170-180 kms on the trip meter, as that is when it stars counting down. A bit odd, but it works for me.

How about a bumper sticker, "If you want to take away my range function, you can pry it from my cold dead fingers." My neighbor in Anchorage had something like that on his 4 wheel drive PU with gun rack in the 70's. This is quite a change of pace. A month ago we were bitching about how poorly this worked. Now we are going to fight to the death to keep it.

Does NRA stand for National Rangefunction Alert? Maybe No Range Alternative? Dave

Here's my insurance against BMW taking away my range function!!!




(photo through a lane splitting screen, that guy behind me just walked up to start shooting on his lane and he isn't staring at us because of the camera, my new Beretta Px4 Storm subcompact 9mm puts out a huge discharge and sounds like a 45 magnum!)








J/K BMW!

When can we expect the forum name change then Mr Bond?

I had the same question and as others have said, it's not covered in the 2009 manual. This answer was spot-on:

The system cannot tell exactly
how much fuel is on board when
the tank is completely full. Under
these circumstances the display
shows a minimum-range figure
accompanied by a ​

> symbol. A
more accurate figure for range is
shown as soon as the fuel level​

can be measured exactly.

Thanks much!

"

The system cannot tell exactly
how much fuel is on board when
the tank is completely full. ​

"

A $15,000 bike cant tell if the tank is full? That's like the Space Shuttle not knowing the fuel level. Simply Unacceptable!

Migs

It does exactly what it needs to.
Your driving past a gas station, you know the next station is 40 miles away and it says >50. Do you push on, or buy gas now?

I am from the "be prepared" crowd so I buy gas now.

Migs,
Don't disagree.
But I hardly think you can equate a BMWF800GS to the Space Shuttle.
Maybe an average car...but not the shuttle.

I bet the F800 has more computer power on board then the Shuttle. Keep in mind the shuttle is real old, and they only use old proven technology (for proven reliability) at NASA.

http://www.popsci.com/node/31716
"It&#8217;s true: The brain of NASA&#8217;s primary vehicle has the computational power of an IBM 5150, that &#8217;80s icon that goes for $20 at yard sales. According to NASA and IBM, the shuttle&#8217;s General Purpose Computer (GPC)&#8212;which controls, among other things, the entire launch sequence&#8212;is an upgrade of the 500-kilobyte computer the shuttle flew with until 1991."

Like any gauge, it's just a ball park. But wait, I want to know down to the exact foot how far I can go on a tank durn it.

When the light comes on I know I should think about getting gas. When the gauge says < 37 miles I know that I should think about where I can get gas. It does the job it's supposed to do.

I usually fill up every 185 to 200 miles. Never let it go all the way to zero. Never had any need to.

ditto.

I had a Ford F150 in the 80's with dual tanks. I used to run 1 tank until the truck died, then switch tanks. Then Ford Warranty started having to throw replacement fuel pumps at it because the bearings were going bad.
I think I replaced both pumps 2X in 30,000 miles. Later it dawned on me, "a fuel pump is designed to pump fuel. As long as it has a fuel pressure load on it the RPM is limited by the load. But run out of fuel (or even get low where the pump pickup comes out of the fuel for an instant) and your pumping Air. With no load, the RPM will climb as high as the electric motor can run."

SELL IT and buy a Burgman scooter. You can tell how much gas is in that anytime you want buy picking it up and sloshing it around....with the lid open.

HF

I have to go analog with my MV...open the cap and look.