Modern Vespa

Hi
Jst wondering how many kms I have left roughly when the fuel light comes on on my GTS300?
Ive not had her long and would like to know in the back of my mind how much further I can cruise b4 I start pushing !!
I realise it all depends on how you ride etc but a rough ball park figure is always nice to know.
Thankyou
ps apologies if this has been asked b4

About twenty miles or so. You should be able to get between 120 and 130 miles out of your tank safely. Best to think about filling up soon when that light comes on.

The gauge on my GTS300 is well wonky if I fill right up to near the top of the neck it never shows full, usually a couple of marks below. As for the fuel light goes, I did the world record scooter crossing across the Humber bridge the other week and the light came on just as I got over the bridge. I did another 30 miles and filled up and it still only took 7.5 liters. I think I could have done another 10 miles at least.

thanks for that

ok, ta for the reply

sounds like you have the issue of the wrong tank sender being fitted

yeah, I've told the dealer about it and they are going to check it out at the first service next week.

Whenever I get a new machine I carry a small plastic gas container with a couple of litres of fuel (half a gallon) and deliberately run it out of gas to check the gauge. I also let my wife know what I am doing and make sure I have my cell with me in case it does not like restarting after running empty. (never had it happen yet). Its good to know for sure.

PAULO don't be surprised if they can't fix it. The LX series (well most all of the other models also) had some with the bad sender units. People got them fixed under warranty and they were still putting the bad ones back in The yellow fuel light is accurate and you can get between 20-40 miles out of it. I err on the low side just because i hate to run out of fuel but in your case if it's FI running out of fuel isn't good for the scooter. FYI at around 3K my gauge started to work I still go by the yellow light. Good luck

That can fatally damage the fuel pump. The pump uses the fuel around it as coolant. Running it dry can cause the pump to overheat and fail.
Do not do this.

having had an auto for 3 months now,just wondering what is the correct way to restart if youv`e run out of petrol.after putting petrol in,is it just a case of pressing the starter button until the fuel comes through ?
or do you have to do anything else.

I guess the fuel light on my GTV 250 is pretty wonky. It comes on consistently when I have a gallon of fuel left in the tank.

I recently did a run to dry test on my GTS250. It went 45 miles (72 km) after the low fuel light came on before sputtering. I also do not recommend this because of the fuel pump issues we have seen but I had to know. There was no problem at all restarting.

Please, please do not perpetuate these myths. This is completely untrue. It does not use the fuel surrounding it to cool it. Period.

As I close in on 2000 miles my new GTS 300 scooter with about 20 fill ups, I believe it is fully broken in. I consistently get 105-110 miles starting on a full tank before the low fuel light activates. I consistently then fill between 1.55-1.6 gallons shortly thereafter (at the next convenient gas filling station), which means with a 2.4 gallon tank I have at least 0.8 gallons remaining. With my fuel economy now (with engine fully broken in) averaging high 60's MPG I believe I would have at least 50 miles before I actually would run out of gas. I think I could take my worst mileage, i.e., before fully broken in, riding 2-up with moderate hills, fast starts, etc. to be mid 50's MPG so I know, worst case, I would have at least 0.8 x 55 = 44 miles before I ran out of gas. Thats a pretty good margin.

If you run the pump dry the bearings heat up and it can seize. Is this incorrect?

The manual states:

Running the fuel pump without fuel may eventually cause a problem. The pump is, however, not cooled by the fuel surrounding it, but perhaps, a little, by the fuel going through it. Fuel, however, is not a proper lubricant.

My main beef is that some things are said over and over again without any basis in fact. These then begin to be taken as correct. From what I have read from experienced Vespa mechanics, this cooling theory is hokum.

I have drained my tank completely by using the fuel pump and operating it intermittently. Did the temperature of the fuel I was collecting change significantly? No. Do you think it would be good design to allow a flammable liquid to act as a cooling medium? No.

I rest my case. I am also more than happy to be flamed.

Let me put it another way. How many electric motors do you know that overheat enough beyond normal operating tolerances that they self destruct? And that are liquid cooled. Don't forget that the fuel pump is intermittently operating and that it is not under heavy load. C/F: electric window motor; washing machine motor; windscreen wiper motor; the list goes on.

And from the Vespa 250 Workshop manual: Page 168.

Why would Vespa state this both in the owner's manual and the workshop manual? Because the fuel is used as a coolant and lubricant

So how is this not based in fact? It is there in print from Piaggio/Vespa.

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_pump#Electric_pump

Smacks of manufacturer covering ass to me....

It's still a myth. Do you think Piaggio would design a machine where it was unsafe, inadvisable to use the reserve? I've had my say on this one, to be frank. Y'all can believe whatever you want to. I'm running right to the end of my reserve. Heck, I live in a big city and I don't want to stop for petrol any more than I have to...

Of course

http://www.autohausaz.com/html/fuelpumps.html http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/maintenance/1272391 Witchcraft I tell ya!

Witchcraft? Oh yes!

I think I understand why Vespa don't like you trying to start the engine with an empty tank. You know when you first turn the key and you get that fuel pump prime noise? I think there is a possibility that you may damage the pump by repeatedly doing this....

Hey, knowing Piaggio's success with outsourcing pumps to China for the 2009, running them normally will result in failure. What gives?

I did the same thing. I got @30 km on the GT200 and @45 on the BV500.
I have not put either to the test since. Once the light comes on, I hit the nearest station, just in case.

If running dry one time stuffs a fuel pump then there is a serious problem with that fuel pump design. The fuel runs out the pump stops. If you continually run the pump with no fuel then yes any pump (not just a fuel pump) will overheat. All fluid pumps will warn you of this. However I cant imagine one time will do anything.

Thanks for that Judy
I will see what the dealer says when I take it in, the main problem for me is when the warning light comes on the tank is still half full or is it half empty? anyway I hate going to fill up all the time, as I use the scoot for work and do 21 miles round trip a day I would like to get a full week between fill ups, like I used to get out of my GT200 without guessing or worrying about if I'm going to run out

PAULO you can still do some figures to get a ballpark number of MPG. If you ride it the same way and do the same miles each day that would help ease your worries.Fill it up (visually) then run it almost out (visually) then repeat the process. Doing that math you can get your MPG. Might be a pain to do it but it will ease your mind. Good luck

I've done 50 miles after the light comes on; and before I get too nervous to pass up another gas station.

so... if the fuel gauge is known to be less than accurate, and the speedo as well, what about the odometer? had to ask, but to keep this on topic...

Trying to get a feel for my new scoot I've let the fuel get down to "as low as i'm willing to risk it". Yesterday my gauge was on E and the gas light has been on for about 15-20 miles. "Eyeballing" the fuel level in the hole I could clearly see there is fuel in there, but what the heck- i don't know how shallow or deep the tank is...

I'm pretty good at math- given the 2.3 gallon tank, the .25 gal reserve, and the presence of an unknown quantity of fuel, I calculated I should be able to squeeze about $5 of fuel in there. Was I totally off the mark- just under a dollar short I overfilled it.... (doh!). Gas everywhere, a few swears, then air bubbles came up and the level went down- all the way down. I know you're not supposed to top off but i did anyway. Besides- this was an experiment. Then more air bubbles and the level went down again... I gave the thing a little rock back and forth, and up came MORE air bubbles, and the level went down again!

I decided not to spill more gas all over the place and gave up. I started her up and fuel gauge shows... 3/4 tank?! Can someone tell a newbie what the heck is going on? What shape is the tank? When eyeballing (since the gauge is basically inaccurate), how low is too low to the naked eye?

As I wrote this, I went and found a pic of what I think is the tank for an LX 150. The gas cap needs its own dipstick or something.

Ok, I've been having a similar problem. Today I filled up this morning at 465 miles. By 545 miles the low fuel light was on so I pulled over to get some gas. 1.295 gallons splashed a little over the spout.

That's 80 miles on 1.295 gallons of gas or 61.776 MPG. At that rate I still have about 60+ miles before I actually run out of gas. I'm a little irritated that I keep filling up a half a tank of gas. I would rather be able to drive further without worrying about running out. BTW, this is about the worst mileage I've gotten since I bought my 300 Super. I've been averaging in the 70MPG's pretty consistently and usually put in less than a gallon when it says I'm empty.

The biggest problem is that I have NO idea how much gas I'm putting in each time I fill up. This morning when was filling up from what I though was empty, the auto shutoff on the pump didn't work and I dumped gas EVERYWHERE! It needed less than a gallon and I went over a gallon. Luckily I pulled the pet carrier out before I started but you can see how this fuel gauge issue can really suck.