Fuel Gauge for my 81 GS650G

[cross.je]

Good Afternoon Everyone!

I'll state right away that I'm new to motorcycles. I have been working on my 650 off and on through the winter and it's almost ready to come back to life! This weekend I'm replacing the stator and rectifyer. One of them is bad, not sure which, but after reading through all the postings I've decided to buy new parts from electrosport.com and put my charging worries to rest for good. I'm also replacing the cluch cable that snapped at the end of the season last year. I had fuel leaking from somewhere at the end of the season too, but I should be able to find that without a problem. If I don't, I'll come back to you all with that question as well.

My question for you all is this. My bike did not come with a fuel gauge of any kind. I have searched through the forums here and not found anything related to putting in an aftermarket fuel gauge. Have any of you done this? If so, where did you find the gauge? I have found several different dash computers that do everything under the sun, but the cost is too high, and I don't want that functionality. I just want to know how much gas I have in the tank! When I was a kid I remember some tank caps that had gauges in them. Do those still exist somewhere?

Please shoot some ideas! I really don't want to spend 150-300 dollars on something this basic!

[BassCliff]

Greetings and Salutations!!

Hi Mr. cross.je,

If I'm reading the parts fiches right for the 1981 GS650G, the stock bike did not have a fuel gauge, no gauge on the instrument cluster and no fuel gauge send unit (float assembly) in the tank. I don't think there is any easy aftermarket solution. On my bikes that had no fuel gauge, I'd fill up after I had to flip the petcock to "reserve". No biggie. But let me welcome you to the forum. I'm glad you found us. The GS650G is a nice machine.

If there's anything you'd like to know about the Suzuki GS model bikes, and most others actually, you've come to the right place. There's a lot of knowledge and experience here in the community. Come on in and let me say "HOoooowwwDY!"....

Here is your very own magical, mystical, mythical, mind-expanding "mega-welcome". Please take notice of the "Top 10 Common Issues", the Carb Rebuild Series, and the Stator Papers. Now let me roll out the welcome mat for you...

Please click here for your mega-welcome, chock full of tips, suggestions, links to vendors, and other information. Then feel free to visit my little BikeCliff website where I've been collecting the wisdom of this generous community. Don't forget, we like pictures! Not you, your bike!

Thanks for joining us. Keep us informed.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[kdo58]

fuel gauge

Mine is useless i just go by the trip meter.

[cross.je]

Thanks for the quick responses guys. Unfortunately, my trip meter is not functional, otherwise I would be fine with just resetting it. The petcock trick will work fine while crusing around town, but I'd rather not have to do that on a longer trip. I guess I will just have to develop a feel for it, or just be paranoid about filling up.

I did find a setup at Sunpro that would come out to about 50 dollars after buying the gauge and the sender, but I would have to drill the tank to mount the sender unit. Everything on the bike is stock, so I'm worried about the integrity of the tank.

Do you all think it would cause problems drilling a couple of holes to mount the sender?

[Hodado]

Why don't you get the bike up and running; ride it for a while and see if this is really an issue. A 4.2 gallon tank at a low side of 40 mpg will take you 160 miles.Have you ever ridden a motorcycle nonstop for 160 miles? Most people who ride for 100 miles like to get off the bike for a while; streach their legs and yes refill the fuel tank.I think you a concerned about something that is not really an issue.Good Luck!!

[cross.je]

The comments about riding 160 miles straight without stopping is a good one. I agree that I would want to stop and walk around. I have not done this yet. I'm planning a trip to Wisconsin later this summer and will be riding that kind of distance. I'm really looking forward to it!

The main reason I wanted the gauge is for my normal town crusing. I tend to get on the bike, become overwhelmed with the ride, come home, park it, and repeat. Not thinking at all of the fuel level.

Without a cost effective solution, my only option is to become more diligent about checking the fuel before I head out. I'm pretty good about checking fittings and tire pressure, but by the time i get to the end of that list, my wrist starts twitching and I forget to look in the tank

[waterman]

The 82 and later 650's had a fuel guage. If you would replace tank, sender, and instruments, you may have a working fuel gauge. Personally, I go about 130 miles before hitting reserve. Generally, refill every 100 miles, should always be fine.

[chef1366]

I have a round speedo with a good trip meter.