More burger woes

[Flanker37]

Ok, so just over a week ago i went from leicester to newcastle (187 miles) My full tank only got me to scotch corner (40 miles shy of newcastle)

this seems like a pitiful tank range to me (is this normal for cruising @ 60-65mph)

Bike has always been shaky ie. lots of vibration between 3000-4000rpm 10-20mph (is this normal?)

also whilst i was up in newcastle i managed to hit the mother of all potholes at about 25-30mph. This was caused by all the recent flooding. It was under a bridge, in the shade, and i was a car length behind a bus & didn't see it in time

Now the bike is shaky most of the time, and doesn't feel right when im cornering (what could i have done to the front end?)

I could take it to my local bike shop for a look, but im thinking of getting an authorized Suzuki dealer to have a look instead. Only thing putting me off that is, they are going to want an arm & a leg

[pikey]

tank range how much it you put in to re fill tank as that is what you used .hitting pot hole could have damaged wheel bearings or thrown wheel out of balence if you have damaged wheel so check for play preferably with brake caliper off .

[Data]

Flanker, I agree with pikey regarding hitting the pothole and possible damage. Wheel or tyre damage is common after such an event. So is fork damage. Get the steering head bearings/forks checked too. Although I suspect your vibration could be variator rollers a bit stuck or worn, and this will affect fuel economy too. In effect your may be driving in a lower gear than you need to be if a couple of weights are stuck and this can cause vibration too. I haven't owned your model of Burgman so I don't know what you should be getting to the gallon. However, are you sure you filled her to the brim before setting out? You may need to burp the tank to get all the air out at least twice to get the fuel tank full. This can make a difference to your tank range. Of course without seeing the bike, anything I say may be complete twoddle! There are many things that can cause vibration such as you describe. Do get it checked out by a dealer if you are not able to do it yourself to make sure it is safe to ride. Good luck.

[GTscootz]

I can squeeze £15 in my tank - that includes a few burps - and I expect to be filling to the brim after about 150 miles. X reg, 2000 model

[pikey]

Its no good talking in money is it asda price / motorway price need to know litres and miles and needs briming every time if you want to work it out properly

[GTscootz]

Its neither, I don't fill at supermarkets or service stations. At 1.34 a litre, that is 11.2 litres...so 13.4 miles a litre...a very poor 60.8 mpg

[Flanker37]

thanks for your input guys, checked my manual today & it says its a 13.0l tank including reserve. trouble is, whenever i get to the left side of the redline, my brain automatically thinks its time to fill up. This is my first "big bike", and i have only been riding 8 months. So i don't yet have faith in what is in the tank. Every time i fill up, or think i'm filling up, there's only about 10-11 litres going in. So when im past the red line, i dont know what my tank range ought to be, seeing as there should still be 2-3 litres in there. I don't know how far thats supposed to go.

Kinda reminds me of the episode of top gear when he rode the audi from london to scotland & back again on a full tank. and he drove for miles & miles even though the dash said he was empty.

Anyway, i've gone ahead and booked my bike in for the 17th @ 0900 so i shall let you know the outcome

[mightbesane]

Note that many of us use fuelly.com to keep track of our mpg. It's the easiest, most accurate way. Just input your odometer reading and the amount of fuel you pump and the website does the rest. You just have to remember to keep it up.

[Flanker37]

i will give it a look, do i need to run it empty first?

[Drago]

thanks for your input guys, checked my manual today & it says its a 13.0l tank including reserve. trouble is, whenever i get to the left side of the redline, my brain automatically thinks its time to fill up. This is my first "big bike", and i have only been riding 8 months. So i don't yet have faith in what is in the tank. Every time i fill up, or think i'm filling up, there's only about 10-11 litres going in. So when im past the red line, i dont know what my tank range ought to be, seeing as there should still be 2-3 litres in there.

Maybe the fuel guage doesn't count the reserve? I know that my Tonik will show empty yet when I fill up I only get
about 4.6L in (5.8L tank) My GTS has a warning light for when it's low. Thing is you don't want to run out of fuel and also the last bit of fuel could have crap in it that you don't really want going into your engine. Personally I'd fill up when you hit the red but you'd probably get away with doing another 15-25miles once you hit red.