[Luckycharms]

I posted on another trophy forum but I thought in it was worth posting here

So this past weekend I was coming home from New England and ran out of gas. I had put a few tanks through it already and I knew that when you fill up when the "range to empty" reads zero, you really had about a gallon and 40-50 miles left. Both previous tanks I filled at 5.9 and 6.1 gallons.

Well that's not the case. I was able to drive 19 miles after it read 0. I ran out of fuel at 271 miles. I had been traveling at a good pace 70-80mph most of the time and the trip computer was saying 43-44mpg avg which about acurate I think.

Luckily I ran out approaching a down hill off ramp and coasted down and around the corner onto a wide shoulder. I had my helmt off for maybe a couple minutes before a Harley rider pulled over to see what was wrong. I keep a full toolkit that includes an e-fill siphon. http://www.aerostich.com/e-fill-siphon.html
I always thought it would be me saving someone else with it but as fate would have it it saved me. I was able to siphon a 1/10 of a gallon of gas and then ride a quarter mile up to the road to a Shell station.

This is where it gets interesting. On the center stand I was able to fill 6.1 gallons into the tank and then SQUEEZE it up to 6.3. Nothing came out the overflow as I checked under the bike just to be sure. It was filled to the brim.

There's no way it's a 6.9 US gallon tank. My guess is that it's a 6.6 gallons tank w/ 6.4-6.5 USEABLE gallons. Which is all that really matters.

I will use 6.5 for all my fuel calculations from now on. This still gives you a 300 mile range if you're traveling under 70 and have a light throttle hand.

 

[crazyman]

That's interesting that you squeezed in 6.3 gallons. I've measured on other Triumph bikes I've owned, and they both had what they were specified as having in capacity.

I've routinely gotten over 260 miles before the last gallon warning comes on.
Lucky for me, I don't travel far enough to worry about the range.

 

[donmoe]

On Tuesday I rode from my home in Jupiter, FL north on I-95 and then around the west side of Jacksonville on I-295. The low fuel warning had come on and the miles remaining had counted down to zero before I turned north onto US-1 at exit 28B. I had estimated that I could make it to the Racetrac station located a very short distance to the north of the exit. As it turned out, the fuel ran out after 295 miles, just as I was about to make the turn at the traffic light into the station. Fortunately traffic was very light at the time and I was able to paddle-walk the motorcycle across the highway and into the station’s driveway and then push it to the first pump, perhaps 100 feet in all. At least that now confirms that the fuel tank does indeed hold exactly 6.6 useable gallons, as specified in the owners manual, and not 6.9 as mentioned in the initial sales literature. Even though I was running with traffic at nearly 80 (~+10) much of the way, I still averaged 44.7 mpg.

Usually I closely monitor the miles remaining after the fuel-low light illuminates, but with the traffic I apparently didn't realize how far I'd gone with zero miles remaining. Thankfully I didn't run out on that busy Interstate and have to wait on a AAA guy or perhaps a friendly Harley rider, and also avoid getting rear-ended by somebody with target fixation.

For all the time and miles I've been riding motorcycles, that is truthfully the very first time I've ever run out. And it will definitely be the last time on this Trophy.

For as accurate as the fuel gauge and miles-remaining seem to be, it's unfortunate that the fuel consumed since reset is not. Even though it displays in tenths of a gallon, it seems to read about 0.5 gallon low. When I ran out, I recall seeing only 6.2 g used. It would be nice to find a way to calibrate it to be more accurate.

Don
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[Aharbi]

Don't know why but the CA/USA tank capacity is 6.6 US gal while the Euro tanks are 26 litres (6.9 US gals). According to the Triumph literature, Owners manual and Service manual. For any new bike I get I carry a 2 gal gas can with me and run the bike out of gas so I know for sure what the capacity is and mine holds 6.6 gal when filled sitting level on the center stand.

 

[bentroad]

Even though I Have not run out of fuel I have noticed a discrepancy in the amount of fuel reported on the display and the amount of fuel to fill the tank. Last fillup the display said 4.3 gallons used and the tank held 4.8 gallons.
I also discovered later the same day that I had a leak on the fuel tank. The next morning I got an call from the dealer announcing a recall of the bike because of defective tanks that leak onto the engine and may cause a stall and is a fire hazard.
So for me I question whether the discrepancy in fuel usage on the last fillup was due to an inaccurate computer or a fuel leak.
Parts are on a 2 week back order so I am out of luck for a time.
A small amount of fuel will accumulate under the bike if it sits for an hour or more. An odor of gasoline surrounds the bike much the same as if the tank had been over filled.
Triumph Trophy SE models shipped to the US over the last few months are in lured in the recall.
More info can be found here: http://ultimatemotorcycling.com/triumph-trophy-se-recall-due-to-possible-fuel-leaks/

 

[donmoe]

Triumph Trophy SE models shipped to the US over the last few months are in lured in the recall.
More info can be found here: http://ultimatemotorcycling.com/triumph-trophy-se-recall-due-to-possible-fuel-leaks/

Thanks for that info. I hadn't received word about that recall from my dealer yet. Thankfully my bike has not shown any evidence of any leaks. I'm currently out of my home state on tour and would not like to return home for my home dealer to replace the tank. Bummer...

Don
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[donmoe]

Don't know why but the CA/USA tank capacity is 6.6 US gal while the Euro tanks are 26 litres (6.9 US gals). According to the Triumph literature, Owners manual and Service manual.

As I recall reading somewhere, the difference in fuel capacity is due to the electronics on the SE models in the US taking up more space under the seat, including presumably the Sirius/XM receiver and weather radio, which are not in the non-US/CA models.

Don
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[Luckycharms]

As I recall reading somewhere, the difference in fuel capacity is due to the electronics on the SE models in the US taking up more space under the seat, including presumably the Sirius/XM receiver and weather radio, which are not in the non-US/CA models.

Don
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I doubt that's the case. The XM receiver is the tiny puck on the top of the dash and the rest of the radio is where the tiny storage compartment is under the seat. Non SE bikes without the radio have a bigger storage bin. No way they would make two different fuel tanks. Wouldn't make financial sense.