Modern Buddy

Many (probably most) scoots don't have the kind of fuel tank/filler neck that plays well with the automatic cutoff used in gas station pumps. So we wind up doing a rough visual approximation of what a full tank is - bottom of the filler neck, an indicator bar or tab in the neck, etc. The relative unreliability of this eyeballing method can make for some very inaccurate MPG figures on a per-fill-up basis.

For example, let's say you've traveled 65 miles since your last fill up. So now you're at the pump and from your observation it takes exactly one gallon to appear full. Pretty easy - 65 mpg. But what if you're a little off with your observation and you wind up putting in as little as a half pint (4 oz, or .03 gallons) more. Now it looks more like about 63 mpg. Off by a full pint, and the calculated mpg drops to about 61.

Moral of the story - averaging over multiple fill-ups will give you a much better idea of your fuel consumption than you get on a per-instance basis.

I don't even think about my scooters MPG since I know that whatever it is, it's much better than what my '97 GMC van gets.

babblefish wrote:I don't even think about my scooters MPG since I know that whatever it is, it's much better than what my '97 GMC van gets.

And honestly I'm not going to change how I ride, probably the biggest influence in MPG, for a few cents.

charlie55 wrote:So we wind up doing a rough visual approximation of what a full tank is - bottom of the filler neck, an indicator bar or tab in the neck, etc.

I've always relied on the time-honored method of waiting for gas to gush out all over my scooter, my pants, my shoes and occasionally in my face. Am I the only one? Is there another way? How did I miss the memo?

P.S. I forgot to mention that this method also works spectacularly well on motorcycles. The more expensive the motorcycle, the bigger and more damaging the gushing plume of gasoline. Works well on extremely rare restorations with hand-painted gas tanks made from pure unobtanium, too!

jrsjr wrote:I've always relied on the time-honored method of waiting for gas to gush out all over my scooter, my pants, my shoes and occasionally in my face. Am I the only one? Is there another way? How did I miss the memo?

P.S. I forgot to mention that this method also works spectacularly well on motorcycles. The more expensive the motorcycle, the bigger and more damaging the gushing plume of gasoline. Works well on extremely rare restorations with hand-painted gas tanks made from pure unobtanium, too!

That's how it's always worked for me. Especially if it's a borrowed priceless classic.

jrsjr wrote:

charlie55 wrote:So we wind up doing a rough visual approximation of what a full tank is - bottom of the filler neck, an indicator bar or tab in the neck, etc.

I've always relied on the time-honored method of waiting for gas to gush out all over my scooter, my pants, my shoes and occasionally in my face. Am I the only one? Is there another way? How did I miss the memo?

P.S. I forgot to mention that this method also works spectacularly well on motorcycles. The more expensive the motorcycle, the bigger and more damaging the gushing plume of gasoline. Works well on extremely rare restorations with hand-painted gas tanks made from pure unobtanium, too!

This especially effective if one is a smoker that tends to ignore "no smoking" signs...

jrsjr wrote:

charlie55 wrote:So we wind up doing a rough visual approximation of what a full tank is - bottom of the filler neck, an indicator bar or tab in the neck, etc.

I've always relied on the time-honored method of waiting for gas to gush out all over my scooter, my pants, my shoes and occasionally in my face. Am I the only one? Is there another way? How did I miss the memo?

P.S. I forgot to mention that this method also works spectacularly well on motorcycles. The more expensive the motorcycle, the bigger and more damaging the gushing plume of gasoline. Works well on extremely rare restorations with hand-painted gas tanks made from pure unobtanium, too!

This won't be an issue once we've made the transition to electrics. Just a quick touch of the tongue across the battery terminals should tell you when you've got a full charge. But then there's the issue of recharging while standing in a puddle during a lightning storm. Problems, problems.