Modern Vespa

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P.[/quote]

The 300 Super gets way worse gas mileage than the GTS 250.[/quote]
my 300 is about 3 mpg worse than my old 250 its not broken in yet so hoping for more to come

This is exactly why I like buying ex-demo bikes. Not just because the price is better, but because the 'first 1000 miles' issues have been dealt with. Plus it'll have been ridden in all sorts of ways by all sorts of people, so broken in in every which way possible.

I was one of the first purchasers of a brand-new Fuoco (MP3 500) in the UK, and the first to report on:

The duff positioning of the indicator unit (and the work-arounds).
The duff instructions in the manual for fitting steering bearings (and the solution).
The duff positioning and construction of the starter relay (and the work-around).


So if you buy new, and especially a new model, expect a few problems and instead of getting cross, try to find solutions.

So, how should the sender arm be bent to make it give a linear reading, and agree sensibly with the fuel-low light? We worked it out with X9s years ago (similar problems) - now please (those who are whinging) contribute and do it for the GTS/whatever.

It doesn't take much time to do.

Same as noted above, when the light comes on I have about 1 gallon left. The light comes on gradually, depending on scooter attitude, but I consider it "on" when it's on most the time. I'm getting 60-70 mpg, so I try to fill it within less than 50 miles of the light coming on, usually quite a bit less.

My fuel light also doesn't come on until the gauge hits the red line. At that point it flickers on and off for some time before it actually stays lit, even then it will flicker a lot depending on the incline of the road.

So it seems that we can say that gas guage on the 300 is actually only measuring the first 2/3 of the volume of the gas tank. When the needle is in the red and the light comes on, you have about a 1/3 tank left. That seems like a lot if that represents about 50 miles... I've had other bikes that warned with about 27-35 miles left. But I'm glad to know it.

Some interesting posts here tonight. Thanks for helping me understand how the forum works.

With over 700 miles on now, I tracked a tank of gas. It got 72.9 MPG. That was mostly during a group ride with Burgmans through some hilly landscape, so I consider it pretty good. Also, that gas had ethenol in it. The guage behavior is still the same: with the light on for a while, it only took 1.6 gallons.

I just rolled 1300 miles today on the 300 and I'm really fed up with the fuel gauge. I rode 20 miles after the fuel light came on yesterday and I still had over a 1/2 gallon when I filled up. Gauge was on the bottom of the empty mark.

The light should come on about 20 miles until empty.

I know its not a huge deal but it seems that in 2010 I should have a bike with a properly working fuel gauge. None of my other 6 bikes with a fuel gauge ever had this problem.

FFS. Just get to know your fuel gauge. Not hard...

You may want to reconsider editing your grievance, I've been reprimanded for "bitching" and have learned that this is not the place you want to voice any negative opinions. Just thought I'd share my experience and save you the ridicule.

Its really not that much of a "bitch" We are talking the truth about the fuel gauge. I'm speaking about a fact and a real issue I'm having with my new scoot. This is what we are SUPPOSED to do. If someone wants to redicule me for that then I guess so be it.

I have the same issue. I will have the dealer address it when they do my first service. While riding this past Saturday, the fuel light came on and the gauge read empty, but when I went to fill it up, it took only 1.5 gallons. I had driven 100 miles since my last fill up.

Frankly if thats the worst problem I have during the life of the scooter, I'm going to be pretty pleased.

i finally got my parts in after a month of waiting. The dealer said the wiring harness was the 300 harness, and now he has to go to square one and figure out what's wrong with my gas issue. He told me that there should be "nothing wrong with it" because "it's a brand new bike", and proceeded to ask questions on how it was reading, listening in disbelief.

Call it bitching but this whole thing sucks.

I will keep you all posted and hopefully you can figure this out and fix this issue with some information. He will be calling me by the end of the day to figure out what their diagnosis was.

I just picked my 300 up from dealer today. They replaced the "float" under the warranty. Lets hope that does the trick....

New GTS 300 - first fill up, because the gauge said I was nearly empty, I could only get 1.3 gallons in.

Anyone find the cure to this problem?

They actually fixed mine by picking up the dash and resetting the dial where the fuel tac. sits. They also adjusted the Sending Unit.

It works like a charm now.

Its been ages since I'd been to this board, and I was wondering if there was ever a known and proven fix for the fuel gauge issue? I have about 800 miles on mine, and I really only ride it for recreation, but I'd love to know if there was something I could do to fix the issue myself. I'm pretty good at following instructions and would love to try a solution myself if possible (also due to the fact that the nearest dealership is an hour ride and I don't have a trailer).

Thanks,

Jesse

Glad I'm not the only one with this issue. Bought my GTS 300 Super a month or so ago. LOVE IT! Have a little over 1300 miles on it and noticed the other morning that my gauge said empty after I filled it up right before I got home the night before. Few miles later it read full. The issue seems to come and go. Sure its an easy fix and I know that I'm under warranty, so not worried. Just need to take it in.

Some of the early US GTS 300's had a bad wiring segment that goes from the harness to the fuel sending unit, the dealer replaced mine before I picked it up. On mine the gauge wouldn't register anything at all, not sure if yours is the same issue since it's intermittent. You may just have a poor connection, maybe there's a plug somewhere that isn't fully seated. Assuming your bike is under warranty, your dealer should be able to sort it out for you.

That's exactly what's been going on with mine. My gauge doesn't ever move. When I fill it, when I run it, hot or cold, just stays buried below the EMPTY mark and I have had my 2010 since 09/2009. Would you happen to know if this were something I could replace myself and if so, where I could order the part, or even what the part number is or what its called?

Thanks for all the insight and info

Same here. Just picked up my 2010 on Saturday. My dealer's parts guy said there was a recall on the fuel sending unit and that it already been replaced on my bike. Taking it in on Thursday to have them look at it all over again. Seems to me that it might be the wiring harness itself. Those wires are relatively thin and routing them doesn't look too easy. Maybe someone pulled too hard when they replaced the sender on mine? I think (from what I can tell in the schematics) the wiring harness for the fuel pump includes the sender wiring. Looks like that part is about US$65.

Yet another reply.

My GTS 300ie is a month old, give or take.

It holds 2 1/2 gallons

It shows empty and the light stays on with exactly a gallon left in the tank

I wait until the light and put 1 1/2 gallon in and it's right at the full mark

I can also just wait for the gauge to show it on empty and put 1 1/4 tank in and it's full

It's sort of dopey but not as dopey as the speedometer, now don't get me started on how it's 5 mph fast (indicated) at 20 mph GPS...

VEZPA the last time i did a ride with friends i started out with little gas and the light came on about 15 miles down the coast. When i filled up at about 30ish miles it was almost empty I used to be able to go over 40 miles when it came on and still have a lot left. It's the same route but it seems like now, i can't depend on it. Once i get over 20 miles i'll just fill it. So consistency is out the window.

I have a fairly new 300 with about 350 miles only on it. When I fill up its only about 1.5-1.7 even though it says empty with light glowing. The gauge seems fine to me. Goes down slowly like I would expect until Ive got about 100 miles on odo. Im happy.

Hi all
Just to add my experience here;

My 300 is just under a month old now. Brimming the tank from completely empty on the guage (indicator needle resting on the stop) it only needed 7.36 litres to fill what I understand is a 9.6 litre fuel tank.

Is this common for the 300, and has anyone had a fix under warranty?

Cheers

Lots of variety in the gauge in my experience. I had a faulty fuel sender in my 09 when I bought it, and had it replaced. Since then 'under reads' - it never shows full (needle at 12 o clock) even when its brimming, and consequently gives an early fuel light earlier when its low. I know this because I can fill up with a riding mate, do the same mileage/route, and be showing different gauge readings. I've come to live with it now...

Have a search using the top menu on 'GTS fuel gauge' and you should find loads of old posts on this...

And welcome to the Forum Matt - more and more London riders joining these days, look out for socials and local meets in the Events section in the spring

Cheers Brown_Beret!

Does anyone know how the fuel sender works? I mean it's easy enough to fix on my kit-car, I just unkink/kink the float rod a bit.. better than the dealer swapping bits and making it worse!

Yep am looking forward to spring for some local meets. A new rider on a new 300 in rush-hour central London.. been fun so far

AFAIK its a one piece plastic unit that sits in the tank with (as you'd expect) a float and an electrical connection to send the float signal to the headset fuel gauge. I think the part might be common to other MVs like the ET. Looks something like this pic, though if the other diagram is right ('Tank Float') it actually sits in one slim tube.

With the GTS engine bay pretty tight I don't think you can get access to it easily without dropping the engine down on the swing arm, to get enough room to access the fuel tank where it sits. As a result I don't think you could easily tweak it like you might on your kit car. Yours is obviously reading something even if its not as accurate as you'd like. As yours is so young and under warranty you could probably ask your dealer to look at it, but they might be reluctant knowing the work involved.

You also tend not to get a consistent 'drain' showing from the sender, due to the tanks kidney shape i.e. the gauge doesn't dip down at the same rate as you go through the fuel. Instead you tend to have a gradual decline for the first half tank and then the remainder seems to go faster. Or at least something like that - I've talked to fellow owners about it before anyway.

Welcome to another GTS feature Gotta love 'em...

Very similar - but you have to drop the fuel tank to get at it. Here's a good how-to:
http://www.gtsownersclub.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=6139

Thanks! That's a great level of detail!.. although a discouraging amount of effort :-/ My kit-car only entails 7 screws and a mild headache from fumes (horay for 1970's simplicity)

Know what you mean about the inconsistent rate, mine barely moves at all for a few days then drops rapidly.

I'll speak to the dealer when I take it for it's first service.
Thanks!
Matt

With mine, I simply put in 1.4 gallons every hundred miles, and seems to be perfect.

While riding...
Take your right hand, and slap the bike where the tank is...
Your Gas Gauge will start to rise slowly.
If you are under warranty, have your dealer replace the gas gauge sensor, and take out the little green plug with the small hole in it. This will allow the gas to flow into the sensor tube more freely.
If out of warranty...
Keep slapping the beast !

Keith
Marietta, GA

i have a GT 125 With a 210cc kit on it and a full tank gets me HALF of that !